The Wayne State College men’s and women’s track team hosted its first and only outdoor track meet of the season on Saturday, March 28, before the upcoming construction of Memorial Stadium.

There were 13 teams in attendance, elevating the competition to a whole new level. Due to the level of competition and lack of athletes that were set to compete for WSC, the women’s track team had no athletes in the top eight for the 100m, 200m, 400m, 1500m, 5000m, 400m hurdles, 3000m steeplechase, or pole vault. The women’s 800m runners made up for those events with all six placing within the top eight. Sophomore Jonnicia Williams placed second with a personal best of 2:22.40. The next five athletes came in, one right after the other. Sophomore Kaitlyn Bloomenrader placed fourth with a season best of 2:23.28. Freshman Kayla Krusemark followed with a personal best of 2:24.59, and then came Zoey Holmes, a sophomore, with a season best of 2:26.81. Another sophomore, Meghan Cunningham, crossed the finish line with a season best of 2:30.38, and in eighth place was senior Jozlyn Barnes with a season best of 2:30.51.

Although WSC didn’t have any women competing in the 400m hurdles, the 100m hurdles saw some WSC action with Breylee Botts, a freshman, with a first-place finish and

a personal best of 14.38 seconds, and Sophomore Reagan Murphy with a third-place finish and a personal best of 14.87 seconds.

“It felt so surreal, I really didn’t expect much from that race, especially considering the weather and it being my first outdoor race of my freshman season,” Botts said. “My only goal was to finish the race strong. It’s super important to me that I don’t become complacent and just keep showing up ready to work every single day.”

The women’s 4x100m team, Hadley Ayers, Alaina Nelson, Alyssa Folds, and Carly Busch, got third place with a personal best of 50.11 seconds.

The 4x400m team, Krusemark, Bloomenrader, Holmes, and Jonnicia, also placed top three with a second-place finish and a time of 4:06.86.

Throwing it over to the field events, the WSC women’s shot-put team had a great outing with sophomore Jalecia Williams and senior Olivia Schwarzrock placing in the top two. Jalecia took first place with a personal best of 44-8 ¼ and Schwarzrock placed second with a season best of 43-7 ¾.

Torrance Tso and McKinley Grover kept the ball rolling with a third-place finish by Junior Tso, who had a season best with a throw of 155-3, and a fifth-place finish by sophomore Grover, who had a personal best of 148-10.

Senior Anna Coffee woke everyone up with a third-place Javelin season best of 117-9. In sixth place, sophomore Kalli Reese threw a season best of 110-7.

WSC only had one high jumper that competed for the women’s team, Junior Jerika Bukenhus, who placed second with a jump of 5’ 55”.

Kailee Kellum, a WSC junior, pulled off a first-place long jump win with a personal best of 18-3 ¼. Ava Leinen, a freshman, landed just short of Kellum’s mark with a second-place jump of 18-3 ¼.

Senior Lindsey Kneifl was just a hop, skip, and a hop away from triple jump second place, but fell short, placing third place with a jump of 36-9 ½. Kellum struck again with a fourth-place jump of 34-7 ¾.

Carly Fehringer competed unattached from Wayne State College to compete in hammers, placing first place with a throw of 190-3. Taylor Arp and Jalecia, sophomores at WSC, both placed in the top eight in hammers. Arp got a fourth-place finish with a throw of 171-7. Jalecia threw 161-9 to place seventh.

The men’s track team had a bit of a better start to the meet, with three athletes placing in the top eight in the 100m dash. Sophomore Mitchell Hupp placed first with a season best of 10.49 seconds, followed by freshman Tragon Timm, not far behind, placing second with a personal best of 10.63 seconds. Senior Alex Leuenberger placed sixth with a personal best of 10.78 seconds.

Leuenberger made up for his 100m dash by placing third in the 200m dash with a personal best of 21.85 seconds. Junior Osman Saeed followed in sixth with a personal best of 22 seconds.

Making up for his last race, Saeed came back with a 49.74 second 400m run in order to place second in a sea of other schools’ athletes.

Brody Lucas, a senior at WSC, ran unattached from the school, placing eighth in the 800m race with a time of 2:03.59. Lucas was the only WSC student to place in the top eight for the men’s 800m.

“I’ve been redshirting this season [indoor and outdoor], so I’m competing unattached and not officially representing Wayne State College, which makes things feel a little different,” Lucas said. “At the same time, it’s been a great opportunity to focus on my personal development, pushing myself in training, and prepare to be ready when my time comes to contribute officially.”

Jumping on over to the 110m hurdles, WSC only had one athlete compete, placing first, freshman Mujeeb Adewuyi, who ran a time of 14.31 seconds. WSC also only has one 400m hurdler, freshman Joe Dewald, who placed second with a personal best of 57.54 seconds.

The WSC men’s 4x100m relay team, Waylon Sherman, Luke Klabenes, Mitchell Hupp, and Tragon Timm, placed first with a personal best of 42.10 seconds. Neither of the men’s 4x400m relay teams placed in the top three.

Throwing over to the men’s field events, junior J’Dyn Bullion ended up in his rightful spot on top, placing first in discus with a throw of 177-6. Junior Jaxson Ninete placed third with a throw of 164-2, followed by sophomore Samuel Zazueta, who placed fourth with a throw of 163-2.

The Wildcats had two men’s high jumpers who placed in the top five. Cain Brown, a junior, placed second with a leap of 6-7 ½ and Elliott Nottlemann, also a junior, placed fifth with a jump of 6-5 ½.

Pole Vaulter Devon Schultz, a junior, launched himself into the air 15-3 to place second.

WSC didn’t have any athletes compete in long jump or triple jump, but they absolutely brought the big guns when choosing the lineup for hammers. Five out of the seven athletes who competed placed within the top eight.

Sophomore Samuel Zazueta placed first with a throw of 195-10, followed by his teammate Junior Jaxson Ninete with a personal best of 192-4. Junior Jake Peitz was quite a bit short of their mark with a fifth-place finish and a throw of 175-5, alongside senior Alex Altman who placed sixth with a season best of 173-7. Bullion trailed behind with a seventh-place throw of 170-9.

Wayne State College Track and Field will be back in action Apr. 3-4 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the Nebraska Invite.