Junior Allison Gast leads Women's Track & Field to a first place finish at the annual Joe Banks Invitational
By Ashley Birchmeier
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's track and field team claimed a first place finish of 15 teams Saturday afternoon at the Joe Banks Invitational hosted at the ONU Sports Center.
The Polar Bears improve to 30-4 overall on the season.
Junior Allison Gast paced the way for the Polar Bears claiming a second place finish in the 200-meter run, breaking the school record with a time of :26.81.
The junior broke the previous record of :26.90 set by Amy Wood on February 17, 1996.
Gast also won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of:09.21 and finished third in the 60-meter dash in :07.98.
Junior Kelsey Commager took first place in the triple-jump with a jump of 36 feet 3.50 inches.
Junior Rebecca Carman and freshman Stephanie Walton also placed in the top-5 in the triple jump as Carman took third place and now ranks sixth all-time at Ohio Northern with a jump of 35 feet .25 inches, while Walton took fourth place and now ranks seventh all-time at ONU with a jump of 34 feet 9 inches.
In the 4x200-meter relay, Gast teamed up with junior Meagan Ellinger, junior Michelle Mosler and sophomore Emily Richards to claim a second place finish and tie the school record with a time of 1:47.11.
Richards led the way for the Polar Bears in the 400-meter dash, winning the event with a time of :58.90, followed by Ellinger in fifth with a time of 1:01.32 and Mosler in 10th with a time of 1:02.14.
The Polar Bears claimed a 1-2-3 finish in the long jump, as Carman won the event with a leap of 17 feet 2.75 inches, Commager took second with a jump of 17 feet 2 inches and Walton claimed third with a distance of 16 feet 8.75 inches.
In the high jump, senior Julie Amos led the way for ONU claiming a third place finish with a hight of 5 feet 1.25 inches, sophomore Megan McClain took fifth clearing a height of 4 feet 11.50 inches, and Mallory Weininger claimed seventh with a height of 4 feet 9.05 inches.
Senior Rebekah McCutchen claimed a third place finish in the 3,000-meter run in 10:41.63.
Freshman Tia Harris led ONU in the shot put claiming a third place finish with a toss of 40 feet 0 inches.
In the Pole Vault, freshman Maddy Reed led the way finishing third with a new personal record of 11 feet 9.25 inches. Sophomore Kelly Wollenslegel finished fifth with a height of 10 feet 9.5 inches and senior Gabrielle Heck claimed ninth with a height of 10 feet 3.5 inches.
Freshman Taylor Fisher finished fourth for ONU in the 500-meter run in 1:28.14.
In the weight throw, ONU claimed three top-ten finishes as sophomore Kendra Paul finished fifth with a throw of 43 feet 8.50 inches, followed by Michaela Dramis in eighth with a distance of 42 feet 10.25 inches and Harris in ninth with a pitch of 41 feet 7.75 inches.
Freshman Jocelyn Reinhart led ONU across the finish line in the 1,000-meter run finishing sixth in 3:20.20. Junior Morgan Rouch claimed seventh in 3:21.23.
In the 800-meter run, freshman Michaela Fox finished eighth for the Polar Bears in 2:31.31 and freshman Avery Ewing finished 10th in 2:32.02.
In the 5000-meter run freshman Kristina Myers took sixth place in 20.27.19, while freshman Elizabeth Steele took ninth place in 22:17.70.
The team of Ellinger, Mosler, Fisher and senior Brittany Lee sealed the victory for the Polar Bears as they finished fourth in the 4x400-meter relay in 4:13.30.
"We are really proud of the effort that our team put forth today," said assistant coach Casey Gant. "It's good to have this kind of momentum heading into the All-Ohio Championships next weekend."
The Polar Bears will return to the track Saturday as they travel to Westerville to compete in the All-Ohio Championships.
Team Results
1. Ohio Northern 154, 2. Otterbein 122, 3. Heidelberg 91, 4. John Carroll 72, 5. Ohio Dominican 54, 6. Huntington 47, 7. Rose-Hulman 38, 8. Bluffton 33, 9. Ohio State Running Club 29, 10. Wittenberg 25, 11. Capital 8, t12. Findlay 14, t12. Ursuline 14, 14. Bowling Green Track Club 11, 15. Defiance 7
