The Omaha Track and Field team concluded their season at the Outdoor Summit League Championships at the University of St. Thomas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The action started Thursday morning with Julia Niemeyer, Jade Jackson and senior Roxy Denton in the 100m hurdle portion of the seven event heptathlon. Jackson led the way for the Mavericks with a 14.61 for 894 points. Denton ran a season best time of 15.46 for 782 points and Niemeyer was only .02 off her lifetime best with a 16.04. Next up was the high jump that had Jackson jump a personal best height of 5'1.75" for 701 points and Niemeyer jump a college best 5'3" to score 763 points. In the shot put, both Jackson and Denton broke through distance milestones. Jackson eclipsed 10 meters for the first time with a throw of 33'3.75 (10.15m) bettering her previous best by a foot and a half. Denton threw over 11 meters for the first time with a 36'4.25 (11.08m). In the final event of day 1 of the heptathlon, all three Mavericks set personal bests in the 200m with Niemeyer clocking a 27.06, Denton in 26.46 and Jackson crossing the line in 25.64.
In the lone field event of the day for Omaha, Kaitlin Hellbusch cleared her first two bars of the high jump on her first attempts to finish with a make of 5'3.75" and a 7th place finish for two valuable team points. Day 1 of the meet concluded with senior Lauren Metzger toeing the line for the daunting 10000m run. After 25 laps around the track, Metzger stayed with the lead pack to finish in 36:30.78, good for 5th place and her 2nd fasted time.
Friday began with the long jump for the heptathletes. Niemeyer had the farthest jump of the trio with a 17'00.75" and 614 points. Denton was just 3cm off her personal best with a 16'5.75". Next up was the javelin where both Denton and Niemeyer tossed the spear passed their previous farthest. Niemeyer threw over 90 feet for the first time with 4 foot PR of 90'9". Denton added a foot to her previous best with a 108'10". In the last event of the heptathlon, the Mavericks lined up to run the 800m. Jackson crossed the finish line first for Omaha with an 11 second PR time of 2:31.27 just in front of Niemeyer who had an 8 second PR time of 2:32.16. Denton rounded out the PR's with a two second lifetime best of 2:36.66. When all the points had been tallied up, Denton finished with a 300 point personal best score of 4355. Niemeyer had a 683 point PR of 4425 to finish 8th and crack the UNO top 10 list at the 10 spot. Jackson walked away with a 305 point lifetime best of 4609 for a 7th place finish and the 8th best score in school history.
As the multi-events ended, the rest of the meet got going. In the 100m hurdles, two sophomores made some noise while running side by side. In heat 1, Addi Webster ran an all-conditions PR of 14.73W while Grace Mustard also ran an all-conditions best with a time of 14.55W. Next up was the 100m where Ashley Ostrand was just .03 off her best with a 12.36w. Avyn Urbanski ran a season best time of 12.18w and Tania Gleason finished in a 12.02w just missing finals by .003. The same trio also ran the 200m and were joined by senior Nina Cuevas. Ostrand ran an all-conditions college best of 25.73w and Cuevas finished the day with an all-conditions PR of 24.96w.
The third and final day started with the 4x100m relay team of Jade Jackson, Nina Cuevas, Avyn Urbanski and Tania Gleason running the fastest time for UNO since 2014. They got the baton around the track in season best time of 46.80 for 5th place. In the 1500m, senior Emily Treptow finished her collegiate career with a personal best time of 4:47.83. Just behind her was Lily Jackson who also ran a PR of 4:47.91. In the penultimate running event of the day, Kamryn Ensley ran a very strategic 5000m to finish in 17:30.83 and a 4th place finish. Lauren Metzger concluded her collegiate career after her 10000m to finish in 18:12.51. Emma Hain crossed the line in lifetime best of 18:39.67. In the final event of the day, the 4x400m relays team of Macy Persinger, Nina Cuevas, Ava Robinson and Tania Gleason finished 4th with a season best time of 3:48.38. Their time was the fastest since 2010.
The Mavericks end their outdoor season with two school records and 12 new or improved marks in the UNO top 10 lists.
"I'm proud of this group. There were a lot of challenges that they faced this year and they were still able to accomplish a lot of great things.", said Coach Chris Richardson. "The Summit Championship meet is a place where you will see tears of sadness and tears of joy. Regardless of which one might be shed, we should always learn from our experiences and take what we have learned and apply it to next year. We build and grow week-by-week, month-by-month and year-by-year. Our mindset for next year starts now."
Four seniors in Nina Cuevas, Roxy Denton, Lauren Metzger and Emily Treptow also end the collegiate careers "While they may no longer be competing for us, they will always be Mavericks. They will be missed."
