Washington U. Track & Field Teams Sweep Illinois Wesleyan Triangular

RESULTS

Bloomington, Ill., January 21, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s and women’s track & field teams combined to win 15 events on their way to sweeping the Illinois Wesleyan Triangular team titles on Saturday at the Shirk Center.

The WUSTL women scored 119 points to edge Illinois Wesleyan University who finished with 117. University of Chicago scored 77 points to finish third. On the men’s side, the Bears scored 138 points to win over Illinois Wesleyan (119) and Chicago (68). The top two finishers from each team counted toward team point totals at the meet.

Senior Erica Jackey led the Washington U. women by setting a school-record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.14 to finish second in the event. Jackey’s time bettered the previous record of 2:14.48 set by Natalie Badowski in 2007. Jackey also added a first-place finish in the mile with a season-best time of 5:06.40.

Sophomore Jasmine Williams won the high jump with a clearance of 1.61 meters. Initially the event was scored incorrectly, giving Illinois Wesleyan the two-point team victory, but a correction put Williams first in the high jump to give Washington U. the two-point victory. Senior Justin Pieper won the men’s high jump for Washington U. with a season-best clearance of 2.00 meters.

Sophomore Anna Etherington picked up her third win in the women’s pole vault in as many meets with a clearance of 3.30 meters. Other event-winners for the Washington U. women included sophomore Ahkianne Wanliss in the 55 meters in 7.57 seconds, senior Molly Wawrzyniak in the 3,000 in a season-best time of 10:23.87, and the distance medley relay in a time of 12:25.28.

In addition to Pieper’s win in the high jump, freshman Nicholas Alaniva and senior Tom Arnold also won field events for the WUSTL men. Alaniva, who was fifth in the 55 meters (6.82) and fourth in the long jump (5.93 meters), won the men’s pole vault with a season-best height of 4.42 meters. Meanwhile, Arnold recorded a season-best throw of 13.67 meters to win the shot put.

In the sprints, junior Ryan Doll clocked a season-best time of 6.67 to win the 55-meter dash, while senior Tyler Jackson crossed the finish line in 7.82 seconds to win the 55 hurdles for the Bears. Sophomore Arthur Townsend added a first-place finish in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 50.99.

Sophomore Austin Vanbastalaer also earned an event title, winning the mile with a season-best time of 4:23.50. Sophomore Kevin Sparks won the men’s 3,000 meters, finishing in a time of 8:40.67. Freshman Andrew Catanese made it a sweep of the distance events for the WUSTL men, winning the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:08.68.

The Washington U. track and field teams travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Jan. 28, to compete in the Engineer Invitational hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.