Fort Wayne, Indiana - The women's track & field team opened competition at the WHAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Warrior Park this afternoon. The meet, hosted by Indiana Tech, brought together the nine WHAC track and field programs. The Saints battled the competition and recorded two school records, a trio of national qualifiers, an additional top five performance and tallied 33 points on the day.  Aquinas sits in third 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 Madison Rempalski, Lexi Hurst, Ella Koons and Lauren Wooer would claim the conference title in a time of 9:03.83.  The performance eclipses the "A" standard and has the Saints ranked second nationally. The effort also ranks second on the Aquinas All-Time List.  Theresa Judd advanced to the 100 meter hurdles finals by placing third in her heat (14.69).

Lindsey Strutz and Maelie Hope would both claim conference titles and school records this afternoon. Hope's mark of 188-10 in the hammer throw is not only a school record, but also is the longest throw in the NAIA this season. Strutz would break her own school record on two different occasions in the javelin competition to claim the conference crown. Her toss of 137-9 is a provisional qualifier for the national championships. Maria Skrycki would also place in the hammer throw (sixth - 136-7).

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