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Golden Eagles Return From Iowa Invite With Five Event Winners
April 19, 2008
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Marquette University men's and women's track and field teams boasted five event winners Saturday at the Iowa Invitational in the face of strong competition, cooler temperatures, and a midday drizzle at Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track. "Overall, it was a good meet for us," said head coach Bert Rogers. "The weather was okay, it wasn't great. We came out and competed hard. We didn't have too many spectacular performances in terms of times and marks, but we had people winning events." An exception would have been sophomore Rachel Thiel, who continued her remarkable outdoor season in the women's shot put event, winning the individual title Saturday and improving her regional qualifying mark with a throw of 14.50m (47-07.00). Freshman Peter Bolgert accomplished his first BIG EAST qualifying time in the men's steeplechase, winning the event in 9:24.87 and crossing the finish line nearly 15 seconds faster than teammate Kyle Saginus, who was runner-up. Erynn James claimed the women's high jump title with a mark of 1.70m (5-07.00). The Marquette sophomore tied Wisconsin's Megan Seidl, but James had fewer misses. This was also case in the women's pole vault as Carrie Schmid placed ahead of Wisconsin's Jenny Soceka, with each student-athlete clearing the 3.80m (12-05.50) mark. In the women's 800 meters, senior Cassie Peller finished ahead of 19 other competitors with a time of 2:12.07. MU junior Sarah Verdoliva placed second with a personal best time of 2:13.15 in the event.
Sophomore Kelly Magennis recorded a season-best throw of 38.47m (126-02) to place second in the women's javelin followed by freshman Catherine Benage at 37.88m (124-03) and Jayne Grebinski was runner-up in the women's 3,000 meters with a time of 10:03.26. Third place finishers included Mark Kopecki in the men's 1,500 meters and Tyler O'Brien in the 200 meters, while the Golden Eagles' men's 4x100 meter relay team recorded a time of 41.99, the eighth fasted mark in school history. The women's 4x400 meter relay also placed third. "It was just another good step forward for us, said Rogers. "We are competing better and that's what we're looking for, to put down good marks and to get ready for BIG EAST competition." Next Saturday, April 26, the school will host the 2008 Marquette Twilight Meet at "Bus" Shimek Memorial Track at Valley Fields. Field events are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and the running events at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles will also send a pair of men's distance runners to compete in the 10,000 meters at the renowned Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Overall, it was a good meet for us. The weather was okay, it wasn't great. We had a little bit of a misty rain during the middle part of the meet, but it didn't get real cold, so it wasn't that big of a deal. We came out and competed hard. We didn't have too many spectacular performances in terms of times and marks, but we had people winning events. |
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