Warriors Make Their Mark at DWU Meet

MITCHELL, S.D. – Midland University's women's indoor track and field team delivered a strong performance at the DWU Alumni Open this weekend, securing multiple event titles and top finishes in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Emma Strom led the charge in the 60-meter dash, winning the event with a time of 8.14. Neenah Guerrero (8.20) finished second, followed by Rianna Greene (8.31) in third, Aurora Griffin (8.54) in fourth, and Kayli Carey (8.68) in seventh. In the 200 meters, Guerrero claimed first place in 26.86, with Dala Drowne (27.43) finishing second, Greene (27.81) third, Vanessa Rice (27.90) fourth, Nevaeh Sarabia (28.74) fifth, Farrah Wilson (28.90) seventh, Griffin (28.91) eighth, and Carey (29.27) tenth.

Aurora Griffin placed second in the 400 meters with a time of 1:07.24, followed by Madelynn Dougherty (1:20.04) in third and Shyanne Pipkin (1:13.45) in fourth. Sarabia took first place in the 600 meters, finishing in 1:42.29, while Carly Carstens placed fifth in 1:50.13. In the 3,000 meters, Joy Jepkorir secured a first-place finish with a time of 12:22.83.

In the high jump, Hannah Newton claimed first place with a clearance of 1.61m. Krista Hardy (1.56m) and Kerrigan Myers (1.56m) tied for second, with Myers finishing third based on a judge's decision. Drowne (1.46m) placed fifth, while Pipkin (1.46m) finished seventh based on a judge's decision. Myers also won the long jump with a leap of 5.46m, followed by Strom (5.00m) in second, Guerrero (4.93m) and Rice (4.93m) tying for third, Wilson (4.55m) in fifth, and Dougherty (4.26m) in eighth.

Vanessa Rice won the triple jump with a mark of 10.78m, which ranks 10th all-time in Midland history. Dougherty (9.90m) finished second, and Wilson (9.12m) took third. Madison Jones and Pipkin tied for first place in the pole vault with clearances of 2.28m. In the weight throw, Maggie Heesch led the way with a first-place mark of 16.84m, while Sara Diew (14.73m) placed fifth, recording a mark that ranks ninth in program history.

In the shot put, Heesch placed second with a throw of 13.31m. Diew (10.91m) finished fifth, Emmalee Bartak (10.81m) placed sixth, and Pipkin (10.38m) took seventh. The Warriors closed out the meet with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay, as Myers, Drowne, Newton, and Hardy recorded a winning time of 4:32.00.

Next weekend, Midland will send a group of athletes to the Bearcat Invite in Maryville, Missouri while the bulk of the team will compete at the Wildcat Indoor Classic in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday.