Tulsa, Oklahoma – The Omaha track and field team competed at the Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Championships to conclude their 2022 spring season. 
 
The action began Thursday on the campus of Oral Roberts University with sophomore Taylor Ramaekers in the heptathlon. She started off strong by running a huge lifetime best 100m hurdle time of 15.02, beating her previous best by .61 seconds. She finished the first day of the pentathlon with another massive half-second PR in the 200m with a time of 27.02. 
 
In the hammer throw, freshman Mary Fennessy had the farthest throw for the Mavericks and her 3rd farthest throw ever with a distance of 143'5". She finished the season ranked #9 all-time in Omaha history. Sophomore Kinsey Scheffler threw a lifetime best of 133'0". 
 
In the other throwing event of the day, sophomore Lucy Turner threw a PR of 123'3" in the javelin which put her at #8 all-time in Omaha history. Senior Lori Vedder finished the day with a throw of 119'3" and ends her Maverick career ranked #3 all-time in the event. 
 
Friday began with a rain delay on the 2nd day of the pentathlon, but wet conditions didn't stop sophomore Kaitlin Hellbusch and senior Sheridan Rodriguez from tying for 7th place in the high jump, each with a clearance of 5'3.25". Rodriguez finishes her Maverick career as a two-time All-Summit performer which included a runner-up finish at the 2021 indoor championships and #9 ranking indoors and #10 ranking outdoors in Omaha history. 
 
In the discus, Lucy Turner continued her strong season with a PR throw of 130'5" and the #10 spot in the Omaha top 10 list. 
 
Action on the track for the Mavericks began with junior Carrie Simonson and sophomore Nina Cuevas in the 100m. Simonson sprinted to a 12.25, a college best and 2nd fastest time of her career. Cuevas beat her PR from the previous week to finish with a time of 12.20, just missing qualifying for the finals. In the 800m, freshman Gwen Steffen ran a tremendous race shaving nearly 3 seconds off her previous fastest time. Her time of 2:12.75 lands her at 8th all-time in Omaha history. The PRs kept coming with sophomore Vanessa Gunderson dropping .64 seconds off her previous fastest 400m hurdles to finish with a time of 1:05.82. 
 
Simonson tied her lifetime best long jump with a distance of 18'11.25 and qualified for the finals.
 
Ramaekers finished her championships heptathlon with her fastest ever 800m and an 8th place finish overall. Her score of 4356 was a 162-point PR and good for #9 all-time in the UNO rankings. 
 
Ramaekers came back on Saturday after completing the 7 events of the heptathlon with a lifetime best triple jump of 35'7.25. At the same time in the shot put ring, Mary Fennessy was getting a lifetime best of her own. On her 2nd attempt, she launched the shot 46'3.5" improving her previous best by 8.5 inches. She was the highest finishing freshman in the competition with the 6th place spot and moved up to #4 on the Omaha top 10 rankings. 
 
Back on the track, the 4x100m relay team of Bernice Lawson, Nina Cuevas, Ashley Ostrand, and Carrie Simonson ran a season-best time of 48.31 to finish 5th and move up two spots from the incoming ranking. In the other relay and final event of the day, the 4x400m relay team of Gwen Steffen, Paige Blackford, Vanessa Gunderson, and Olivia Steffen ran a 5-second season-best time of 3:57.62 to finish 7th. 
 
"The coaches wanted our athletes to come out and compete and they delivered. For three long and hot days, they came out and fought for every single performance. We might not have all the same resources as some of the other schools in the conference, but our team has great drive and determination. I'm proud of them."
 
The Mavericks came away from the championships with 13-lifetime bests and four performances in the Omaha All-Time top 10 list. They finish the outdoor season with a total of seven new entries into the top 10 rankings. 
 
Lucy Turner 
Discus: 130'5" - 10th
Javelin: 123'3" - 8th
 
Taylor Ramaekers 
Heptathlon: 4356 - 9th
 
Mary Fennessy
Hammer: 145'1" - 9th
Shot Put: 46'3.5" - 4th
 
Maya Nachtigal
5000m: 17:57.90 - 6th
 
Gwen Steffen - 800m
2:12.75 - 8th