Reid Peters / Winonan
After spending the majority of its season indoors, the Winona State University women’s track and field team got some fresh air when they began their outdoor season last weekend. The Warriors won 11 total events at the Viking Olympics in Rock Island, Ill.
Winona State compiled the most points with 423, which put them in front of Northern Michigan University with 213, and host Augustana University with 172. The Warriors took home 5-of-6 events on Friday.
The 4×200-meter relay team set a new meet record with a time of 1 minute, 42.09 seconds. The team consisting of junior Hailey Deschaine, sophomores Tamika Tucker and Brittany Schyvinck and junior Megan Seidl just missed the fastest time in school history, set in 2012 at 1:41.93.
Tucker said the team has been preparing a lot for the outdoor season.
“I feel like we’re going into this season strong,” Tucker said. “Everyone trained to the best of their ability, and we look good so far.”
Winona State’s 4×800-meter relay team claimed the top spot with a time of 9:55.85. The team consisting of junior Madeline Tompach, senior Katie Bagley, sophomore Madison Shroeder and first-year Ali Johnson marked the seventh-best time in school history.
Sophomore Raissa Hansen took home the top spot for the 3000-meter event with a score of 11:27.14, the fourth-best time in Winona State history.
The Warriors also took home five top spots in the hammer throw. Junior Nicole Nelson won the event with a personal record of 183-7. Her score edged her previous thrown of 181-11 and is the sixth-best mark in school history.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Long achieved second place in the event with a throw of 181.
Both Long and Nelson’s throws broke the previous meet record, which was set in 2007 by Winona State’s Emily King.
The Warriors achieved the third-best distance medley race time in school history with its first team of juniors Amanda Kaiser and Tara Roelofs, first-year Hope Willenbrink and senior Jordan Paschke reporting a time of 12:35.08. Winona State’s second team of sophomores Korina Gomez and McKenzie Carper, junior Tiffany Sunderland and sophomore Hannah Lewis took the second spot with a time of 13:10.80.
Winona State placed second in the javelin throw, with sophomore Lindsey Rutz throwing a distance of 103-6. Rutz received the full 10 points, though, as the winner was unattached.
Rebarchek said the main objective of the team is to focus on their opponents.
“The goal for us early in the season is to compete not with the stopwatch or tape measurer, but to just compete against other teams and the elements,” Rebarchek said.
The Warriors took home six more events on Saturday, the second day of the event.
In the 400-meter dash, Seidl finished first, clocking in at 58.24 while sophomore Brittany Schyvinck finished second with a time of 1:00.89.
Winona State won the top two spots in the shot put as Long won the event with a toss of 46- 9, which was a personal record and the fourth-best mark in team history. Sophomore Ashley Thooft took home second place with a throw of 42-11 3/4.
Thooft finished second in the discus throw as well with a throw of 139-9. She finished behind senior Alissa Rausch – the reigning national champion – who competed as an individual, making her unattached.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Tucker, Deschaine, Schyvinck and Seidl won first place with a time of 49.90. Winona State also took home the 4×400-meter relay with a team consisting of Seidl, Bagley, junior Ali Skluzacek and Schyvinch with a time of 4:00.06.
Rebarchek said the team performed well despite the outdoor weather conditions.
“It’s exciting,” Rebarchek said. “We can go out on a windy day and still run very well.”
The Warriors travel to Maryville, Mo. next weekend for the NSIC vs. MIAA competition, which is hosted by Northwest Missouri State University.
