Wayne State University Athletics

4x100m relay - broke the meet record - Sasha-Gay Thompson, Mikaela Owen, Hanne Bastiaansen and Avery Wilson.

Women's Track & Field 5/10/2024 9:14:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Track Notches Two Provisional Marks And four All-Time Top-Three Times

Christensen and Ray both set personal bests in the steeplechase.

BEREA, Ohio -- Select members of the Wayne State University women's outdoor track and field squad made the trek to Northeast Ohio on Friday for the Baldwin Wallace Harrison Dillard Twilight with hopes of improving their marks for a possible selection to the NCAA Championships later this month.

Two individual times (both in the steeplechase) and two relays all posted top-three marks in program history.

Redshirt senior Thailyia Christensen (Flushing, Mich.), who missed qualifying for the 2023 national championships by 1.10 seconds after running a personal-best 10:40.17 at the Oakland Last Chance Meet, waited 364 days later to improve her personal best by nearly 11 seconds (10.71 to be exact). She placed second in a time of 10:27.15, which is currently 13th in NCAA Division 2 this year and ranks second in school history. Her time is also less than two seconds off the school record set by Chelsea Johnson at the 2015 NCAA Championships, which Johnson finished fifth.

Christensen and Ray at Baldwin Wallace Twilight

Classmate Katherine Ray (Novi, Mich.) also set a personal best by running a 10:37.28, which ranks third in program history and 23rd this year in D2.

The 4x100m relay quartet of sophomore Hanne Bastiaansen (Tessenderlo, Belgium), freshman Sasha-Gay Thompson (Plymouth/Shantamee, Jamaica / Titchfield), senior Mikaela Owen (Bridgman, Mich.) and sophomore Avery Wilson (Davison, Mich.) ran the fastest time in eight years by a WSU group winning the event with a meet record time of 46.90, which ranks third in school history.

The 4x400m relay quartet of Wilson, sophomore Elyse Miller (Woodhaven, Mich. / Gibraltar Carlson), junior Renae Kutcha (Jackson, Mich. / Lumen Christi) and redshirt freshman Keneisha Thomas (Madison Heights, Mich. / Lamphere) posted the third-fastest time in program history at 3:49.83 to finish fifth.

Junior Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich.) placed fifth in the 800m run (2:12.90), while sophomore Annabelle Smith (Blissfield, Mich.) finished sixth in the long jump (5.43m).

Both Bastiaansen and Owen competed in the 200m dash with Bastiaansen finishing second (24.54) and Owen seventh (25.46).

Redshirt senior Mikayla Williams (St. Charles, Mich.) placed fifth in the triple jump with a best mark of 11.06m.

UP NEXT
The Warriors will await word from the NCAA Selection Committee this Tuesday (May 14th), to see who has qualified for the NCAA Championships May 23-25 in Emporia, Kansas.

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Players Mentioned

Hanne Bastiaansen: Sprints; 5' 5"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/1-Outdoor

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

Emily Gordon: Mid-Distance; 5' 7"; Junior; 2-Indoor/3-Outdoor

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

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

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

Katherine Ray: Mid-Distance; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; 4-Indoor/4-Outdoor

Annabelle Smith: Sprints/Jumps; 5' 4"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Mikayla Williams: Jumps; 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/4-Outdoor

Avery Wilson: Sprints; 5' 3"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Players Mentioned

Hanne Bastiaansen
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Sprints

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

Emily Gordon
: 5' 7"; Junior; 2-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

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

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

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

Katherine Ray
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; 4-Indoor/4-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Annabelle Smith
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Sprints/Jumps

Mikayla Williams
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/4-Outdoor
: Jumps

Avery Wilson
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Sprints