Results
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University track and field team has seen a lot of success in recent weeks. On Friday, several Wildcat distance runners had career days on the track, while the throwers won three individual events at the St. Olaf Manitou Classic. On Saturday, the success carried over to St. Kate's sprinters and jumpers, as more school record and personal records (PR) fell at the Holst Invite on Concordia-St. Paul's campus.
Liliya Kirkova (Burnsville, Minn. / Burnsville) wasted no time breaking the school record she set just a week ago. The first year sprinter broke 26 seconds for the first time in her career, finishing the 200 meter dash in 25.99, demolishing her own school record time of 26.10. That time was good for eighth in the race behind runners from Division I and II institutions and was the second fastest time amongst Division III runners. Kirkova also finished tenth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.86.
Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding) was in top form for the Wildcats at the Holst Invitational. The senior took fifth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.65, which is her fastest time of the spring so far.
Sydia Reeves (Vadnais Heights, Minn. / North St. Paul) PRed with a time of 13.64, while teammate
Ici Kelley (Robbinsdale, Minn. / St. Louis Park) clocked a new PR in the 200 meter dash with a time of 30.08.
St. Kate's 4x400 relay team clocked its best time of the season Saturday afternoon. The team of Kirkova,
Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahotemdi),
Teagan Tretter (Kronenwetter, Wis. / DC Everest) and Reeves finished the race in 4:20.67, a season best time by several seconds.
The Wildcats were also impressive in the field events, as
Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) won her second event of the weekend. The sophomore jumper won the long jump competition, thanks to a jump of 5.39 meters, and was also impressive in her triple jump debut. Thompson finished seventh in the event with a jump of 10.24 meters. That is not only a PR for the sophomore, but also stands seventh all time in program history.
St. Kate's will return to action at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29 when it competes at Macalester College in the Janis Ridder Invite.
