Women's Track & Field Season Underway
The 2023 Indoor Season for the MAC Track & Field teams is underway with several individuals already posting outstanding performances after 2 meets. Hopes are high for the Spring season for both squads, with the Men's team finishing as Runner-Up at the Division 3 meet in New York last May, with the Lady Cardinals bringing home the 3rd place trophy in the 3-day event.
The Lady Cardinals boast several award winning sophomores, with Laine Cottrell earning both All Region 16 and All American honors in 2022, joining with All American returners Rachel Wilson and Laura Maddox in the distance, Stephany Latham in the Sprints/Jumps, and Thrower Molly Gearhart . The 2022 Women's team somehow found time with all the training and competition to also take top honors Nationally for All Junior Colleges as the top Academic Track & Field team in the Country.
The teams competed at the Principia Relays on Friday January 27th and Saturday January 28th to start their Indoor season and followed that up on Saturday, February 4th with a meet at Illinois College.
At Principia, top performances for the Lady Cardinals came from Freshman Emma Gerstner, who won the Triple Jump and placed 3rd in the Long Jump; Laine Cottrell-4th in the 200 meter dash; and Freshman Riley Petsch who placed 3rd in the 5,000 meter run.
Complete results for both Mineral Area Track and Field teams can be found at the following site:
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/76729/m/Principia_College_Relays?team_hnd=98373
The great performances didn't stop with the Principia meet, as the Cardinals competed in the Jim Green Invitational hosted by Illinois College in their second Indoor meet. Top efforts for the Lady Cardinals came from Emma Gerstner who made the finals in the 55 meter dash, placing 6th, as well as a 4th place finish in the Triple Jump; and a 3rd place performance in the mile from Riley Petsch.
Overall Mineral Area College results can be found at:
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/76648/m/Illinois_College_Jim_Green_Invite?team_hnd=98373
The next competition for the MAC T & F teams will be Saturday, February 11th at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois.
After the first two Indoor meets of the season, several of the Cardinals have achieved qualifying marks for the NJCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships which will be in May at Utica, New York. A complete list of qualifiers will be posted after next week's meet at Illinois Wesleyan.