Eight Westmont track and field athletes competed on the first day of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday in Edwardsville, Illinois with mixed results.
Lorin Milotta took the initial step in her quest to capture All-American honors by finishing first in the first heat of the 100 meter hurdles. Milotta’s time of 14.58 earned her a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals which will take place at 11:20 p.m. (PDT). The finals are scheduled for 2:25 p.m.
“Lorin had a slow start,” said Head Coach Russell Smelley, “but went away from the pack from hurdle seven on. She came prepared to compete at nationals.”
The women’s 10,000 meters saw Westmont’s Lisa Griego and Kaitlyn Dunn finish in eleventh and thirteenth places. Griego, who will also compete in the marathon on Saturday morning, posted a time of 38:12.74 while Dunn completed the 25-lap race in 38:14.07.
“Kaitlyn ran a wonderful race and had a 20 second PR,” noted Smelley. “She did everything we had hoped that everyone else would do.”
Nathan Kemp finished in twenty-fifth place in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 33:30.55.
In the 1500 meters, Kate Stuart posted a PR of 4:42.59 in the first heat of the women’s trial, finishing nineteenth overall. Jacob Goodin missed qualifying for the finals by 0.43 seconds, placing thirteenth overall with a time of 3:56.25. The top 12 advanced to the finals.
The Warriors struggled in two field events. Kasey Kearin fouled on all three of her long jump attempts, an event in which she finished second at the Indoor National Championships in March. Kearin competes in the triple jump tomorrow beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Competing in the men’s javelin with pain in his shoulder, Brent Lagace fell well short of his season-best mark of 190-2, throwing just 156-9 and finishing twenty-first.
Tomorrow’s competitors will include Daniel Lew in the men’s 5,000 meter racewalk beginning at 12:05 p.m. Chrissa Trudelle and Kaitlyn Dunn will take to the track for the semifinals of the women’s 5,000 meters at 4:40 p.m.
