By: Erin Madden
ADA, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field team opened up the 2021 season with a third-place finish at the Joe Banks Invitational, hosted by Ohio Northern University inside the ONU Sports Center.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BW is competing in conference-only meets during the indoor season. The Yellow Jackets placed third of three teams with 81 points. OAC and crosstown rival John Carroll University won the meet with a total of 155 points.
Getting her collegiate career off to a great start, freshman distance runner Hope Murphy (Mogadore) won both the 1-mile run and the 800-meter run. She crossed the finish line in a time of 5:09.93 in the mile and then followed it up with a winning time of 2:22.60 in the 800. Both of Murphy's times currently rank second in NCAA Division III in their respective events.
Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) also notched an event win for the Yellow Jackets as she placed first in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 18:26.22. That time currently puts Laughner third in the country in the event. Meanwhile, freshman distance runner Kamaria Montgomery (Louisville/Canton GlenOak) was the lone entrant in the 500-meter run, earning seven points for BW's team total by crossing the finish line in 1:29.75.
Additional top-three finishes came from senior All-OAC distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) and junior All-OAC distance runner Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas). Marek was the runner-up in the 5,000 behind Laughner, finishing in a time of 18:26.22, which is currently good enough for fourth in the nation. Vinci placed third in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 1:06.29.
In relay action, the 4x200-meter relay team of freshman sprinter Lexie Gozdan (Canton/Massillon Perry), Vinci, sophomore distance runner Jenna Kaiser (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge) and senior Academic All-OAC jumper Stephanie Magvas (Westlake/Magnificat) won the event in a time of 1:57.34. The quad of senior distance runner Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West), Vinci, Murphy and Gozdan ran a time of 4:32.96 to finish as the runners-up in the 4x400-meter relay.
Sophomore thrower Abby Rodriguez (Grandview, Wash./Prosser) had the best result in the field for the Yellow Jackets when she placed third in the shot put with her longest toss of 32 feet, 11.75 inches. In her collegiate debut, freshman thrower Selena Shelley (Mentor) was not far behind her teammate with a fourth-place finish in the same event with a throw of 32'4.25". Freshman thrower Kenzie Shelton (Medina/Buckeye) placed fourth in the weight throw, hitting a mark of 37'3.25". Sophomore jumper Jenna Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) had two fourth-place finishes herself, leaping 14'11.5" in the long jump and 32'2.75" in the triple jump.
The Yellow Jackets will host their first of two home indoor meets on Sunday, February 7, when they welcome Capital University and Otterbein University to the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse. Field events begin at 11 a.m. while running events will follow at approximately 12 p.m. Please note that, due to the pandemic, no spectators will be allowed at BW's home indoor track meets.
