Indianola, Iowa – The Omaha track & field team battled through windy conditions Friday at the Kip Janvrin Open.
The Mavericks started the day in the field events with Kaitlin Hellbusch clearing 5'2.25" in the high jump, earning her 3rd place.
In the long jump, Carrie Simonson took 8th place with a season-best jump of 18'1.50".
In the throws, Lucy Turner launched the javelin 120'2", a lifetime best by 10 feet, placing her 2nd overall and landing herself at #7 all-time in school history. Mary Fennessy finished 6th in the shot put with a toss of 43'5".
On the track, Vanessa Gunderson raced to 8th place and a lifetime best of 1:06.46 in the 400m hurdles.
Carrie Simonson finished 7th in the 200m with a time of 25.98.
In the 5000m, Zoe Christenson shaved four seconds off her lifetime best with a time of 19:25.00. Madeline Yardley finished 8th in her first 5K on the track with a time of 19:00.63. Maya Nachtigal finished 5th with a time of 18:00.64.
The 4x400m relay team of Brianna Fulton, Macy Persinger, Gwen Steffen, and Paige Blackford took first place with a time of 4:02.74.
"We had some people show up and compete," said head coach Chris Richardson. "Conditions will never be perfect and adversity will affect you if you let it affect you. There were some strong performances from some individuals that showed their strength and perseverance. As coaches, we always try and teach our student-athletes to be better people and leaders, but sometimes they teach us these lessons as well through their words and actions."
The Mavericks are back in action at the USD Twilight in Vermillion, South Dakota on Friday, May 6. The start time for the USD Twilight is set for 2:30 p.m.
