Grand Rapids, Michigan - The women's track and field team placed third out of nine institutions at this weekends WHAC Indoor Championships. The meet was contested in the Alksnis Athletic and Recreation Building on the campus of Aquinas College. Indiana Tech won the meet with 190 points, while Cornerstone finished in second place with 151 points. Aquinas placed third with 135 points.
The Saints were led by the dynamite performances from
Maelie Hope. The freshman was named the WHAC's Most Valuable Performer as she tallied 23 points in her three events. Hope would win the weight throw competition with a toss of 57-8 1/2. The personal best moves her up to ninth on the NAIA performance list and up to the #2 spot on the Saints All-Time List, only trailing the great Emily Smith. She then would add a second place finish in the Shot Put (41-9 3/4) and a fifth place finish in the 60 meter dash. Her time of 7.76 ties Courtney Truss for fifth All-Time at Aquinas.
Madison Rempalski, named WHAC Newcomer of the Year, also played a key role in the Saints securing third place in the meet. Rempalski tallied 17 points as she finished second in the mile (5:15.78), fourth in the 5000 meters (18:33.10), and fifth in the 3000 meters (10:45.86).
Ronnie McMillan continued her fantastic senior season with a second place finish in the 600 meters. Ronnie's time of 1:34.33 improved her "A" mark and has her ranked sixth nationally. She also inched herself within .06 of Adri Sigafoose's school record of 1:34.27. McMillan was also named Aquinas' Champions of Character representative.
Lauren Wooer took home the 800 meter title in a time of 2:16.44. She improved her automatic qualifying time and moved up to #10 on the NAIA Performance List. Wooer would also team up with
Cadence Schultz,
Ella Koons and
Mallory Bowker to hit the "A" standard in the 4x800 meter relay. The quartet's time of 9:41.81 secured them a trip to the National Championships. Bowker would also add a third place finish in the 1000 meters (3:10.89).
Kaylee Diamond claimed a WHAC title and hit the automatic qualifier in the high jump. Diamond cleared 5-6 and would also place third in the long jump (18-0 1/2).
Shaily Baynes matched her season best clearance as she vaulted 11-8 1/2 to place fourth.
Rebecca Beltran placed third in the shot put with a throw of 40-4 1/4. In all the women throws group accounted for 38 points in their two events.
The Saints were also recognized for their work in the classroom as Aquinas saw 18 student-athletes named to the All-WHAC Academic Team.
Katrina Amrhein,
Nyandeng Anyang,
Rebecca Beltran,
Annabel Bishop,
Mallory Bowker,
Jordan Brown,
McKenna Buehler,
Leah Decker,
Alyssa Detweiler,
Anna Fedewa,
Theresa Judd,
Robin Long,
Genevieve Moore,
Ella P'Simer,
Kaydence Richardson,
Leah Rohrer,
Kaitlyn Thomas, and
Claire Walton were all honored with the academic award.
The Saints will now switch the attention to the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships that will be contested in Brookings, South Dakota in two weeks.
