MORRIS, Minn. – For the second year in a row, the Yellowjacket women's track and field team won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Indoor Track and Field Championship. That win came back in February, so later this year 2024 will be added to the championship banner.
It's cousin, the UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, has been a little more elusive.
While the Yellowjackets have consistently been competitive and in the hunt for a title, they've never been able to bring home the grail. Their 2024 attempt to win the championship for the first time got underway Friday, and the 'Jackets got off to a strong start.
At the end of competition Friday, the Yellowjackets sit in first place, having accumulated 68 points through the first day of events. Superior holds a 10-point lead over second-place Bethany Lutheran in what is a tight, competitive field. Crown is third with 56 points, while Martin Luther (51 points) and Northwestern (48) round out the top five.
The Yellowjackets earned a second-place finish in the 4-x-800-meter relay Friday, coming in with a time of 10:13.89. They were eight seconds behind the winners from Crown and a whopping 25 seconds clear of third-place North Central. The team was made up of
Halle Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior),
Tea Boerner (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior),
Taylor DeCook (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) and
Simone Stephens (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro).
Stephens continued her outstanding freshman season with another strong showing in the 800 meters. Stephens crossed the line with a time of 2:20.98, placing her third, but only by an eyelash. In one of the tightest races of the day, Stephens was just .01 seconds out of second place and .20 seconds behind the winner. The time also gave Stephens a new personal record by almost three seconds.
Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool) earned a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, coming in with a time of 27.18 seconds.
In the hurdles,
Alexxa DeQuevedo (Silver Bay, Minn./William Kelley) had a pair of fifth-place finishes. She finished the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.92 seconds, while she came across the line with a time of 1:11.19 in the 400-meter hurdles.
Moving to the field events, the Yellowjackets got a runner-up finish in the hammer throw from
Emma Johnson (Centuria, Wis./Unity). Johnson had a heave of 42.13 meters, setting a new personal record by four meters.
In the long jump,
Summer Hesseldahl (International Falls, Minn./Falls) placed fourth with a mark of 4.84 meters.
Meet Notes
- In the 800-meter run, DeCook was fifth with a time of 2:33.48, while Boerner was right behind her, finishing sixth with a time of 2:34.61.
- DeQuevedo, in addition to her hurdle finishes, placed seventh in the javelin.
- Makenna Nash and Kenzy Kreuzer (Stoddard, Wis./De Soto) tied in the pole vault, clearing a height of 2.03 meters.
- Lilley Smith (Ironwood, Mich./Ironwood) set a new personal record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 13:43.28, placing her sixth.
- Sidney Bader (Milltown, Wis./Unity) placed fourth in the javelin throw and seventh in the hammer throw.
- Hesseldahl placed sixth and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
- Claude (13.36 seconds) and Allison Alessi (Shakopee, Minn./Prior Lake) (13.46 seconds) qualified for Saturday's finals in the 100-meter dash.
The Yellowjackets will conclude the UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday. The first events begin at 10:30 a.m.
