New Wilmington, PA. - The final stretch run to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships kicked off Saturday with the Wheeling Women's Outdoor Track & Field team competed at the Westminster Invitational. It was a big day on the track, with the Cardinals picking up three top 10 finishes to go along with five total on the day. The Cardinals continued their pish towards the championship event as they look to compete for spots on the podium later this month.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was junior Madison Conrad, who ran in the 10,000 Meter run. She would run the event for the first time this season, and took third overall with a time of 40:18.35 in her first run. She finished just 1:18 off the top mark, set by Geneva's Audrey McAlister, and was the top NCAA DII runner in the field. It was a new collegiate PR in the event for the sophomore, and was the third different event she has run during the outdoor season. She has competed in the 5000 and 1500 during the season, setting both of her PR's in that event back at the Tim Weaver Invitational. When they combined the times of both the men's and women's races, Conrad was still able to finish in the top 15, taking 11th overall among both the male and female runners in the race.
The other top five finish on the day would come in the Discus Throw, where freshman Autumn Kerchner took the circle. She would finish with a distance of 37.91 meters, hitting the distance on her first throw of the day. She would throw 35 meters or better on three of her six throws on the day, and finished second among the Division II throwers in the field. The throw would be a PR for the freshman by 1.66 meters and was the first of two events for Kerchner. She would come back in the Shot Put, and earned a 22nd place finish with a distance of 9.90 meters. This was her second PR of the day as she beat her mark from the Tim Weaver Invitational by .26 meters. It continued the success for Kerchner, who looks to be a leader in the field events during the postseason.
The Cardinals would pick up two more top 10 finishes in the field events, coming in the High Jump and the Pole Vault respectively. Up first was the High Jump, with Fenne Sienaert as the only competitor for the Cardinals. She would take 10th in the field, hitting a height of 1.47 meters, equaling her jump from the Women's Heptathlon at the Tim Weaver Invitational. She would also compete in the 200-Meter Dash, where she set a PR of 27.54 seconds and finished 23rd in the field. The final top 10 finish would come in the Women's Pole Vault, where senior Jenna Smith would make her season debut. She would start her day at 2.36 meters, and cleared on the first attempt until the 3.11 meter mark. She cleared the height on the third attempt, and moved on to the 3.26 meters, where she cleared on her second jump. It was her first pole vault since last year as she returned to the field squad.
The final top 10 finish would come on the track courtesy of Jade Trowell, who competed in the 800-Meter run. Trowell would finish eighth overall in the event, running a time of 2:20.42 and finishing third among the NCAA DII athletes. The track events began with the 100-Meter Dash, where Nyja Short competed and finished 33rd overall with a time of 14.18. It would be the final run on the track for the Cardinals as the rest of the success would come in the field. Following Kerchner's Discus throw was Jalynn Shapley and Amber Yoho, with Shapley taking 19th at 31.27 meters and Yoho taking 31st at 28.60 meters. The throwers would also round out the day in the Shot Put, with Shapley finishing out the day. She threw a distance of 9.16 meters, finishing 33rd overall.
The Wheeling University Women's Outdoor Track & Field team returns to action on Friday, April 17th, when they compete at the Otterbein Twilight Invitational.
