Women's Track & Field Claims Third at Little State

MARION, Ind. – The Taylor women's track and field team took third place at the Indiana Little State meet held at Indiana Wesleyan this weekend.

Freshman Alex Berends won the 3,000-meter steeplechase, hitting the NAIA 'A' standard with a time of 10:57.32 while senior Elaine Schmeltz followed closely behind in third place with a time of 11:11.94.

Junior Haley White added another victory for the Trojans in the javelin with toss of 37.53 meters.

TU's 4x800-meter relay team of Jane Hawks, Jenna Norris, Shelby Wilson, and Sarina Oleson hit the automatic qualification mark for the NAIA National Championship with a time of 9:27.68 en route to a third place finish.

The Trojans dominated in the 10,000-meter as Hannah Schroder claimed the victory with a time of 38:31.78 and was followed closely by Allison Steinbeck (39:20.19) and Anissa Richards (39:34.13), who finished third and fourth, respectively.

Berends continued her stellar performance in the 1,500-meter as the freshman hit the NAIA 'A' standard with a time of 4:39.98 en route to a second place finish.

Hawks and Oleson added solid performances in the 800-meter as Oleson took fourth (2:18.18) and Hawks finished fifth (2:18.38) as the duo moved into second and third on Taylor's all-time 800-meter list.

Schmeltz recorded a new personal best in the 5,000-meter with a time of 18:06.02 to finish fourth place.

The Trojans finished with 95 points to take third place behind Indianapolis (211.5) and Indiana Wesleyan (168.5). Taylor will return to action next Saturday at home in the Taylor Invitational.