Sophomore Ellie Cain competes in the 800-meter at the Distance Carnival. (Courtesy of Ginger Schulte)

Fresh off of an indoor national championship win for the WashU women’s track and field team and a strong showing from the men’s side, WashU track and field kicked off their outdoor season at home looking to build on their success – and did just that. 

On March 26-28, the Bears hosted the WashU Distance Carnival and the WashU Invite. The Bears were particularly dominant in the pole vault, with both the men’s and women’s teams clinching four of the top five spots.  

WashU Distance Carnival

The men’s and women’s track and field teams placed in the top 10 seven times over March 26-27.

First-year Kate Delia finished first in the 800 meters with a time of 2:08.32, beating 29 other runners. Delia continued her momentum after becoming a national champion in this event for indoor track and field just earlier this month.

Junior Cate Christopher finished as the runner-up with a new collegiate best time of 2:09.26 in the 800. Junior Caroline Echols, sophomore Kalena Riemer, and senior Cate Stevens rounded out eighth through 10th place respectively.

Sophomore Lucinda Laughlin was runner-up in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:23.98.

The men’s team secured one top-10 finish in the 800 meter. Junior William Frohling finished 10th out of 30 runners in the 800 with a time of 1:51.43.

WashU Invite

The WashU Invite began after the Distance Carnival ended, including shorter distance races as well as field events.

The women’s team had over 30 top 10 finishes in the Distance Carnival, including four first-place finishes.

Senior Jenae Bothe won first place in shot put with a throw of 13.95 meters, which was over a meter further than the second place finisher. Bothe also finished in fifth place in discus with a 39.16 meter throw. 

“This weekend was my first outdoor event, so it was my opener,” Bothe said. “It was good to just get some marks down, and hopefully competitive marks, for conference and nationals. It is really good … to set a strong foundation in my first performance after nationals.”

Senior Kally Mack placed second in hammer throw with a throw of 43.16 meters. Mack also finished in eighth place in discus with a throw of 35.04 meters.

The Bears placed in the top 10 for every field event they competed in. This included first-year Harper Karr finishing in fifth place for javelin and junior Sofia Rosenzweig finishing in fourth place in the triple jump.

The Bears nearly swept the pole vault, with four vaulters placing in the top five. Senior Mackenzie Walker cleared a height of 3.72 meters to win the event. First-year Campbell Pallera tied for second place, clearing a height of 3.57 meters. Junior Meredyth Barr and first-year Talia West tied for fifth place with clears of 3.42 meters.

The 4×100 meter relay team of junior Maya Davis, junior Julia Coric, and seniors Kylie Spytek and Jasmine Wright finished in second place with a time of 46.82, only 0.28 behind the first place team. 

Wright was also the runner-up in the 100 meter with a time of 11.86.

Spytek emerged as the winner in the 400 meter with a personal record time of 54.72. 

“I was very, very confident going into this race because I’ve been expecting a breakthrough race for a while,” Spytek said. “I was the first person that did not make indoor nationals in the 400. So, I was running with some fire under my feet.” 

Sophomore Quinn Bird finished in third place with a personal best time of 55.66. Christopher and Echols finished in sixth and eighth place respectively.

“Quinn Bird didn’t get the hype that she deserved when she hit 55 seconds for the first time,” Spytek said. “It is a big deal when you drop down by a second in the 400.”

First-year Megan Raue finished in third place for the 1500 meter with a personal record time of 4:44.3. 

The Bears had six of the top 10 finishes in the 800 meter. Laughlin won with a time of 2:09.81, over three seconds faster than the runner up. First-year Lucy Johnson finished in third place with a personal best of 2:15.59. Senior Katie Rector, junior Danielle Shipon, junior Isabel Erdmann, and Raue took sixth through 10th place, Raue with another personal best time.

The 4×400 meter team of Christopher, Coric, Spytek, and sophomore Hailey Weir won with a time of 3:46.51. The other 4×400 team of Bird, Delia, Echols, and senior Elizabeth Wagner finished close behind in third place with a time of 3:50.53.

The men’s track and field team ended the WashU Invite with over 20 top 10 finishes under their belt.

Many of the Bears earned top-10 finishes in throwing events. Sophomore Ian Murphy finished in fifth place with a distance of 47.79 meters in the hammer throw. The Bears also placed in the top-10 in shot put and javelin.

WashU won big in the men’s pole vault, taking four of the top five positions just two weeks after the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships on March 13 and 14. Junior Peter Lichtenberger won with a clearance of 5.07 meters. Seniors Hayden Kunkel and George Bourdier finished in second and third, clearing 5.02 and 4.92 meters, respectively. First-year Will Coyne finished in fifth place with a clear of 4.32 meters

“Personally, I wish we had a little bit more of a gap between competing for nationals and going back to competing for [the] regular season,” said Lichtenberger. “But our coach, Lane Lohr,  is a firm believer that we learn by competing, so we did.”

Sophomore Caleb Brox finished fourth in the 1500 meter with a personal best time of 3:55.96. First-year Rishi Shadaksharappa finished in eighth with a time of 3:57.83, also a personal best.

Two Bears cracked the top ten in the 800 meter. First-year Cameron Bettinger finished in third place with a personal best time of 1:54.60. First-year William Newkirk finished in fifth just after with a time of 1:54.60, also a personal best. 

Frohling finished as runner up in the 400 meter with a time of 48.72. The Bears also placed in the top 10 in the 400 meter hurdles, with senior Dayton Lasack finishing in sixth and first-year William Kamp finishing in ninth. The luck in the 400 distance continued in the 4×400 relay, with the team of senior Brandon Brazil, first-year Logan Fairchild, Frohling, and Lasack finishing in third place with a time of 3:16.28.

The Bears have a short break before traveling to Wisconsin for the UW–Platteville Invitational on April 10. The Bears will also compete at the Greenville University Select Meet in Greenville, Illinois the next day.