Washington University Women’s Track & Field Finishes Third, Men Fourth at WU Invite

RESULTS

St. Louis, Mo., March 31, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men’s and women’s track & field teams posted six performances ranking in the top-three in school history in their respective events as the Washington U. women finished third and men finished fourth at the Washington U. Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The WU women scored 70.5 points, finishing third in the 28-team field behind Saint Louis University (128) and Illinois Wesleyan University (74.33). On the men’s side, Washington U. finished fourth out of 32 teams with 56 points. University of Wisconsin-Platteville won the meet with 101.5 points, followed by Monmouth (69) and Southwest Baptist University (64).

Sophomore Anna Etherington and freshman Lucy Cheadle each won events to lead the Washington U. women. Etherington cleared a career-best height of 3.75 meters to win the women’s pole vault. Her mark was the second-best all-time at Washington University, and just one centimeter shy of the school record. Sophomore Moira Killoran (3.20m) and freshman Claire Simons (3.05m) placed fourth and fifth in the event, respectively.

Cheadle clocked the third-fastest time in Washington U. history to win the women’s 5,000 meters. She won the race with a time of 17:10.23, ahead of sophomore Sarah Fisher who shaved more than a minute off her previous career best to finish second in 17:25.15.

The Washington U. men were led by four event runners-up. Sophomore Kevin Sparks finished second in the 10,000 with a time of 30:31.88, which ranks third in Washington U. history. Senior Michael Burnstein finished third in the event (30:36.67), while junior David Hamm was sixth (31:05.18).

Senior Ben Cutting recorded a throw of 52.01m to finish second in the javelin, and senior Justin Pieper placed second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.95m. On the track, senior Tyler Jackson finished second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.64.

Freshman Melissa Gilkey and senior Alison Andrews both improved on their career-best marks from the outdoor season opener to finish third and fourth in the women’s javelin, respectively. Gilkey’s mark of 38.94m ranks second in school history, while Andrews ranks third with a mark of 35.44m. Junior Lauren Mardis posted the third-highest point total in WU history in the women’s heptathlon (3,132), finishing 18th at the meet.

Senior Lacey Vogel and sophomore Shannon Howell also had third-place finishes for the Washington U. women. Vogel posted a season-best time of 11:39.67 to finish third in the 3,000 steeplechase, while Howell placed third in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:04.85.

Washington U. hosts its third-straight outdoor meet of the season, the Washington University Select Meet, on Saturday, April 7. Field events get underway at 11 a.m., with running events starting at 1 p.m.