The women’s outdoor track team weathered the snowy conditions in the second meet of the season at the Winona State Warrior Invitational on April 13 in Winona, Minn.
Emma Lee ’13, Rebecca Bevans ’13 and Sophie Pietrick ’13 took spots one, two and three, respectively, in the 10,000-meter run, all qualifying for the upcoming Drake Relays. Lee won in 35:47.24, with Bevans clocking in at 36:27.12 and Pietrick rounding out the trio with a time of 37:19.99. They are now ranked 3rd, 11th and 21st in the nation, respectively.
The three Oles were extremely pleased with their sweep, especially in a meet made difficult by the terrible weather conditions.
“To get psyched up [for a race], I remind myself of all of the training that I’ve done and the success that I’ve had. I tell myself that I am strong and fast and that the weather doesn’t matter,” Lee said. “During this race, some of my teammates were out there for every single lap, and they helped power me through.”
Bevans shared similar sentiments.
“The thing that got me through every lap were my teammates letting me know they were there for me, and watching Coach [Andrea] Gelle grin every time I ran past while she told me my lap splits,” Bevans said.
“Getting second … was unbelievable,” she added. “I had a huge personal record over last year and felt better than I ever have during a race.”
Powerhouse Moriah Novacinski ’14 edged out Amanda Rothbauer of UW-River Falls by 0.1 seconds to win the 800-meter run in 2:20.83. Abby Engelhart ’14 took third with a time of 2:21.75, and Megan Holmes ’15 took fifth with a time of 2:25.88. Novacinski also placed in the top tier of the 1500-meter run, taking second with a finishing time of 4:50.29 behind Brittany Nordland of UW-River Falls. Meghan Exner ’14 took fourth in the race with a time of 4:55.20.
In the heptathalon, Dani Larson ’15 placed first in the high jump 1.58m, second in the 200-meter dash 27.03 and third in the 100-meter hurdles 16.03. Ann Govig ’16 took third in the high jump 1.58m, and Zoe Hansen ’16 placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles 17.65.
Other notable results include Emma Larson ’14 placing third in the 5000-meter run, Ellen Hawley ’13 taking fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and Elise Raney ’14 placing third in the high jump.
