ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's and women's track and field teams had a successful opening weekend the Lenoir-Rhyne Home Opener combining to win 23 of 42 events at the two-day meet. The teams also combined for five provisional qualifying marks to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships which will be held May 27-29 in Allendale, Mich.
"It was a great opening weekend for us," Lewis head men's and women's track and field coach
Dana Schwarting said. "We had a few events that didn't go our way, but overall, I was impressed with everybody.
"It's been a long wait to compete, but the kids were excited that they got to showcase their hard work."
On the women's side, the Flyers won 13 events and got provisional qualifying marks from
Jamie Poppen (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) in the pole vault,
Anna Laudizio (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) in the triple jump,
Jada Hoffman (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) in the 100 meters and
Grace Harris (Dousman, Wis./Homeschooled) in the 400 meters.
Laudizio picked up her first event win in the long jump with a jump of 5.65 meters (18-06.50) and followed it up winning the triple jump with a leap of 11.95 meters (39-02.50).
The Flyers also got top five performances in the long jump from
Jaden Christian (Braidwood, Ill./Braidwood (Reed-Custer)) who was second at 5.56 meters (18-03.00) and
Rachael Ramon (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finished fifth with a leap of 5.25 meters (17-07.50).
Lewis took five of the top six spots in the triple jump with Laudizio,
Alecea Cardillo (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North),
Tsitsi Mahachi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior School) and Christian claiming the top four spots.
Natasha Bernett (McAlpin, Ill./Lane Tech),
Aliza Van Den Elzen (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville) and Poppen went first, second and third in the javelin throw. Bernett had a heave of 37.57 meters (123-03), Van Den Elzen's best toss was 36.06 meters (118-04) and Poppen's was 35.18 meters (115-05).
Ratkoslava Karac (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield),
Alyssa Betlejeski (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) and
Kylie Wymer (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) finished second, third and fifth respectively in the discus throw. Karac was the runner-up with a heave of 38.30 meters (125-08), Betlejeski was third at 36.71 meters (120-05) and Wymer's best throw was 34.13 meters (112-00).
Van Den Elzen finished in a tie for third in the high jump clearing the bar at 1.45 meters (4-09.00).
Poppen and
Katelyn Gall (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) finished first and second respectively in the pole vault. Poppen cleared a height of 3.67 meters (12-00.50) while Gall cleared the bar at 2.90 meters (9-06.25).
Kassady Learn (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) picked up her second event win of the weekend taking the top spot in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:45.06. She also won the 5,000 meters on Friday.
Bernett added her second event win of the afternoon winning the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 14.93 seconds while Van Den Elzen finished fourth with a time of 16.68 seconds.
Harris and
Allison Heinzer (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland HS) went one and two in the 400 meters with Harris posting a winning time of 55.02 seconds while Heinzer's time was 57.34 seconds.
Hoffman, Rose Ogbuli ad
Alexandra Martinez (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfeild Central) finished first, second and fifth respectively in the 100 meters. Hoffman won the race in a time of 11.90 seconds while Ogbuli's time was 12.47 seconds and Martinez finished with a performance of 12.89 seconds.
The Flyers took the top four spots in the 200 meters with Harris winning the race in a time of 24.62 seconds while Hoffman was second at 24.84 seconds, Heinzer was third in a time of 24.86 seconds and Ogbuli finished at 26.07 seconds.
Lewis' 4x400 meter relay team of
Vivica Phillips (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South HS), Harris,
Kyla Chalmers (Elk Grove Village, Ill./James B. Conant) and
Essence Winters (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) won the event in a time of 3:58.81.
On the men's side,
Michael Lyons (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central HS) won the high jump by clearing a height of 2.05 meters (6-08.75) to pick up a provisional qualifying mark for nationals.
Zach Olenek (Algonquin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) and
Keegan Zack (Watseka, Ill./Watseka Community) went first and second respectively in both the long and triple jumps. Olenek won the triple jump with a leap of 14.47 meters (47-05.75) while Zack's best effort in the event was 14.32 meters (46-11.75). Olenek jumped 6.89 meters (22-07.25) to win the long jump while Zack leapt 6.79 meters (22-03.50) and Gerwin De Hann finished fourth in the event with a jump of 6.25 meters (21-06.25).
De Hann and Niklass Kurth finished first and third respectively in the javelin with DeHann winning the event with a heave of 50.44 meters (165.06) while Kurth's best throw was 45.04 meters (147-09).
Nick Krella (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) and D eHann went one and two in the men's pole vault. Krella cleared a height of 4.35 meters (14-03.25) as did DeHann.
Anthony Farmer (Elgin, Ill./Burlington Central) and
Zach Fresenko (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) took third and fourth in the 1500 run with Farmer finishing at 3:58.38 while Fresenko came in at 4:02.43.
Wagner, Lyons and De Hann finished first, third and fourth respectively in the 110 high hurdles. Walker won the event in a time of 15.18 seconds while Lyons finished at 17.16 seconds an DeHann came in at 31.71 seconds.
Jacoby Jones (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) and Walker tied for second in the 400 with both finishing at 49.96 seconds.
Reese Kocanda (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) took fourth in the 100 in a time of 11.05 seconds. Kocanda also had a second place finish in the 200 at 22.60 seconds.
The Flyers took four of the top five spots in the 800 with
John Partee (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) winning the race in a time of 1:56.43 while
Dan Ford (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) finished second at 1:56.81,
Ryan Wade (Kingston, Ill./Genoa-Kingston) came in third with a performance of 1:57.21 and Aubrey Smith was fifth at 1:59.09.
Lewis' 4x400 meter relay team of Wagner, Jones, Ford and Partee took second in the event in a time of 3:24.23.
The Flyers return to the track on Saturday (March 20) competing at the Lee University Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn.
