The St. Catherine University track and field team has been off to a solid start so far in 2015 thanks to several notable performances. However, the best so far came from sophomore Shakeela Wells-Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./Harding) who made her return to the track for the first time this year on Saturday. Â Following a breakout rookie season, Wells-Johnson was spectacular in the sprints for the Wildcats and therefore has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week.Â
Wells-Johnson raced to the fastest time in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash clocking in at 8.02 to qualify for the finals at the Bethel University Gene Glader Classic Saturday. Then, the sophomore sprinter raced to a first-place finish in the finals with a remarkable time of 7.84 that was just .04 seconds off her school-record time from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships last year.Â
Not only was she solid in her 60-meter debut, she raced to a seventh-plce finish in the 200-meter dahs with a time of 27.81. Her time came after she had won the 60-meter and ran on the team's 4 x 200-meter relay squad.Â
So far this season, Wels-Johnson's time in the 60-meter dash is the fastest in the MIAC and ranks No. 13 in the nation. Her 200-meter time is 20th in the MIAC.Â
Wells-Johnson and the remainder of the Wildcats will compete this Saturday at the College of Saint Benedict Quadrangular meet slated for 2 p.m. in Collegeville, Minnesota, on the campus of Saint John's University.Â
