Three School Records Fall for Washington University Track & Field at Dr. Keeler Invite

RESULTS

Naperville, Ill., May 11, 2012 – Seniors Erica Jackey and Elizabeth Phillips, and sophomore Anna Etherington each set school records to highlight several outstanding performances for the Washington University in St. Louis track & field teams at the Dr. Keeler Invite hosted by North Central College on May 10-11.

Jackey became the first athlete in school history to break 17 minutes in the women’s 5,000-meter run on Thursday. She finished third in the event with a school-record time of 16:57.38, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division III this season and bettered the previous school record of 17:00.78 set by Taryn Surtees in 2010. Freshman Lucy Cheadle also posted a season-best time, finishing fifth in 17:08.05, which is the fourth-fastest time in school history and ranks 18th in Division III.

Phillips broke Jackey’s school record in the women’s 1,500 with a runner-up time of 4:25.88. She finished second to Gina Valgoi of NCAA Division I Loyola University who clocked a winning time of 4:24.37. Phillips’ time moved her into second on the Division III performance list, and was nearly two seconds faster than Jackey’s record time of 4:27.73 from earlier this season. Phillips also added a fourth-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:11.54.

Etherington improved her own school record in the women’s pole vault by 14 centimeters, winning the event with a clearance of 4.01 meters. The mark ranks third in Division III this season. Etherington has now improved her personal best in the pole vault by 45 centimeters during the outdoor season.

In addition to Etherington’s win in the pole vault, the Washington U. women had three other event champions at the meet. Sophomore Sarah Fisher won the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 10:46.28. Senior Molly Wawrzyniak clocked a career-best time of 10:48.64 to finish as the runner-up, moving her into third on the all-time list at Washington University and also into 10th on the Division III list this season. Junior Anne Diaz-Arrastia won the triple jump with a leap of 11.44m, and sophomore Jasmine Williams cleared 1.63m to win the high jump.

Senior Tyler Jackson led the Washington U. men with a runner-up finish in the 110 hurdles. He ran a season-best time of 14.25 to finish just .09 of a second behind NCAA Division II Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville’s William Lindsey. Jackson was nearly .4 of a second ahead of the third-place finisher in the race, and moved into second on the Division III performance list with the time.

Freshman Melissa Gilkey also had a big day for the Washington U. women. She recorded a career-best throw of 40.36m to finish third in the javelin. Gilkey’s mark improved her previous best of 38.94m, which already ranked second on the WU all-time list. The mark ranks 21st on the Division III performance list this season.

Senior Justin Pieper and junior Ryan Doll each recorded fourth-place finishes for the WU men. Doll ran a career-best time of 21.96 to place fourth in the 200, while Pieper cleared 1.96m to tie for fourth in the high jump.

The Washington University track & field teams return to Naperville, Ill., to compete in the Gregory Invitational on Thursday-Friday, May 17-18. The meet will be the final tune-up for the Bears prior to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships on May 24-26 in Claremont, Calif.