MENOMONIE, Wis. – After a good start to 2024 last week, the Yellowjacket women's track and field team hit the road Saturday, competing at the Warren Bowlus Invitational, hosted by UW-Stout at its Sports and Fitness Center.
A stacked field awaited the Yellowjackets Saturday, and the competition fueled them to another strong day, where they posted plenty of top-ten finishes and had another day filled with personal records.
The distance crew had a strong day, with
Taylor DeCook (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) and
Aubrey Peterson (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) both earning personal records in the mile. DeCook finished with a time 5:54.82, which was good for a fourth-place finish. Peterson, meanwhile, placed ninth with a time of 6:16.68.
Cora Hudella (North Branch, Minn./North Branch Area) picked up a first place finish in the second heat of the 3,000-meter open, coming in with a time of 11:15.15, which established a personal record. In the same race,
Tea Boerner (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior) set a personal record with a time of 11:22.55, placing her ninth.
In the invite race of the 3,000 meters,
Halle Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and
Simone Stephens (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) had big days. Stephens shattered her previous best, coming in with a time of 10:42.11. The time placed her 11th in the event, but currently it is the top time in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Barker was right at Stephens' heels, placing 12th with a time of 10:43.67.
Moving to the field events, freshman
Emma Johnson (Centuria, Wis./Unity) posted another good day. Johnson finished sixth in the shot put and seventh in the weight throw, hitting marks of 11.32 and 13.77 meters, respectively.
Catie McPherson (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) had a strong day in the jumps. She placed third in the long jump with a leap of 4.55 meters. She also earned a top-ten finish in the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 1.43 meters.
Meet Notes
- Alexxa DeQuevedo (Silver Bay, Minn./William Kelley) placed ninth in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 10.53 seconds.
- In the long jump, Summer Hesseldahl (International Falls, Minn./Falls) (4.48 meters), Myla Volk (Wabeno, Wis./Wabeno) (4.00 meters) and Cieyana Carter (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) (3.61 meters) placed fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
- The 4-x-400-meter relay team placed second Saturday, coming in with a time of 4:49.54. The team consisted of Allison Alessi (Shakopee, Minn./Prior Lake), DeCook, Hesseldahl and Cora Schmitz (Luck, Wis./Unity).
- The Yellowjackets had back-to-back finishers in the pole vault, with McKenna Nash (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) (2.27 meters) and Schmitz (1.97 meters) placing eighth and ninth.
- For the day, the Yellowjacket women posted 17 personal records.
The Yellowjackets will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 3, when they compete at the Lake Superior Challenge, hosted by St. Scholastica. The events will start 11:00 a.m. at the Burns Wellness Commons on the St. Scholastica campus.
