Results 

Early in the 2015 season the St. Catherine University track and field team has already had several memorable performances and hoped they would be able to continue that as they faced some tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and regional competition at the Bethel University Gene Glader Classic. With sophomores Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./Harding) and Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) leading the way, the Wildcats had another solid team performance Saturday in Arden Hills, Minnesota. 

In her first appearance on the track this season, Wells-Johnson picked up right where she left off a year ago when she placed second at the MIAC Championships in the 60-meter dash. Wells-Johnson raced to a first place finish Saturday with a time of 7.84 that was just .04 seconds off her school record time from the indoor conference meet last year. She also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.81. 

After setting the school record in the triple jump a week ago, Palmer continued to show her strength in the jumps winning the event again Saturday and setting the school record again with a mark of 10.42 meters (34-2.25). Her mark is now a top-10 mark in the MIAC so far this season. She was just as strong in the long jump finishing fourth in a strong field thanks to a personal record (PR) mark of 4.69 meters (15-4.75) that just missed making the St. Kate's top-10 list. 

In the sprints, first-year Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn./Mahtomedi) had a solid performance in the 400-meter dash with a third-place time of 63.51, while Marie Morrier (Hudson, N.H./Academy for Science and Design) had a PR time of 65.32 to finish seventh. She also had a PR time of 2:33.33 in the 800-meter run that was fifth overall.

Brittany Moore (Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles with a prelim time of 9.80, before clocking in a 9.71 in the finals to finish fourth in the event. 

Johannh Wyrick (Gilbert, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert) turned in her second-consecutive PR in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:29.64 to place third and lead a strong group of mid-distance events for the Wildcats. Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn./Greenbush-Middle River) was third in the 1,000-meter run with a time 3:19.55.

Senior Jenna McElroy (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) had a strong race in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:07.15 that was just off her PR and was good enough for second overall. Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) made her collegiate debut in the event finishing eighth with a time of 11:37.96.

In the field events, Anna Macki (Becker, Minn./Monticello) placed No. 9 all-time at St. Kate's in the pole vault with a mark of 2.17 meters (7-1.5), while Claire Vasilis (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) had a PR in the weight throw with a mark of 11.07 meters (36-4). 

Other notable Wildcat track performances include Ellie Cardinal (Burnsville, Minn./Eastview) who had a PR time of 2:39.87 in addition to her PR in the 400-meter dash. Jenna Thompson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) also had a strong PR in the 400-meter dash, while Rachel Hall (Mendota Heights, Minn.) made a solid debut in the 3,000-meter run.

The Wildcats return to action next Saturday at the College of Saint Benedict Quad Meet scheduled for 2 p.m. in Collegeville, Minnesota. 

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