Adrian, Michigan - The women's track & field team opened competition at the WHAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at O'Laughlin Stadium this afternoon. The meet, contested on the campus of Siena Heights, brought together the ten WHAC track and field programs. The Saints battled the competition and the weather as the Saints recorded an automatic qualifier, a top five performance and tallied 27 points on the day.  Aquinas sits in fourth place after the first day of competition.

The women's 4x800 meter relay played a starring role for the Saints on day one at the championships. The foursome of Cadence Schultz, Ella Koons, Amber Koole, and Lauren Wooer would claim the conference title in a time of 9:05.80.  The performance eclipses the "A" standard and has the Saints ranked fourth nationally. The effort also ranks second on the Aquinas All-Time List.

Lindsey Strutz and Madison Rempalski would both claim third place finishes. Strutz (Javelin - 122-1) and Rempalski (10,000 - 43:23.39) would combine for twelve team points. The hammer throw saw the Saints place two in the top eight. Robin Long (140-00) placed sixth, while Maria Skrycki (133-8) placed eighth. Alexis Furgason picked up an eighth place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-7.25.  Maelie Hope's personal best of 12.27 qualified her for tomorrow's final in the 100 meter dash.

Aquinas will return to action on Friday at Noon with the second and final day of the outdoor championships.