LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's track and field team currently finds itself in fourth place after day one of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held here today at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on the UW-La Crosse campus.
The Blugolds scored 38 points through the first seven events. Host UW-La Crosse leads all schools with 53.33 points followed closely by UW-Stevens Point with 53 points and UW-Platteville with 40 points.
Steph Dunlavy (Sr.-Colby, WI) and Katryna Williams (Jr.-Watertown, WI) went 1-2 respectively in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Dunleavy won the event recording a time of 11:07.80. Williams, last year's steeplechase conference champion, finished second with a time of 11:16.38. Dunleavy is the fifth Blugold to win the WIAC 3,000-meter steeplechase championship and fourth in the last five years.
The 4 x 800-meter relay team of Monica Emerson (Jr.-Somerset, WI), Emily Holman (Jr.-Rochester, MN/Century), Melody Becker (So.-Osseo, WI/Homeschooled) and Lucy Ramquist (Sr.-River Falls, WI) finished second with a time of 9:20.64.
Marina Eggen (Jr.-Greenville, WI/Hortonville) completed day one of the heptathlon earning 2,631 points after four events. Eggen finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash while placing seventh in the shot put and tied for ninth in the high jump. Eggen also finished seventh in the individual long jump with a leap of 17-7.5 feet (5.37 meters).
Clara Williamson (Jr.-Skokie, IL/Niles North) finished third in the 10,000-meter run completing the race in 38:22.90. Callie Fischer (Fr.-Oneida, WI/Ashwaubenon) placed sixth in the same event with a time of 38:54.01.
Sam Anderson (Jr.-Forest Lake, MN) finished eighth in the hammer throw with a toss of 159-3 (48.53 meters).
Carly Fehler (Sr.-Oak Creek, WI) posted the top preliminary time in the 200-meter dash advancing to tomorrow's finals. Fehler's time of 24.20 seconds is currently the fastest time in NCAA Division III this season and sets a new school record breaking the previous time of 24.31 seconds set by Liz Kooistra on May 2, 2009 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Joining Fehler in tomorrow's 200-meter final will be Jessie Reineck (Jr.-Greenville, WI/Fox Valley Lutheran) who advanced with a time of 24.85 seconds.
Fehler also advanced to the finals of the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.95 seconds. Kelsey Worachek (Fr.-Appleton, WI/Xavier) and Lindsey Laufenberg (Sr.-Waunakee, WI) will join Fehler in the 100-meter final qualifying with times of 12.33 and 12.34 seconds, respectively.
Jessica Rupnow (Jr.-Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) leads three Blugolds advancing to the finals of the 400-meter dash. Rupnow completed her heat in 57.20 seconds. Sarah Glidden (So.-Greenville, WI/Hortonville) and Brooke Patterson (Sr.-Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) also qualified for the 400-meter finals posting times of 57.89 and 58.02 seconds, respectively.
The Blugolds will conclude competition tomorrow at the WIAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Action is set to begin at 9:00 a.m.
-KCM-
