RESULTS
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Bethel women won four events and placed fourth as a team at the Augustana Women's Invite on Friday evening. "This was a great meet for us today," says Head Coach Andrew Rock. "Trying to compete after a long travel day and competing on Easter weekend could have been good excuses to not perform well today. But our women were excellent today!"
The meet was headlined by four event champions from Bethel: Grace Scott (100m), Hannah Sankey (400m), Lauren Wagner (Javelin), and the 4x400m relay team (Sankey, Delia Labatt, Corin McKinstrey, and AddieKay Johnson). Grace Scott had an excellent push out of the blocks and held form through the tape to complete her 100m race in a season best 12.65 - the 2nd best time in the MIAC this year. Hannah Sankey also came away with a season best. Her 400m time of 58.05 won her event and is ranks her 2nd in the MIAC. Lauren Wagner had a lifetime best in the javelin with a toss of 35.48m (116'5"). That mark is 4th in the MIAC. The 4x400m relay team lead the race from start to finish and ended up with a MIAC-leading time of 3:54.52. That time is also ranked 4th in all of NCAA Division III this year.
In the opening event of the day, Amy Reimer navigated 28 barriers and 7 water hazards in the 3000m steeplechase. Reimer ran 12:04.93 to take 3rd place in the event. The Royals ran to a number of lifetime and season bests in the 1500m. Freshman Gace Cole was the top finisher for Bethel and took 7th place with a 4:56.74. In the final event of the evening for the women, sophomore Ellie Nelson ran a personal best by 1:23 in the 10k, racing her way to 3rd place with a time of 39:01.48. "I though if everything went perfect tonight, Ellie could run 39-minutes flat," says Distance Coach Joe Stephens. "She showed courage, discipline, and a lot of guts in that race!"
Corin McKinstrey raced her way to 3rd place, and a personal best in the 400H. McKinstrey's time of 1:04.39 is the 2nd best time in the MIAC and the 31st best time in Division III. In that same race, first year Taylor Finnes also set a personal best (1:09.53) and earned 6th place. Delia Labatt took home a 2nd place finish in the 200m by running 25.93. Teammate Grace Scott took 7th place by running a season best 26.63. AddieKay Johnson earned 3rd place in the 400m and ran a season best 58.43. In the field events, Grace Perrenoud and Sally Paul placed 4th and 5th, respectively, in the triple jump. Perrenoud jumped 10.46m (34'4") while Paul leaped 10.31m (33'10").
The men's track and field team will compete at the Augustana Meet of Champions on Friday, April 19th. The teams will be in action again next week in multiple locations. Three relay teams and one individual qualified for the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines on Friday and Saturday, April 26th and 27th. The majority of the team will compete at Gustavus on Saturday, April 27th.
