Ten Event Titles Propel Washington U. Women to First, Men to Third at Rose-Hulman Twilight
RESULTS
Terre Haute, Ind., April 20, 2012 – Sophomore Sarah Fisher and senior Erica Jackey each set school records to lead the Washington University in St. Louis women’s track & field team to the team championship at the Rose-Hulman Twilight on Friday evening. The WUSTL men had three individual champions to earn third in the team standings.
Washington U. won seven events and scored 185 points on the women’s side to win the team title over runner-up DePauw University (117.50). Wabash College won the men’s team title with 173.66 points, while Rose-Hulman scored 117.50 to edge the Washington U. men (115) for second place.
Fisher ran the fastest time in NCAA Division III this season (10:40.00) to break her own school record and win the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Fisher’s time bettered her previous career best by more than seven seconds and also set a new stadium record at the meet. Freshman Lucy Cheadle finished second in the race with a time of 10:44.69, which was also faster than the previous school record, and ranks fifth in Division III this season.
In the women’s 800, Jackey and senior Elizabeth Phillips ran the two fastest times in school history to finish first and second, respectively. Jackey won the race in a stadium-record time of 2:10.29, while Phillips finished second in 2:10.73. Both times were faster than the previous school record of 2:11.05 set by Phillips in 2011. In addition, the times for Jackey and Phillips rank third and fourth, respectively, on the Division III performance list.
The Washington U. men had three individual champions at the meet. Sophomore Caleb Ford clocked a stadium-record time of 8:43.90 to win the men’s 3,000, while sophomore Justin Rodriguez finished third in 8:59.10. Senior Wayne Banks and junior Justin Rackley earned the top-two spots in the men’s triple jump. Banks won the event with a leap of 12.61m, while Rackley was second with a mark of 12.53m. Senior Justin Pieper won the men’s high jump with a clearance of 1.97m.
Sophomore Shannon Howell was part of three individual titles for the Washington U. women. She won the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:04.81, and ran on two winning relays for the Bears as well. Howell teamed with sophomores Katie Sandson, Liz Godar and Ahkianne Wanliss to win the 400 relay in a time of 50.43. She also ran the anchor leg of the 1,600 relay, joining sophomores Nkele Davis, Jasmine Williams and Elizabeth Worley to win in 4:05.68. Howell also finished third in the 100 hurdles (15.80), just behind senior Amanda Matheson who clocked a time of 15.78 to place second.
In addition to racing on the winning 1,600 relay, Williams added an individual title in the women’s long jump with an outdoor career-best mark of 5.16m. Matheson also posted an outdoor career-best mark in the event, finishing fourth with a leap of 4.98m. Williams finished second in the women’s high jump with a clearance of 1.62m.
Sophomore Anna Etherington and freshman Claire Simons claimed first and second in the women’s pole vault, respectively. Etherington cleared 3.86m, just one centimeter shy of her school record set on April 7, to win the event. Meanwhile, Simons cleared a season-best height of 3.28m to finish second at the meet.
The Washington University track & field teams are next in action at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Championships being held on April 28-29 in Pittsburgh, Pa.