Results

To say the St. Catherine University track and field team had a good meet for its second outing of the early 2015 season would be an understatement. The Wildcats had an outstanding team performance as they took fourth out of eight teams at the UW-River Falls Winter Classic thanks to a record-setting performance from sophomore Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) in the triple jump Saturday in River Falls, Wisconsin. 

Palmer got her second season off on the right foot as she shattered the previous school record – a mark of 10.07 (33-0.5) set by Cori Quade in 2003 – as she jumped to a first-place event finish with a mark of 10.20 meters (33-5.75). She bettered her previous indoor personal record (PR) in the event by over seven inches and it ranks in the top-10 this season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). 

The Wildcats also got two strong performances from senior distance runner Jenna McElroy (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) who showed her versatility in running shorter distances with PRs in both the mile run and 800-meter run. McElroy finished second in the mile with a time of 5:36.83 that ranks No. 10 all-time at St. Kate's before finishing fourth in the 800-meter event with a PR time of 2:35.50. 

Fellow distance star Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) picked up where she left off from the cross country season as she raced to a first-place finish in the 1,000-meter run with a PR clocking of 3:12.81 that now ranks No. 7 all-time at St. Kate's. She had a five-second drop form her previous best as a rookie. 

First-year's Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn./Mahtomedi) and Johannah Wyrick (Gilbert, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert) had strong finishes in their collegiate debuts in the 400- and 800-meter events, respectively. Thoemke took second in the 400-meter dash and was just behind All-MIAC performer Emily Diener of Macalester College. Thoemke ran 1:02.67 and was just outside the St. Kate's top 10, while Wyrick finished third in the 800 with a time of 2:34.26. 

Sprinter Brittany Moore (Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) had a solid showing the 55-meter dash finishing fifth with a time of 7.61. Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) represented the Wildcats in the throws with a PR of 11.08 meters (36-4.25) in the weight throw. 

The Wildcats return to action next Saturday against top MIAC competition at the Bethel University Gene Glader Classic set for 11 a.m. in Arden Hills, Minnesota. 

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