BEREA, Ohio – Several members of the Baldwin Wallace University women's outdoor track and field teams competed in an NCAA Last Chance meet.
Distance runners competed at the Gregory Final Qualifier, hosted by North Central (Ill.) College, while the throwers competed in the same state at the Twilight Qualifier, hosted by Augustana (Ill.) College. The sprinters stayed close to home at the Great Lakes Final Qualifying meet, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University.
Gregory Final Qualifier
Junior two-time All-American distance runner Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) and freshman All-Ohio Athletic Conference distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) combined for three event wins during the second day of action at the Gregory Final Qualifier. Brennan got her day started with a career-best time of 4:36.25 to win the 1,500-meter run and then followed it up in the 800-meter run with a winning time of 2:11.93. Laughner led the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the entire race and crossed the finish line in a time of 11:13.12.
Competing alongside Brennan in the 1,500 and 800 were junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View), sophomore All-OAC distance runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) and junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon). Pendola placed sixth in the 1,500 in a time of 4:52.47 while Kile finished 13th in the same event in 5:03.39. In the 800, Fowler was just 0.06 seconds off her career best time as she ran 2:21.60 to take 16th and Kile was 22nd in 2:33.50. Additionally, Pendola competed in the 5,000-meter run Wednesday night and finished as the runner-up in a time of 18:11.88.
Twilight Qualifier
Two junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC throwers in Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) and Jillian Roberts (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Hts.) competed at the Twilight Qualifier. Buckhannon finished fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 165 feet, 6 inches while Roberts hit a season-best mark of 40'11" to place 10th in the shot put.
Great Lakes Final Qualifying Meet
Freshman All-OAC hurdler Amanda Milo (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and senior All-OAC sprinter Grace Nemeth (Medina) represented the Yellow Jackets at the Great Lakes Final Qualifying meet. Milo posted the top collegiate time in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries with a career best of 14.37 seconds, which currently puts her 13th in the country. The freshman then placed third in the 100 hurdle finals in a time of 14.58 seconds. Nemeth also recorded a career best in her preliminary heat of the 100-meter dash as she ran 12.31 seconds and then ran 12.43 seconds to take third in the finals. The senior capped off her career with a runner-up finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.94 seconds.
The Yellow Jackets will now wait and see which athletes qualify to the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted Thursday through Saturday, May 23-25, at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
