SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's outdoor track and field team competed in the "Coach Rob" Invitational, hosted by Wittenberg University on the Earl F. Morris Track.
The BW women finished first of nine teams with 155 total points while Ohio Christian University took second with 111 points.
On the track, a pair of sophomore All-Ohio Athletic Conference distance runners in Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) and Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View) won two separate events. Brennan brought home the win in the 800-meter run in 2:19.95 while Pendola had the top time in the 5,000-meter run in 18:19.75. Freshmen distance runners Rebecca Penrose (Springfield/Shawnee) and Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) finished behind Brennan in the 800, taking second and third, respectively, in times of 2:24.62 and 2:26.01, marking a career best for Marek. Pendola and Marek also had two of the top three finishes in the 1,500-meter run. Pendola finished as the runner up in 4:49.76 while Marek took third with a time of 4:55.83. Sophomore distance runner Jordan Dascani (Toledo/Springfield) shaved almost 30 full seconds off her 3,000-meter steeplechase time as she completed the event in 13:16.12 as the only athlete competing. In the sprinting events, senior Carlynn Arthur (Danville) was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash, speeding along to a time of 1:04.16. Junior All-OAC sprinter Grace Nemeth finished third in the 100-meter dash in 12.80 seconds and then followed it up with a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash in a career-best time of 26 seconds flat.
Brennan, freshman distance runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover), sophomore distance runner Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon) and Penrose combined for a second place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing in 4:13.33.
In the field, junior jumper Abby Weagraff (Cochranton, Pa./Meadville) was the runner-up in the pole vault when she cleared a mark of 8 feet, 11.75 inches. Junior jumper Jessica Edwards (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) set a new career best in the long jump, leaping 14'10" to take seventh. Edwards also collected a fifth-place finish in the triple jump when she hit a mark of 32'7.5". Sophomore All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) placed third in the shot put with just one throw, hitting a mark of 37'0.5" while senior thrower Madison Phillips (Norwalk/St. Paul) also took third in the javelin throw by tossing 94'0". Buckhannon also finished second in the hammer throw with a career-best toss of 156'11" and senior thrower Madeline Ziccardi (Cuyahoga Falls) placed third with a mark of 151'4".
BW will be back in action on Saturday, April 7, when the Yellow Jackets compete in the John Homon Open, hosted by the University of Mount Union inside Mount Union Stadium.
