Tigers capture title in first ever home indoor meet
Author: Wendy Reid
Posted: Monday, January 28, 2013 at 10:26 AM
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – History was made on Friday, Jan. 25 as senior Kaitlin Loos (Sterling, Ill.) stepped up to the start line in the 60m hurdles, the first event in the women’s pentathlon and the opening event of the first annual NAIA/NCAA Div. III Challenge, the first competitive event ever in the Field House of the new Student Life and Recreation Center. The two-day event brought in eight of the top teams from around the region, half with NAIA affiliation and half with NCAA Div. III. The Tigers captured an overall first place team finish, finishing 22.5 points ahead of Bethel College (Ind.) with 160.5 points.
The Tigers captured first place finishes in the 4x200m and the 4x400m relays. The 4x200m team of Alexis Davis (Trotwood, Ohio), Alexandra Ortiz (Ottawa, Ill.), Peyton Kirkland (Lindenhurst, Ill.) and Rachel Carman (Keokuk, Iowa) crossed the line at 1:45.90, setting a new school record. The 4x400m team of Kalla Gold (Eureka, Ill.), Ortiz,Kamaria Goedhart (Rochester, Minn.) and Carman finished at 4:03.05.
Loos captured second place overall in the women’s pentathlon with a total score of 2826, just 43 points behind Greenville College’s(Ill.) Taylor Brunner.
Davis set two personal best times on the day, finishing fourth in the 60m dash (8.08) and third in the 200m dash (26.33). In the 400m dash, the Tigers finished 2-3-4-5 behind Augstana’s Kierra Smith, with Gold crossing second at 1:01.29. Natalie Puent (Eureka, Ill.) coming in right behind at 1:02.19, followed by Janelle Lucas (West Terre Haute, Ind.) at 1:02.53 and Kirkland at 1:02.69.
On the distance side, senior Kortney Ellingboe (Hamilton, Ill.) and junior Chantalle Falconer (Byron, Ill.) finished back-to-back in the 3000m run. Ellingboe crossed at 10:24.02 for second place overall and Falconer coming in at 10:25.14 for third place. In the 5000m run, freshman Grace Dean (Lindenhurst, Ill.) crossed the finish line in third place at 18:17.89.
Leading Olivet in the field events was Carmen and sophomore Jacqueline Fayne (Chicago, Ill.), both posting second place finishes. Carmen finished the day with at 5.43m (17 feet 9.1 inches) in the long jump. Fayne posted a 10.69m (35 feet, 8 inches) jump in the triple jump.
Olivet returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11:00 a.m. (EST) at the Indiana Wesleyan University Invite in Marion, Ind.