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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Kelli Praska
Jade Jensen

Women's Track & Field Bryce Harp

Praska Paces Yellowjackets at UMAC Championships



UMAC Championships
Hosted by UW-Superior
Superior, Wisconsin
Meet Results
 
The Yellowjacket women's track and field team was in action over the weekend, taking part in the UMAC Championships. The meet, held on February 26 and 27, was hosted by UW-Superior, allowing the Yellowjackets some home field advantage.

The Yellowjackets definitely took advantage of that, as they finished the meet with five first-place finishes.

Kelli Praska (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) led the way for the Yellowjackets over the weekend, dominating in all of her individual events. Friday, Praska took home a victory in the 400-meter dash, coming in with a time of 59.91 to narrowly edge out the second place finisher. Praska topped that on Saturday, easily outpacing the field in the 800-meter run, coming in with a time of 2:19.53 to beat the next closest finisher by over two seconds. Praska's final individual race was the 1-mile run, where she once again dominated the competition. Praska's time of 5:25.45 beat the next closest finisher by nearly eight full seconds.

Svenja Ruehl (Kirchuers, Germany/Gymnasium Philippinum Marburg) didn't allow Praska to steal all the glory over the weekend. Ruehl ran a qualifying time of 9.45 in the 60-meter hurdles, to finish as the top-qualifier Friday. Then during Saturday's final, Ruehl ran a 9.52 to finish second, as she was edged by just 0.03 seconds.

Following her qualifying race in the hurdles on Friday, Ruehl had to run over to the long jump pit. It was at the jumps where Ruehl really made her mark. She set a new UMAC record Friday, finishing with a top jump of 17 feet, 8 inches (5.38 meters) to easily distance herself from the rest of the field and take home top honors in the event. Ruehl finished off her meet on Saturday, where she easily won the triple jump, coming in with a top jump of 36 feet, 11 inches (11.25 meters) to finish 1 foot, 7.25 inches (0.49 meters) ahead of the second place finisher.

The Yellowjackets also had a good showing from their relay teams, as they placed third in the 4x200-meter, 4x400-meter, and the distance medley relay. The 4x200-meter team of Kaitlyn Knutson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet), Valerie Rowe (Ironwood, Mich./Bessemer), Kelly Kruger, and Jackie Erickson (Duluth, Minn./East) finished with a time of 1:52.35. The 4x400-meter team of Rowe, Erickson, Knutson, and Praska finished with a time of 4:16.12. The distance medley team of Alissa Boyhtari (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld), Taylor Joyal (Saginaw, Minn./South Ridge), Michaela Rhuman, and Kalley Wilkie (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) finished with a time of 13:56.42.

Other top Yellowjacket finishers were Taylor Phillips (Superior, Wis./Superior), who placed second in both the weight throw and the shot put, finishing with a throw of 40 feet, 7.75 inches (12.38 meters) in the weight throw and a top throw of 38 feet, 3.50 inches (11.67 meters) in the shot put. Emily Gibson-Treptow (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) placed third in the high jump with a top mark of 4 feet, 7.75 inches (1.42 meters). Rowe took fourth in the pole vault with a top vault of 9 feet, 4.50 inches (2.86 meters), while Boyhtari took fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:32.19.

The Yellowjackets placed third as a team with a score of 126.5 points. Minnesota Morris placed second with a score of 173, while St. Scholastica won the team portion with a score of 235.5

Next up for the Yellowjackets is a trip to Stevens Point, Wis. Saturday, March 5 to take part in the Last Chance Qualifier.
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Players Mentioned

Alissa Boyhtari

Alissa Boyhtari

5' 7"
Junior
Jackie Erickson

Jackie Erickson

5' 2"
Senior
Emily Gibson-Treptow

Emily Gibson-Treptow

6' 1"
Senior
Kaitlyn Knutson

Kaitlyn Knutson

5' 4"
Sophomore
Svenja Ruehl

Svenja Ruehl

5' 6"
Sophomore
Taylor Joyal

Taylor Joyal

5' 4"
Freshman
Taylor Phillips

Taylor Phillips

5' 7"
Freshman
Kelli Praska

Kelli Praska

5' 10"
Freshman
Valerie Rowe

Valerie Rowe

5' 5"
Freshman
Kalley Wilkie

Kalley Wilkie

5' 7"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Alissa Boyhtari

Alissa Boyhtari

5' 7"
Junior
Jackie Erickson

Jackie Erickson

5' 2"
Senior
Emily Gibson-Treptow

Emily Gibson-Treptow

6' 1"
Senior
Kaitlyn Knutson

Kaitlyn Knutson

5' 4"
Sophomore
Svenja Ruehl

Svenja Ruehl

5' 6"
Sophomore
Taylor Joyal

Taylor Joyal

5' 4"
Freshman
Taylor Phillips

Taylor Phillips

5' 7"
Freshman
Kelli Praska

Kelli Praska

5' 10"
Freshman
Valerie Rowe

Valerie Rowe

5' 5"
Freshman
Kalley Wilkie

Kalley Wilkie

5' 7"
Sophomore