By: Erin Madden

ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field team took third in a meet hosted by the University of Mount Union inside the Peterson Field House. 

BW finished third of three teams with 54.5 points while the host Purple Raiders won the meet with a total of 121.5 points. 

The Yellow Jackets had two individual event wins from senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) and junior All-OAC distance runner Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas). Marek, the reigning OAC Track Athlete of the Week, was less than a second away from breaking another school record when she won the 1-mile run in a career-best 4:59.60. That performance further solidifies her hold as the second-best in the mile in all of NCAA Division III at the start of the meet. Vinci also turned in a career best of her own, winning the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:03.31. 

Completing a one-two BW sweep in the mile was junior all-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain). She finished as the runner-up in the event in 5:10.43, less than a second off her career best mile time. Marek competed in the first 500-meter dash of her career and placed third in a time of 1:22.22. Meanwhile, junior Academic All-OAC distance runner Jenna Daulbaugh (Minerva) also recorded a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter run in 12:55.58. 

Senior Academic All-OAC jumper Stephanie Magvas (Westlake/Magnificat) had the best result in the field for the Yellow Jackets when she tied for third in the high jump after clearing a mark of 4 feet, 7 inches. Sophomore thrower Abby Rodriguez (Grandivew, Wash./Prosser) added a fifth-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 36'2". 

The BW women will conclude the indoor season at the OAC Championships on Friday, March 5, hosted by Otterbein University inside the Clements Recreation Center.