NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Concordia University Wisconsin women's track and field team kicked off their 2025 season with a strong showing, earning 50.5 points to finish fourth overall at the North Central College Invitational. North Central took the top spot with a commanding 216 points.

Sophomore Olivia Ebel (Mt. Clemens, Mich.) earned a point for the Falcons in the 400-meter, crossing the line in 1:04.83.

In the 800-meter, junior Danielle Van Grinsven (Appleton, Wis.) put together a standout performance, winning the event with a time of 2:25.89 to secure 10 points for the team.

Junior Melanie Arvis (Berwyn, Ill.) also claimed gold, outracing North Central's Marissa Magana to win the 1-mile in 5:28.28, adding another first-place finish for CUW.

The Falcons excelled in the 3,000-meter, with sophomore Emma Ahrens (Stephens City, Va.) and junior Ainara Sainz de Rosas (Madrid, Spain) finishing second and third, respectively. Ahrens posted a time of 10:31.48, just ahead of Sainz de Rosas, who finished in 10:31.55.

In the jumps, sophomore Emma Eilertson (Mukwonago, Wis.) took third in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.56 meters. Senior Maya Hielscher (Macomb, Mich.) also contributed points, clearing 1.45 meters to take sixth place.

Hielscher also scored in the long jump, posting a mark of 5.03 meters to finish eighth.

Junior Kate Kotula (Wyomissing, Pa.) added valuable points in both the pole vault and triple jump. She placed sixth in the pole vault with a height of 2.80 meters and also recorded a mark of 9.95 meters in the triple jump.

Sophomore Bryanna Mursch (Grafton, Wis.) rounded out the scoring for CUW with a throw of 12.07 meters in the shot put, securing one point for the team.

With a strong start to the season, the Falcons will look to build momentum in their upcoming competitions.