Results The St. Catherine University track and field had a strong start to the outdoor season a week ago and hoped to continue with the same momentum in its second meet of the season at the Concordia University, St. Paul Holst Invitational. With two school records including a meet record in the javelin from
Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle), the Wildcats finished the day with a strong performance Saturday in St. Paul.
After a breakout rookie season in throws, Pohlmann has been off to an even better start to her sophomore campaign as she set and new school record and a Holst meet record in the javelin Saturday. Her mark of 35.44 meters (116-03) was good enough to take over the top spot in the St. Kate's record books and help the Wildcats finish 1-2-3-4 in the event.
Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) was second for the Wildcats in just her second appearance in the event with a throw of 32.71 meters (107-04).
Dani Breault (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) was third and just behind Besch with a throw of 31.10 meters (102-00), while
Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) was fourth at 29.40 meters (96-05).
The other school record came from a familiar face as
Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./Harding) bettered her school record in the 100-meter dash with a second-place win in the finals. The sophomore ran the third-fastest time of the meet in the prelims with a time of 12.56. Then, in the finals she clocked in just behind the top finisher from Division II St. Cloud State University with a new record time of 12.15. Her time remains the fastest in the MIAC this season and ranks ninth-best in all of Division III.
Not only did the Wildcats set two new records, the Wildcats also had several program top 10 performances. After narrowly entering the Wildcats' top 10 in the hammer throw a week ago, first-year
Claire Vasilis (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) had a new personal record (PR) to solidly mark her place in the records. The rookie is now No. 9 all-time with a mark of 39.92 meters (131-00).
The other top 10 performances came in the distance events.
Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) and
Jenna McElroy (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) finished just tenths from each other in the 1,500-meter dash to claim the No. 7 and No. 9 spots, respectively, in the top 10. Strickland clocked in at 4:59.06, while McElroy crossed the line at 4:59.45.
Natalie Barclay (South Barrington, Ill./Christian Liberty Academy) also had a top 10 performance in her debut in the 3,000-meter steeplchase with 14:03.15.
Other notable performances of the day come from Pohlmann who had a PR mark of 38.57 meters (126-06) in the weight throw and Palmer who had a PR mark of 4.48 meters (14-8.5) in the long jump.
Marie Morrier (Hudson, N.H./Academy for Science and Design) also had a PR in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:14.41.
Johannah Wyrick (Gilbert, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert) was just behind Morrier at 1:14.46 in the same event during her debut.
Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn./Greenbush-Middle River) also had a PR in the 800-meter run at 2:29.06, while
Emily Hohenshell (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) had a PR in the same event at 2:41.08.
Jenna Thompson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) had PR in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:09.45.
The Wildcats return to action next week at the Hamline University Twilight Meet Wednesday evening. The meet is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul.
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