Results

River Falls, Wis. – The season may have just started, but the St. Catherine University track and field team is already performing like its midseason. The Wildcats were firing on all cylinders on Saturday, as the team won the Falcon Invite at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with an overall team score of 127, thanks to multiple personal records (PRs) and first place finishes from multiple student-athletes.

St. Kate's had five individuals win events, including distance runners Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn. / Greenbush-Middle River) and Leighlin Ahlstrom (White Bear Lake, Minn. / White Bear Lake). Kirkeide was not only impressive in her season debut in the 800 meter run. She was victorious. The senior finished the race in 2:33.75 and beat the second place finisher by mere tenths of a second.  

Ahlstrom's impressive first year with the Wildcats continued, as she won the 5000 with a time of 18:48.01. However, Ahlstrom did not just win the 5k at the Falcon Invite. She also cemented her place in the St. Kate's record book, with the third fastest time in program history.

The sprinters were also extremely successful on Saturday in River Falls, Wisconsin. Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahtomedi) carded her first individual victory of the season with a strong performance in the 400 meter dash. Thoemke won the race with a time of 1:04.30, which was three seconds faster than the second place finisher from Saint Mary's.

Senior sprinter Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding) continued to dominate in the sprint events. Wells-Johnson won the 55 meter dash with a season-best time of 7.54. The senior also made her debut in the 55 meter hurdles for the season, taking second in the race behind UW-River Falls Sarahlynn Linkert with a time of 9.06.

Fellow sprinters Liza Leja (Abams, Wis. / Oconto Falls), Liliya Kirkova (Burnsville, Minn. / Burnsville) and Sydia Reeves (Vadnais Heights, Minn. / North St. Paul) joined Wells-Johnson in the 55 meter dash finals after posting season best times in the opening rounds. Kirkova finished fourth in the event with a season best time of 7.72 in finals while Leja and Reeves finished in sixth and eighth respectively. Leja clocked a season best time of 7.90 in the finals, while Reeves time of 8.22 was also a season best. Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) finished just outside the top-8 in the qualifying heats of the 55 meter dash. The sophomore recorded a PR in the event with a time of 8.61 before taking third in high jump later in the day.

Three Wildcats, including Kirkova and Reeves, also recorded PRs in the 200 meter dash. Kirkova finished in third place with a PR time of 27.73, while Reeves was seventh with a time of 30.15. Ici Kelley (Robbinsdale, Minn. / St. Louis Park) was the final student-athlete from St. Kate's to clock a PR in the 200 with a time of 32.43.

The Wildcats also excelled in the field events. Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) was second in the long jump after jumping a distance of 5.20. That number is second all-time in St. Kate's history.

Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn.  / Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) also found her way onto St. Kate's top-10 list in the weight throw. Pohlmann won the event with a PR throw of 14.47 meters, which is second all-time in the history of the program.
 
The Wildcats will return to competition on Saturday, February 4 when they compete at the Bethel Invite at Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota.