BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field teams were the runners-up of the Dr. William Taraschke Team Challenge, hosted on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse.
Two teams each from the Ohio Athletic Conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) competed in the meet. BW finished second of the six teams with 136 points while fellow OAC school Otterbein University won the meet with 199 points.
Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) won the weight throw with a career-best mark of 50 feet, 9.25 inches. In just her first collegiate meet, freshman thrower McKenzie Burke (Atwater/Waterloo) placed fourth in the same event when she threw 45'5.75". Buckhannon also placed fourth in the shot put by tossing 40'8.75". Senior Academic All-OAC jumper Jessica Edwards (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) took third in the triple jump with a leap of 32'9".
Dashing to career-best times on the track were senior All-OAC sprinter Grace Nemeth (Medina) and sophomore All-OAC sprinter Ky'leana Allen (Columbus/Bishop Hartley). Allen was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:03.02 while Nemeth placed third in the 55-meter dash in 7.46 seconds. Nemeth also ran another career best in the 200-meter dash, finishing second in a time of 26 seconds flat.
Freshman sprinter/hurdler Amanda Milo (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) was the runner-up 55-meter hurdle finals in a time of 8.55 seconds. Milo also placed fifth in the 200 in a time of 27.37 seconds.
In distance, junior outdoor All-American distance runner Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) and junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View) swept the top two spots in the 3,000-meter run. Brennan won the event in a time of 10:24.73 while Pendola was closely behind in second with a time of 10:31.11. In the same event, freshman distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) finished fourth in a time of 10:43.74. Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon) finished third in the 800-meter run as she crossed the line in 2:28.13.
Turning to relay action, Fowler, sophomore All-OAC distance runner Rebecca Penrose (Springfield/Shawnee), freshman distance runner Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas) and sophomore All-OAC distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) won the distance medley relay in a time of 13:07.64. The 4x400-meter relay team of Fowler, Allen, Vinci and Milo placed second with a time of 4:21.35.
BW will compete again in the two-day Hillsdale "Wide Track" Open on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2, at hosted by NCAA Division II Hillsdale (Mich.) College inside the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center.
