The Slippery Rock University women’s track and field team had 21 PSAC-qualifying marks, two NCAA-provisional marks, and won three events at the Ashland Alumni Open last Saturday.
Sophomore Katelyn Wetzel won the 100-meter dash, with a time of 12.51 seconds. She also won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.01 seconds.
Freshman Emily Moroco placed second in the 200, with a time PSAC-qualifying time of 26.40 seconds.
Moroco, Wetzel, sophomore Samantha Zampetti, and freshman Lexie Nowakowski paired up to place second in the 4×100-meter relay, with a time of 48.60 seconds.
Sophomore Janine Powis led the distance events with a win in the 1,500-meter run, running a time of 4:44:05.
Sophomore Krista Caldwell placed third in the 3,000-meter steeple chase, running her best time of the season, 12:06:71.
Junior Julia Cain reached the NCAA-provisional mark in the pole vault, placing sixth, with a clearance of 3.51 meters. Freshman Katelyn Clark and senior Angela Schroeder placed eighth and ninth, with a clearance of 3.36 meters.
Freshman Ashley West continued her strong season with a third place finish in the high jump, with a clearance of 1.68 meters. Freshman Linda Roldan and junior Jamie Rylands placed fifth and sixth in the event, with a clearance of 1.58 meters.
West also had a PSAC-qualifying leap in the long jump, with a leap of 5.43 meters to place fourth.
She earned PSAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for her efforts at Ashland.
Freshman Cassandra Swartzbaugh took fifth in the 400-meter hurdle, with a time of 1:06:70, while sophomore Amanda Feiser took eighth, with a time of 1:07:52.
Freshman Bronte Soul placed third in the triple jump, with a leap of 10.94 meters.
For the throwers, senior Kim Goth placed second in the javelin event, with a throw of 36.68 meters.
Junior Amanda McCool hit the PSAC-qualifying mark in the hammer event, placing 12th, with a toss of 46.10 meters. Junior Allyson Hubble took 15th, with a toss of 45.27 meters. She also hit the PSAC-qualifying mark in the shot put event, placing 18th, with a toss of 11.27 meters.
Freshman Breanna Northcott took 20th, with a toss of 11.10 meters. She also placed 24th in the discus, with a throw of 35.06 meters.
Hubble said that the event featured heavy competition, and she looked forward to it.
“We were able to watch some of the best hammer throwers in the country compete, including Olympians,” Hubble said. “Being able to watch high-caliber athletes, that are considered some of the best in the world, doing your event is one of the most exciting parts of being a track and field athlete.”
Head coach John Papa is confident in his team, and believes in they’ll finish the season strong.
“The team is at its best at the right team of the year,” Papa said. “This momentum should propel us to some outstanding performances at the PSAC meet in two weeks.”
The ladies will host the SRU Last Chance meet on Friday. This is their last meet before the PSAC Championships at Millersville May 9-11.
