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ST. PAUL, MINN. - The St. Catherine University Track and field team could not have asked for a better start to the 2017 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championship. Thanks to multiple spectacular performances from several athletes, including two outstanding performances from Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding), the Wildcats sit in ninth place as a team with 21 total points.
 
The opening day belonged to Wells-Johnson, who entered the conference meet as one of the top sprinters in the MIAC. Friday evening, Wells-Johnson didn't just confirm she's one of the best female sprinters in the conference though. With her two performances in the 60 meter hurdles and 60 meter dash, the senior sprinter made the argument that she is the fastest woman in the conference. Wells-Johnson qualified for the finals of both the 60 meter hurdles and the 60 meter dash by winning her heat in both events. In the finals for the 60 meter hurdles, Wells-Johnson broke and reset her own school record in a race that required a photo finish to determine the leader. The senior's time of 9.02 was .01 behind first place finisher Gabby Knoll of Hamline, but was a PR and school record by .08.
 
Wells-Johnson solidified her place as the fastest woman in the conference, though, with her performance in the 60 meter dash. After yet another picture finish in the fastest event of the meet, Wells-Johnson and the Wildcats were forced to wait 45 minutes to find out who actually won. When the results finally came out, though, it was Wells-Johnson's name on top, as she won the event for the first time in her career with a season-best time of 7.85.
 
St. Kate's also found success in the field and distance events on opening night. Seniors Megan Pohlmann (Greg Eagle, Minn. / Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) and Katelyn Byers-Carter (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) both qualified for the finals of the weight throw event. Pohlmann entered the finals in seventh with her throw of 13.76 meters in the prelims while Byers-Carter was seeded ninth with a PR throw of 13.33 meters. Both stayed in their respective spots after finals to earn points for the Wildcats.
 
Leighlin Ahlstrom (White Bear Lake, Minn. / White Bear Lake) continued to impress in the distance events for St. Kate's. The first year finished in 13th in the 5000 meter run with a PR time of 18:39.83.
 
The Wildcats also put together an outstanding performance in the distance medley relay. The team of Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn. / Greenbush-Middle River), Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahtomedi), Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes) and Ahlstrom finished the relay in 13:00.44, the third fastest time in program history. The team also finished in eighth place, earning one point for St. Kate's total team score of 21.
 
Several other Wildcats also looked strong Friday afternoon and evening. First year Liliya Kirkova (Burnsville, Minn. / Burnsville) finished 10^th in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.13, .02 off the finals qualifying time of 8.11. Kaylea Hoenigschmidt (Ramsey, Minn. / Anoka) also competed in the weight throw event, finishing in 15^th with a throw of 12.71 meters.
 
Thanks to these outstanding performances, St. Kate's sits in ninth place as a team with 21 points, just a little under seven points behind Concordia-Moorhead, which sits in eighth with 29.33 points.
 
The Wildcats will return to competition tomorrow for the second and final day of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the women's high jump, which will feature St. Kate's very own Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego). Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) is also set to make her MIAC debut in the long jump, and several other Wildcats will return to the University of St. Thomas indoor track.
 
For more information about the 2017 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship, please visit the MIAC's official championship page.