Track & Field women place second at F. Lee Slick Invitational

February 22 2018
Wheaton’s Women’s Track and Field team showed impressive performances at North Central College’s “F. Lee Slick Invitational” last Friday, Feb. 16.
Lewis University came in first in the women’s overall standings with 172 points. Wheaton followed close behind and placed second with 132 points while North Central took third place with an overall score of 110 points. Aurora scored 82 points in fourth place and Carthage finished fifth with a total of 31 points.
The Wheaton Women saw success all around the competition, breaking school records in events from high jump to sprints. Junior Katie Lindquist set a new school record of 1.67 meters in the high jump, earning her first place in the event. The previous record had been a jump of 1.64 meters, set in 2011. Lindquist’s jump tied her for sixth in Division III rankings this season. Sophomore Favor Ezewuzie took second place in the long jump with a leap of 5.30 meters and senior Nicole Kitchen jumped 5.01 meters to place fifth.
Ezewuzie broke her own school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.80 seconds. This time earned her second place in the event. Ezewuzie also broke the school record in the 200-meter dash, earning second place with a time of 25.93 seconds. In the 60-meter hurdles she again placed second with a time of 9.07 seconds and teammate Kitchen finished fifth in the same event in 9.70 seconds.
The Thunder distance medley relay squad of junior Erika Johnson, sophomore Marissa Heath, freshman Brianna Hawthorne and freshman Hannah Roeske broke the previous school record of 12:10.12 set in 2009. They set a new record time of 11:57.85. Their incredible race ranks fifth in division this season. Junior Aryn Embretson took first place in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:32.63 and sophomore Hannah Oechsle placed third in 11:03.78. Senior Ellie Hawthorne ran the one-mile run in a time of 5:19.82 to catch first place and junior Elise Alexander finished fourth in 5:30.76. Junior Megan Bailey won the 5,000-meter run in 18:54.63.
The Women’s Track and Field team will enter the 2018 CCIW Indoor Track & Field Championships next weekend looking to defend their title as Division Champions. The meet will be held in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Feb. 23 and 24.