Results
ST. PAUL, MINN. – With only ten days remaining before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the St. Catherine University track and field team was looking for strong performances from its athletes at the University of St. Thomas Tommie Twilight in St. Paul, Minnesota. Strong performances are exactly what the Wildcats saw Wednesday afternoon as 11 athletes set personal records (PRs) and four more added season best times to highlight the team's final meet before the MIAC Championship.
The St. Kate's sprinters collectively put together their best performances of the season.
Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahtomedi) ran the best 400 meter dash of her career to take seventh with a final time of 60.37 seconds, which is not only a season best time for Thoemke, but a career best time as well. The sophomore was in fourth place in her heat after the first turn, but pushed through in the final leg to shave over .3 seconds off her previous best time to finish in the top eight in the race overall.
Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding) continued her strong spring at the Tommie Twilight as well. She just barely missed setting a PR and the school record in the 200 meter dash with a fifth place finish and final time of 26.78 seconds. Wells-Johnson also collected a season best performance in the 100 meter hurdles, taking second with a final time of 15.28 seconds.
Ici Kelley (Robbinsdale, Minn. / St. Louis Park),
Sydia Reeves (Vadnais Heights, Minn. / North St. Paul), and
Maita Lee (Little Canada, Minn. / Roseville) all recorded PRs in the sprint events Wednesday evening. Kelley recorded a personal best performance in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, while Reeves set a PR in the 200 and Lee in the 100 respectively.
Six of the Wildcats 11 personal records were recorded in the distance races, and each was set by a different athlete. First years
Jackie Brine-Doyle (Merrifield, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) and
Sam Witmer (Troutdale, Ore. / Reynolds) both set PRs in the first distance race of the afternoon, the 3000 meter steeplechase race. Brine-Doyle finished the long run in 12:48.74, which moves her into the No. 6 spot in St. Kate's top-10 performance list. Witmer finished in 13:28.17, which just missed breaking through the top-10 barrier by under 10 seconds.
One week after setting a personal best time in the steeplechase,
Jenna Thompson (Maple Grove, Minn. / Osseo) recorded another PR in the 1500 meter run. The junior middle distance specialist finished the race in 5:39.59 for her second personal best performance in just four days.
Catherine Degen (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes)
Ellie Cardinal (Burnsville, Minn. / Eastview) and
Michelle Perri (Plymouth, Minn. / Osseo) each finished the longest race of the night, the 5000 meter run, with personal best times of 19:56.05, 20:16.48, and 20:35.66 respectively. Their teammates
Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes),
Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn. / Greenbush-Middle River), and
Stacey Wherley (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) had similar success in the much shorter 800 meter run. Strickland won her heat and took sixteenth place behind a 2:27.38 performance in the race, while Kirkede was just a few places behind in eighteenth with a time of 2:27.96.
St. Kate's was also extremely successful in the field events and continued to find success in the javelin throw and long jump.
Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn. / Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) won the javelin event and just missed setting a personal and school record with her throw of 41.29 meters. Her teammate
Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn. / Eastview) was not far behind in second place as she threw for a final distance of 39.86 meters.
Dani Breault (Anoka, Minn. / Anoka) finished in the top five for the Wildcats as well with a PR of 37.86 meters.
Pohlmann also had success in the hammer throw and nearly set another PR when she took fourth behind a throw of 39.21 meters.
Kaylea Hoenigschmidt took sixth in the event with a throw of 34.24 meters.
Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) had yet another impressive performance in the long jump competition. The first year took second in the competition behind a jump of 5.09 meters.
St. Kate's will take the next 10 days off before traveling to Collegeville, Minnesota to compete in the annual MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The penultimate meet will be hosted at St. John's , University this season and more information, including a meet schedule and preview, will be available in the upcoming days.
