Trojans Hit Two New NAIA Marks at Hillsdale
HILLSDALE, Mich. - The TU women's track and field team was back in action on Thursday evening and Friday at the 52nd running of the Gina Relays hosted by Hillsdale College. Action will resume tomorrow with the conclusion of the three-day event.
Taylor's outing has been highlighted by three top-ten finishes in championship races. In the women's 3,000-meter, the Trojans landed two top-ten performances by Alex Berends and Mae Elizabeth Gimre. The tandem took sixth and eighth respectively with times of 10:59.01 and 11:20.33. After missing the 2017 NAIA Championships due to injury, Gimre's run this weekend in the steeple qualified her for the national meet for the second time in three seasons.
The second new NAIA qualifier for TU was Sarah Harden in the 5,000-meter race. With a time of 17.46.66, Harden hit the 'B' standard and also put her name in the TU record books with the second-best time in program history in the event.
Also competing in the championship heat, the women's 4x800-meter relay team of Margie Crosby, Rachel Blagg, Taylor Bluemel and Anna Souzis finished fourth in 7:07.16.
Additional notable performances for the Trojans were turned in by Plenseh-Tay Sakeuh who won the open flights of the women's long jump with a mark of 5.91 meters, Brianna Jordahl who recorded a mark of 47.01 meters in the hammer throw, Miriam Wood who clocked 58.96 seconds in the 400-meter dash, and Andrea Kempf who finished the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:14.62.
Action at Hillsdale picks up again tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.