ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field teams opened the 2016 season as they finished third at the Ohio Athletic Conference North Split Meet hosted by the University of Mount Union in the Peterson Fieldhouse.

The OAC North Split meet consists of BW and Mount Union along with Heidelberg University, John Carroll University and Ohio Northern University.  The OAC's other five teams – Capital University, Marietta College, Muskingum University, Otterbein University and Wilmington College are competing at the OAC South Split Meet hosted by Marietta.

The fifth nationally ranked Yellow Jackets were third of five teams with 94 points.  Ohio Northern won the meet with 165 points.  

BW was led by senior two-time indoor All-American multi-event athlete Melanie Winters (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) as she won three events.   Winters captured the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and long jump. She won the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.94 seconds, the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.99 seconds and the long jump with a mark of 18 feet and 11.25 inches.  Winters' mark in the long jump is the best in Division III and her time in the 60-meter hurdles is the third fastest.

In addition, senior All-American thrower Kim Gallavan (Auburn Township/Kenston)  as she won the weight throw with a mark of 57' 3.3.75 and was second in the shot put with a mark of 44' 8".  Gallavan's mark in the weight throw is the second best in Division III and her mark in the shot put is the fourth best. All-OAC Junior jumper Erin Kasper (Amherst/Marion Steele) won the high jump with a career-best leap of 5'5.25" and was the runner-up in the long jump with a career-best mark of 17'5.25".  Kasper's mark in the high jump is tied for sixth in the nation.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Friday, January 29 when it hosts the annual Mid-January Meet on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse at 4 p.m.