By: Erin Madden
BEREA, Ohio - The 15th-nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's outdoor track and field team were the runners-up in its home-opening meet of the outdoor season, the 51st Sparky Adams Invitational hosted inside George Finnie Stadium.
BW finished second of five teams with a total of 142 points while Otterbein University won the meet with 155 points.
Leading an all Yellow Jackets crew in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) won the event in a time of 11:04.18, which ranks second in NCAA Division III at the time of the meet. Senior All-OAC distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) was the runner-up in 11:21.36, putting her fourth nationally in the event, while senior All-OAC distance runner Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) placed third in a career-best 12:13.49. Freshman All-OAC distance runner Hope Murphy (Mogadore) also claimed an event victory in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line in a career-best 2:18.59 to rank ninth in Division III at the start of the meet.
As the lone entrant in the 400-meter hurdles, freshman distance runner Cassie Kolonchuk (Canal Winchester) earned 10 points toward BW's team total as she finished the event with a time of 1:16.44. Junior All-OAC sprinter Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas) finished as the runner-up in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:03.89 and freshman All-OAC distance runner Kamaria Montgomery (Louisville/Canton GlenOak) placed third in the same event in 1:06.99. Sophomore distance runner Claire Hollon (North Canton/Hoover) finished third in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 19:06.78.
In relay action, the team of Laughner, Murphy, Otte and Marek combined to win the 4x800-meter relay in a time of 9:38.02. As the only team competing in the 4x400-meter relay, Vinci, sophomore distance runner Jenna Kaiser (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge), Montgomery and Kolonchuk added 10 points to the team total by finishing in a BW season-best time of 4:36.57.
Out in the field, senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) won the hammer throw for the third consecutive meet as she hit a mark of 164 feet, 11 inches. The senior was also the runner-up in the discus throw when she tossed 130'5" on her final attempt. Sophomore jumper Jenna Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) recorded a pair of third-place finishes with a mark of 14'11.5" in the long jump and 32'3.75" in the triple jump.
BW will return to the track on Saturday, April 10, for the Greg Tyson Jr. Invitational, hosted by Heidelberg University, beginning at 11 a.m. inside Hoernemann Stadium.
