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MARION, Ind. – The Goshen College women's track and field team wasted little time making their mark on the outdoor track as they racked up victories in eight events, shattered three school records, and hit one national qualifying mark at the Polar Bear Invite Thursday in Marion, Ind.
Coming off another top-20 finish at the NAIA Indoor National Championship in early March, the Maple Leafs are looking to take their national prominence to another level on the outdoor track, and they certainly got off to a fast start this week.
Senior Katie Sowers, of Hesston, Kans., broke a nearly twenty-year old Goshen College record in the javelin launching it 116-feet, six-inches. Sowers broke Cheryl Mast's 1979 mark of 113'. The feat becomes even more remarkable considering the Polar Bear Invite was Sower's first track meet in four years. A guard/ forward for the Maple Leafs basketball team, Sowers concentrated on the hardwood at Hesston College and Goshen before this spring.
Krista Nussbaum's 1998 school record in the triple jump also saw a current Maple Leaf leap past it as Peni Acayo added an inch and a half to the mark. Acayo won the event with a jump of 35'4 1/2" to best Nussbaum's 35'3". No team scores were kept at the event.
On a day on which no record was safe, Abri Houser – coming off an appearance at the NAIA Indoor National Championships – set a new mark in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 14.86. She bested her own 2007 school record of 14.98. Meanwhile, Houser's 14.86 at the Polar Bear Invite hit the NAIA Outdoor National Qualifying mark, which will send her to the national championships held in St. Louis May 22-24.
Just two weeks removed from All American honors in the weight throw at Indoor Nationals, Deanna Kronk was at it again helping Goshen to a sweep of the throwing events. The junior NorthWood High School product won the hammer throw (147'), the shot put (39'11 1/4"), and the discuss (115'10"). Freshman Cassie Greives had a strong season-opener showing in the discuss with a third-place mark of 108' and six-place nod in the shot put at 34'6 1/4".
The Maple Leafs managed to finish one-two in the high jump as freshmen Kelsey Herschberger (Millersburg, Ind.) cleared 4'10" and Acayo (Kampala, Uganda) jumped 4'8". Acayo was at it again with a third-place jump of 16'3" in the long jump. Classmate Erica Emanuel was close behind in fourth with a jump of 15'7 3/4".
Winning yet another event for Goshen was Rachel Versluis, who bested the field in the pole vault clearing 9-feet even.
On the track, a pair of relay teams took strong second-place finishes. The 4x100 team of Olivia D'Cruz, Versluis, Houser, and Emanuel finished with a time of 52.20, while Emanuel, Rachel Baker, Herschberger, and Houser ran to a time of 4:17.76 in the 4x400.
In solid individual performances, Baker took second in the 800-meters with a time of 2:26.45, while Emanuel placed third in the 200-meter dash in 27.06.
The Maple Leafs will look to improve on a strong start as they host the Goshen Invitational on Saturday, March 29th at the Eigsti Track and Field Complex starting at 11:30 a.m.
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