Results

ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University track and field team has been off to a strong start this outdoor season. With 10 days remaining before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Championship meet, the Wildcats continued to impress at their final tune up race, the BearCat Invite at Concordia-St. Paul, as multiple student-athletes carded personal records (PR) and cracked the top-10 performance list.

Both the distance runners and sprinters found success at Concordia-St. Paul's track for the second time this season.  In the steeplechase, Sam Witmer (Troutdale, Ore. / Reynolds) broke through St. Kate's top-10 list for the first time in her career with a PR time of 13:19.30. The time is the tenth fastest in program history and the first top-10 time of Witmer's career.

Jackie Brine-Doyle (Merrifield, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) scored a PR time of 19:23.51 in the 5000 meter run, while teammate Leighlin Ahlstrom (White Bear Lake, Minn. / White Bear Lake) finished in 11^th.

Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes) recoded the eighth fastest time in program history in the 800 meter run, finishing the race in 2:22.09, which is also a PR.
Three Wildcats also competed in the 1500 meter run. Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn. / Greenbush-Middle River) was St. Kate's highest finisher with a time of 5:02.69, while Olivia Damron (Thiensville, Wis. / Homestead) and Michelle Perri (Plymouth, Minn. / Osseo) both recorded PRs in the race with times of 5:30.79 and 5:21.11 respectively.

Liliya Kirkova (Burnsville, Minn. / Burnsville) continued to impress, as she broke her own school record in the 200 meter dash for the third time this season. The first year finished the race in 25.92 seconds to take fourth place and break her own school record by .07. She also competed and qualified for finals of the 100 meter dash thanks to a prelim time of 12.73.

Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding) was the second-fastest qualifier in the 100 meter hurdles and clocked a season best time of 15.71.

Sydia Reeves (Vadnais Heights, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Ici Kelley (Robbinsdale, Minn. / St. Louis Park) both clocked PR's in the 100 meter dash. Reeves finished the race in 13.56 while Kelley clocked a time of 14.35. Kelley also recorded a PR in the 200 meter dash, finishing the race of 30.00.

Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahotmedi) clocked a season best time in the 400 meter dash of 1:01.83 and also put together a strong performance in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.85.

The field athletes also found success at the BearCat Twilight. Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) moved up to No. 7 all-time in the high jump, as she cleared a height of 1.52 meters. Kanani Asuncion (Rochester, Minn. / Century) looked strong in her long jump debut, as she finished the competition in sixth with a jump of 4.63 meters.

Throwers Kaylea Hoenigschmidt (Ramsey, Minn. / Anoka) and Katelyn Byers-Carter (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) looked impressive in both their respective events. Hoenigschmidt tied her PR in the hammer throw, finishing sixth with a throw of 43.39 meters. Teammate Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn. / Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) was not far behind, finishing in eighth with a throw of 40.61 meters.

Byers-Carter finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 11.40 meters, demonstrating consistency after an outstanding performance last week.

Some Wildcats will compete at various events over the weekend for one last tune up before the MIAC Outdoor Championships, which will take place May 12-13 at Hamline University.