GLIAC Media Relations

GLIAC Champion 4x400m Relay - (clockwise) Elyse Miller, Keneisha Thomas, Renae Kutcha and Avery Wilson.

Women's Track & Field 2/25/2024 7:57:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Indoor Track & Field Finishes Fifth at GLIAC Championships

WSU's 4x400m relay wins conference title.

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The Wayne State University women's indoor track and field squad concluded competition at the 2024 GLIAC Indoor Championships on Sunday by accumulating 48 points (fourth-most in program history) to finish fifth with 62 points (also fourth in school history).

TEAM STANDINGS
1.   Grand Valley State - 250.5
2.   Saginaw Valley State - 102
3.   Northern Michigan - 97
4.   Parkside - 63.5
5.   Wayne State - 62
6.   Davenport - 61
7.   Ferris State - 27
7.   Purdue Northwest - 27
9.   Lake Superior State - 2

QUOTING COACH LOFDAHL
"We did a lot of good things over the past two days, but we couldn't really put it all together as a team. The competition on the track was intense, a significant step up from the past few years of GLIAC Indoor Championships.

"The biggest highlight of the meet was certainly the 4x400 relay getting a three-peat victory and crushing the school record. Elyse (Miller), Keneisha (Thomas), Renae (Kutcha), and Avery (Wilson) are gamers and they all performed at a very high level.

"Our triple jumpers stepped up late in the meet when they needed to as well. Mikayla Williams taking second place when she is far from 100% healthy was extremely clutch, and we got key points from Morgan Witzgall and Nicole Warren too.

"On the distance side, Bri Vojinov had an excellent 3K and is now number two in school history, behind Reagan Justice who was a trooper with two scoring efforts this weekend. Thailyia Christensen did everything she could for the team as always taking seventh in the mile in an extremely deep race.

"Mikaela Owen had a tremendous meet with a PR in the 200 and a fifth-place finish in the 60, and Avery Wilson and Renae Kutcha put it all out there in the 400 which was one of the most competitive events of the meet. Nearly a school record for Avery.

"The outcome of a fifth-place team finish was not what we wanted, but this crew has a great collective attitude and they'll bounce back for outdoor season in a major way."

The field events began with the high jump and freshman Nevaeh Branson (Mason, Mich.) earned six points with a third-place finish at a height of 1.58m (5-02.25), which equaled her season-best. Classmate Gracie Klink (Capac, Mich.) placed 12th (1.48m).

WSU's lone competitor in the shot put was freshman Makayla Stewart (Novi, Mich.), who finished 15th with a best throw of 10.60m.

The Warriors tallied 12 points in the triple jump as redshirt senior Mikayla Williams (St. Charles, Mich.) posted a season-best mark of 10.96, which helped her finish as the runner-up for the second consecutive year.  Redshirt senior Morgan Witzgall (Auburn, Mich. / Bay City Western) also notched a season-best distance at 10.37m to place fifth.  Freshman Nicole Warren (Saline, Mich.) placed seventh at 9.93m, just off her season-best mark of 9.34m.

In the first running event on Sunday, redshirt senior Thailyia Christensen (Flushing, Mich.) placed seventh in the mile in a time of 4:59.43. Classmate Katherine Ray (Novi, Mich.) finished ninth (5:06.96), while junior Robin Bresolin (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova) placed 16th (5:47.31).

Wayne State added seven more points to the team total in the 400m dash finals.  Sophomore Avery Wilson (Davison, Mich.) finished fourth in a season-best time of 56.90, while junior Renae Kutcha (Jackson, Mich. / Lumen Christi) placed seventh in a time of 57.60. Wilson's time is third in program history, and the fastest in six years since Dazmonique Carr ran a 56.89 at the 2018 GLIAC Indoor Championships at GVSU.

Senior Mikaela Owen (Bridgman, Mich.) finished fifth in the 60m dash finals to earn her four points.

WSU's trio of runners in the 800m final did not score.  Freshman Anna Gdowski (Northville, Mich.) placed ninth with the fifth-fastest time in school history (2:18.22). Sophomore Rachel Felstow (Leonard, Mich. / Romeo) finished 13th (2:20.17), and graduate student Emily Esker (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) was 16th (2:21.96).

The Warriors top two in the 3K race contributed five points to the team total.  Sophomore Briana Vojinov (Brownstown, Mich. / Woodhaven) placed fifth (4 points) in a time of 9:55.41, while junior Reagan Justice (Canton, Mich. / Salem) was eighth (1 point) in a time of 10:05.66.  Junior Annalee Misch (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower) placed 23rd (11:16.61). Vojinov's time was the second-fastest in program history.

Wayne State's lone GLIAC title of the weekend came in the final event as the 4x400m relay quartet of sophomore Elyse Miller (Woodhaven, Mich. / Gibraltar Carlson), redshirt freshman Keneisha Thomas (Madison Heights, Mich. / Lamphere), Kutcha and Wilson won the event in a time of 3:48.38, which eclipsed the previous school record by over two seconds. That time is ranked 39th in NCAA Division 2 this winter.

UP NEXT
It does not appear that any of WSU's provisional marks this year are good enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships according to the latest TFRRS rankings.

The 2024 outdoor season is slated to begin the end of March.

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Players Mentioned

Nevaeh Branson: Jumps; 5' 5"; Freshman; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Robin Bresolin: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Thailyia Christensen: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/4-Outdoor

Emily Esker: Mid-Distance; 5' 6"; Graduate Student; 4-Indoor/4-Outdoor

Rachel Felstow: Mid-Distance; 5' 8"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Reagan Justice: Distance; 5' 3"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Renae Kutcha: Sprints; 5' 8"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Elyse Miller: Sprints; 5' 9"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Annalee Misch: Distance; 5' 6"; Junior; 2-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Mikaela Owen: Sprints; 5' 6"; Senior; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Players Mentioned

Nevaeh Branson
: 5' 5"; Freshman; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Jumps

Robin Bresolin
: 5' 3"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Thailyia Christensen
: 5' 3"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/4-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Emily Esker
: 5' 6"; Graduate Student; 4-Indoor/4-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Rachel Felstow
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Reagan Justice
: 5' 3"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Distance

Renae Kutcha
: 5' 8"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Sprints

Elyse Miller
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Sprints

Annalee Misch
: 5' 6"; Junior; 2-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Distance

Mikaela Owen
: 5' 6"; Senior; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Sprints