LEXINGTON, Kentucky – The Wilmington College women's track & field team opened its outdoor season with a fifth-place finish at the Pioneer Invitational hosted by Transylvania University on Friday and Saturday.
The Fightin' Quakers placed fifth out of 17 teams with 52.5 points. Hanover College (123.5 points) and Berea College (102 points) were the two NCAA Division III schools to finish above Wilmington, doing so in first and third place respectively.
In field events, Kayli Sullivan scored points in both the hammer throw and shot put by placing seventh (140' 6") and eighth (27' 2 ¼") respectively. Both marks qualify her for the All-Ohio Outdoor Meet later this season. Keva Cox rounded out the Quakers' field performances with a sixth-place finish (4' 9") in the high jump.
Emma Burke and Sidney Fields did well in hurdles as Burke took second in the 100-meter hurdles (16.03 seconds) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:07.02). Those two marks along with Fields' 1:12.65 are All-Ohio qualifying times. Fields also finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.48 seconds.
In distance, Brooke Gibbons took fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:17.76 while Katie Hughes qualified for the All-Ohio meet with a time of 19:54.30 and a sixth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run. Additionally, Savannah Rhodes and Kendra Stahl took second (43.53.01) and eighth (48:38.58) respectively in the 10,000-meter run.
Allison Helmke turned in a time of 13:29.26 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to finish fifth while the Quakers' 4-x-400-meter relay team of Fields, Amber LaRotonda, Burke and Cheyenne Rhodes placed fourth with a time of 4:21.85.
Wilmington heads to the Cedarville Invitational next Saturday.
