BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field team took first place in the Dr. William Taraschke Classic on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse.
The BW women were first of three teams with 132 points while Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) College came in second with 90 points and Muskingum University placed third with 84 points.
In her first meet of the season, sophomore All-OAC thrower Jillian Roberts (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) won the shot put event with a throw of 41 feet, 3.25 inches. Sophomore thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) won the weight throw for the second consecutive week with a toss of 46'9.5" and was also the runner up in the shot put with a toss of 40'2.75".
Freshman jumper Abby Lewicki (Medina/Highland) won her first collegiate pole vault event with a mark of 8'10.25" while junior jumper Abby Weagraff (Cochranton, Pa./Meadville) took third with a 7'10.5" jump. In the triple jump, junior jumper Jessica Edwards (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) won with a mark of 33'5.25".
The distance runners turned in a great meet as the Yellow Jackets brought home wins in four different events. Sophomore All-OAC distance runner Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit), the reigning OAC Women's Track Athlete of the week, ran a career-best time of 18:29.48 to finish as the runner-up in the 5,000-meter event while sophomore All-OAC distance runner Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View) finished third with a time of 18:35.17. Brennan followed up that career-best performance by winning the 800-meter run in a time of 2:18.83. Freshman distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) won the 1-mile run in 5:32.93 while freshman distance runner Rebecca Penrose (Springfield/Shawnee) took fourth in a time of 5:38.52. Sophomore distance runner Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon) won the 1,000-meter run with a career-best time of 3:17.17. In the 3,000-meter run, freshman Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) won in a time of 11:48.31.
Junior sprinter Grace Nemeth (Medina), freshman sprinter Ky'leana Allen (Columbus/Bishop Hartley), sophomore sprinter Beth Plas (LaGrange/Keystone) and senior sprinter Carlynn Arthur (Danville) swept the top four spots in the 200-meter dash in times of 26.03 seconds, 27.83 seconds, 28.43 seconds and 28.49 seconds, respectively while Nemeth was also the runner-up in the 55-meter dash with a career-best time of 7.53 seconds.
In relay action, the team of Penrose, freshman distance runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover), Fowler and Brennan won the 4x400 relay in a time of 4:16.05.
BW will hit the road for the first time this season to compete in the Hillsdale "Wide Track" Classic, hosted by Hillsdale (Mich.) College Friday and Saturday, February 2-3, inside the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center.
