Wayne State University Athletics

Jose Juarez

Women's Track & Field 4/20/2019 10:21:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Track Sets One School Record, Many Personal-Bests at Al Owens Classic

Jackie Feist broke her own school record for 800m.

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Wayne State University women's outdoor track and field squad competed yesterday and today at the 2019 Al Owens Classic hosted by GVSU.

FROM COACH GRANT LOFDAHL

"It was an up and down meet, but heavier on the up side certainly. The goal was to compete as hard as we can and to get better as a team, and I think we accomplished that. Jackie Feist continued to run strong with a front-running effort in the 800. She led more than half of the race and if she figures out the last 200 meters, the sky is the limit. Nadia, McKenzie, and Izzy Taylor combined for several PRs in the throws and that group is starting to peak at the right time. Our long jumpers excelled, including Aliyah McDonald who also had an outstanding run in the 100 dash. Izzy Bertolini ran her best 400 in a Warrior uniform so far, and I was really happy with Kennadi Rankin's race in the 5K, she ran smart and tough to win that heat. With final exams coming up and the GLIAC meet on the horizon, we just need to keep grinding and finish things as strong as we can."

SCHOOL RECORD

Redshirt senior Jackie Feist (Beverly Hills, Mich. / Birmingham Groves) eclipsed her own school record in the 800m race by finishing in a time of 2:14.56.

TOP PERFORMANCES

WSU's 4x100m relay quartet of sophomore Raven Tatum (Farmington Hills, Mich. / North Farmington), freshman Yasmine Affes (Northville, Mich.), freshman Aliyah McDonald (Kingston, Jamaica) and sophomore Jada Weatherspoon (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) placed fifth in a time of 50.30, which was the 10th-fastest mark in school history.

McDonald finished fifth in the 100m dash by clocking in at 12.05, the second-fastest time in program history.

Sophomore Isabella Bertolini (New Baltimore, Mich. / Anchor Bay) placed sixth in the 400m race in a personal-best time of 59.10, which ranks fourth in program history.

Sophomore Morgan Murphy (Novi, Mich. / Farmington) placed ninth in the triple jump on Friday at a distance of 10.23m, then finished tied-for-fifth on Saturday in the high jump at 1.55m.

Junior Teresa Diehl (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / Warren Regina) finished fifth in the 3k steeplechase in a time of 11:37.95.

The 4x400m relay of Bertolini, Tatum, senior Jayla Fleming (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Oak Park) and Feist finished fifth.

PERSONAL BESTS

On Friday, two freshmen – Izzy Taylor (Three Rivers, Mich.) and Sojourney Myers (Ortonville, Mich. / Walled Lake Western) – both set PRs in the hammer. Taylor recorded the fifth-best mark in program history at 43.80m, while Myers notched the seventh-best throw at 41.39m.

Resdhirt sophomore McKenzie Hughes (Manton, Mich.) set a personal-best in the discus with a toss of 34.90m, which ranks seventh in WSU annals.

Hughes also set a PR in the shot put at 11.90m, which ranks seventh in program history. Freshman Nadia Harris (Detroit, Mich. / West Bloomfield) and Taylor also set PRs in the shot put at 11.68m and 10.98m, respectively. Those throws rank eighth and ninth in WSU history.

Freshman Kennadi Rankin (Macomb, Mich. / Eisenhower) improved upon her PR by 24 seconds in the 5k. She won her heat and placed 16th overall in a time of 19:14.57.

Junior Alexis Brown (Auburn Hills, Mich. / Avondale) eclipsed her previous best in the long jump by going 5.09m, which ranks seventh in program history. McDonald also set a personal-best at 5.07m, which ranks eighth.

Tatum had a personal-best for 200m (25.91), which ranks eighth in school history.

Weatherspoon missed eclipsing her previous best in the long jump by 0.01m (5.27) set last Saturday at Oakland, then set a personal-best in the 100m dash at 12.90, which ranks 10th in school history.

UP NEXT

The Warriors will compete in the Davenport Invite next weekend.

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