WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin women's track and field team returned to competition on Saturday at the UW-Whitewater Squig Converse Invite, finishing eighth with 28 points. UW-La Crosse claimed the top spot with 161 points.
Senior Sabrina Moore (Park Ridge, Ill.) led the Falcons in the 60-meter dash, clocking 8.40 seconds in the prelims. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Emma Eilertson (Mukwonago, Wis.) finished in 10.00 seconds, while classmate Nina Alft (Kimberly, Wis.) set a personal best of 11.31 seconds.
Freshman Natiya Ballard (Stoughton, Wis.) also set a personal record in the 200-meter, leading CUW with a time of 27.96 seconds. Moore followed with a time of 28.17 seconds.
In the 400-meter, freshman Annabelle Gonnering (West Bend, Wis.) led the team, finishing in 1:06.05. Sophomore Olivia Ebel (Mt. Clemens, Mich.) placed ninth in the 800-meter run, crossing the line at 2:28.23.
The mile saw sophomores Kylee Camble (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Mikayla Becker (Plantation, Fla.) finish close together, placing ninth and tenth with times of 5:44.41 and 5:44.93, respectively.
Junior Danielle Van Grinsven (Appleton, Wis.) earned two points for the team with a seventh-place finish in the 3000-meter run, completing the race in 11:06.16.
The Falcons dominated the 5000-meter, sweeping the top three spots and earning 26 points. Junior Ainara Sainz de Rozas (Madrid, Spain) took first with a time of 17:53.63, followed by sophomore Emma Ahrens (Stephens City, Va.) in second, just three seconds behind. Junior Melanie Arvis (Berwyn, Ill.) finished third with 18:42.89, while sophomore Sydney Lechisin (Turtle Lake, Wis.) placed seventh in 22:11.46.
Eilertson also led CUW in the high jump with a mark of 1.52 meters, while freshman Amiyah Jackson (Beaver Dam, Wis.) cleared 1.42 meters. In the long jump, Ballard recorded a leap of 4.85 meters, and Jackson set a personal best with 4.74 meters.
The throwers had a strong showing, with four personal records. Sophomore Bryanna Mursch (Grafton, Wis.) led with a throw of 12.71 meters, followed by junior Kailey Ramaker (Cedarburg, Wis.) at 11.95 meters. Senior Jamie Maas (West Bend, Wis.) recorded 11.58 meters, and freshman Makenna Herbrand (Fond du Lac, Wis.) finished with 11.02 meters.
In the shot put, sophomores Morgan Feuker (Mount Pleasant, Wis.) and Paige Schreiber (Mukwonago, Wis.) led with throws of 10.35 meters and 10.15 meters, respectively. Meanwhile, in the pole vault, sophomore Caitlyn Weitzel (Fallston, Md.) and junior Kate Kotulta (Wyomissing, Pa.) both cleared 2.86 meters.
With the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) meet on the horizon, the Falcons will next compete at the Ripon Red Hawk Invite.
