SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket women's track and field team opened the 2024 portion of its indoor schedule Saturday, competing in the Twin Ports Open, the first of three events UW-Superior will host during the 2023-24 indoor season.
 
Newcomer Emma Johnson (Centuria, Wis./Unity) had a strong day in the home meet, bringing in a pair of top-five finishes. Johnson placed fourth in both the shot put (10.95 meters) and the weight throw (14.75 meters).
 
The Yellowjackets also had a strong showing in the pole vault, occupying four of the top five places in the event. Leading the way was McKenna Nash (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander), who placed second with a mark of 2.30 meters, followed by Cora Schmitz (Luck, Wis./Unity) (2.15 meters), Catie McPherson (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) (2.15 meters) and Kenzy Kreuzer (Stoddard, Wis./De Soto) (1.85 meters), respectively.
 
In the track events, Alexxa DeQuevedo (Silver Bay, Minn./William Kelley) was the Yellowjackets' top finisher on the day, placing second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.07 seconds. Summer Hesseldahl (International Falls, Minn./Falls) was right behind her, placing third with a time of 11.11 seconds.
 
In the distance events, Halle Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) finished third in the 3,000 meters, coming in with a time of 10:50.26, which established a new personal record in the race. Tea Boerner (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior) also set a personal record in the event, coming in with a time of 11:23.06.
 
Meet Notes

• In addition to UW-Superior, St. Scholastica, Minnesota Duluth, Lakehead and Bemidji State competed Saturday.
• The Yellowjacket women posted 18 personal records, along with six season bests in their second meet of the year.
• Johnson's mark in the hammer throw broke her own university record for freshmen, and ranks her 70th in all of NCAA Division III.
• The 4-x-400-meter relay team, consisting of Hesseldahl, Cora Hudella (North Branch, Minn./North Branch Area), Simone Stephens (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) and Barker earned a second-place finish.
• Nash and McPherson set personal records in the pole vault.
• In addition to her finish in the pole vault, Schmitz had a top-five finish in the 60-meter dash, finishing with a time of 8.62 meters.
• Other top-five finishes included Taylor DeCook (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) in the 800 meters with a time of 2:47.47 and Myla Volk (Wabeno, Wis./Wabeno) in the triple jump with a mark of 9.08 meters.

The Yellowjackets will travel to UW-Stout to compete in the two-day Warren Bowlus Invite. The events will begin Friday afternoon at the Sports and Fitness Center in Menomonie, Wis.