Facing a national field and world-class competition, Western Michigan concluded action at the 38th Sea Ray Relays on Saturday, tying a school record in the process.
WMU recorded a time of 8 minutes, 59.50 seconds in the 4x800 meter relay to match a 10-year-old record. The Broncos finished ninth in the event with a lineup of Victoria Bassett, Janaule Bennett, Meryl Marsh and Christi Valanty.
In other notable performances from Saturday, Rachel Lowe took 11th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, recording a time of 11:15.26.
"This week was a great experience for our girls, they were going up against world class competitors," said coach Kelly Lycan. "I thought we had a number of people rise to the occasion and the freshmen continue to come along."
The Broncos spent Wednesday and Thursday at the Sea Rays devoting time to the heptathlon, where Katie Pickette placed eighth (4,622) and Kendra Erskine 13th (4,104). Pickette became WMU's No. 4 all-time performer in the heptathlon, despite competing in the event for the first time.
Kristi Ford was WMU's top finisher Friday, taking eighth in the hammer throw invitational with a toss of 171'-2". Ford also competed in the high jump, clearing 5'-6" to finish 13th.
The Broncos' best event of the week may have been the 800 meter run, where Janaule Bennett finished 16th (2:12.70), just ahead of teammates Victoria Bassett (17th, 2:12.90) and Lori Vander Meulen (22nd, 2:13.93). "Those are really good times at this point of the season," said Lycan.
WMU returns to action next Friday (April 16), taking part in the Eastern Michigan Twilight meet in Ypsilanti.
Men's Track & Field
Macomb, IIl. (April 10) * Western Michigan captured the team title and won the meet's featured event at the Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational, hosted by Western Illinois University.
The Broncos compiled 197 points to outdistance Western Illinois (180), Eastern Illinois (131), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (72.5), Illinois State (70.5) and Loyola (69).
Jacob Friess won the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 14.56, receiving the Lee Calhoun Memorial Award. The award is named after the meet's namesake, Lee Calhoun, a former coach at WIU who was an Olympic hurdler of distinction. Friess also placed second in the long jump and fifth in the javelin throw.
"We never got going as far as posting fast times, but we stuck together as a team," said coach Mike Turk. "I was really pleased with our performance in the 5,000 meters, which allowed us to pull out the win."
WMU took over the team points lead with just two events left after a strong showing in the 5,000 meter run. WMU collected 22 points with four placers among the top six runners. Matt French took second place with a time of 14:53.29, while Chris Stine claimed third (14:56.22), Chris Putzke fourth (14:56.73) and Joel Conn sixth (15:02.76).
In addition, several Broncos claimed individual titles. Stine won the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a clocking of 9:17.12. In the field events, Clark Wilson won the shot put (53'-6.5"), while Dustin Anderson claimed the pole vault crown (15'-11"). The 4x100 relay took home first in a time of 41.79.
Kris Seats compiled big points with runner-up finishes in the 800 and 1,500 meter runs. Other second-place efforts included Jason Evelyn in the triple jump and the 4x400 relay unit.
Western Michigan travels to Eastern Michigan next weekend (April 16-17) to compete in the EMU Twilight meet.
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