Marian Women Take Gold at Crossroads League Championships
Crossroads League Championships Central
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - For the second time in program history, the Marian women's track and field team won the Crossroads League Track and Field Outdoor Championship, outscoring Indiana Wesleyan 200.5 to 132 to take the title. Marian came back from second place after Thursday's opening events, winning the meet for the first time since 2017. After the meet, Erin Oleksak was honored with the Outstanding Female Athlete award.
The day kicked off with the end of the heptathlon. Michaela Barrett led the Knights with a second-place overall finish in the medley of events. In the long jump, Barrett held steady in the standings with a 4.75m leap. The 13.53m javelin throw finished Barrett eighth in the event and prevented the sophomore from moving up in the standings. Barrett's 2:48.36 run in the 800m sealed second place for the sophomore and gave the Knights their first podium finish of the day.
Also in the heptathlon, D'Asia Cole brought home an eighth-place finish in the event and added on a team point for the Knights. The 31.32 200m sprint on Thursday marked Cole's fastest 200m race of her career.
In the first running event of the day, Sydni Montgomery placed seventh in the grueling 3,000m Steeplechase with a final time of 12:30.12. The 12:30.12 mark set a personal best for Montgomery and put her fifth all-time in Marian history in the demanding event.
The 4x100m saw the Knights' third champion of the meet. Jada Burton, Erin Oleksak, Chelsea Simmons, and Jocelynn Burton brought home the school record time of 47.21 and took the gold. Jocelynn Burton came from behind in the final leg of the race to edge out a photo-finish win over Taylor by .13 seconds. Marian's time was also good for the meet record, breaking the previous time set by Bethel in 2011.
The women's javelin wrapped up next with Sarah Spangler taking sixth with a 29.64m throw. Paige Hoog was the other Marian competitor and brought home an 11th-place finish for the Knights. Spangler's sixth-place throw locked down three more points for the Knights' team effort.
The 1500m run saw Liz Loichinger taking 16th for the Knights as the team's top finisher at 5:12.39. Josie DeFreese placed 18th to set a personal best and completed the race in 5:14.72 as Rachel Bowling took 20th with a final time of 5:17.80.
Erin Oleksak continued to dominate her events and took the gold in the 100m hurdles race as the sophomore clinched her third individual championship of the week. Oleksak's 14.30 second run set the Crossroads League meet record in the 100m hurdles, while also breaking Marian's school record as well. In addition to the meet record, Oleksak's prelim time on Thursday stood as the sixth fastest in meet history.
Also placing for the Knights in the hurdles event was DeJae Hudson, who placed sixth in 16.21 seconds while Barrett followed closely with a 16.44, seventh-place finish.
After the 100m hurdles win, the Knights sat atop the standings with 107.5 points, 8.5 above Indiana Wesleyan.
Back in the field events, Jai-Lyn Norwood took home another gold for the Knights in the triple jump as the junior leaped 11.65m for the top mark. Naomi Walters brought a second-place performance home with her personal best jump of 11.56m. Adding on more team points for the Knights, Kara Whitney placed fifth with a 10.37m jump as DeJae Hudson got two points for Marian off a 10.03m jump in seventh. Norwood's triple jump mark is third best in meet history, while Walters' mark is fifth best in the meet's duration.
In the 400m dash, Jada Burton took third place in 58.14 seconds to lead the other Knights. Taylor Thomas finished just outside the top-eight in ninth place with a 1:00.09 final time.
The 100m dash saw another Marian gold medal. Jocelynn Burton once again blazed by the other competitors and set a school record with a 12.02 second sprint. The 12.02 second run met the NAIA "B" standard, and stood as the No. 2 time all-time in meet history. Burton's gold medal run was followed by three Knights in succession in fifth, sixth, and seventh. Tamia Perryman edged out the fifth-place finish in 12.52 as Simmons placed sixth in 12.57 seconds. MaKayla Melvin finished just .02 seconds behind Perryman in seventh with a finals time of 12.59. Perryman's 12.52 second run set a new personal best for the freshman.
In the 800m run, DeFreese led the other Knights with a 19th-placed finish in 2:29.14. Loichinger took home 22nd in the event off a 2:30.89 run.
Dana Dwyer led the 400m hurdles for the Knights and turned in a 1:06.33 final time to clinch the silver medal while Oleksak followed in third with a 1:09.67 finish, doing so after stumbling on the back stretch. Dwyer finished just .13 seconds behind the Grace winner.
The 200m dash saw another field riddled with Marian competitors. Jocelynn Burton snatched third with a 25.07 final time to mark a new personal record, setting the No. 7 time in meet history. Melvin crossed next for the Knights in fifth with a 25.68 second finish. Simmons took sixth and edged out Perryman as the pair finished back-to-back in 25.74 and 25.94 seconds, respectively.
The hammer throw saw Raegene Thomas finish second with a 46.52m throw to clinch another silver for the Knights. Hoog logged two more points for the Marian efforts with a 41.27m hurl to take seventh in the event.
Catherine Newhart was the top-finisher for the Knights with a 19:12.44 time in 14th during the 5,000m run. Mari Hudson and Isabel Vazquez placed 24th and 25th, respectively. Hudson finished in 20:58.12 while Vazquez crossed in 21:19.05.
In the final event of the championships, Jada Burton, Dwyer, Melvin, and Taylor Thomas brought home a fourth-place finish to round out the Knights' team efforts in 4:02.26, putting a stamp on Marian's win.
The women's gold medal as a team marks their first title since 2017, and their third total track championship in indoor or outdoor history. The men's track and field team also won the top-team prize marking the second Marian Crossroads League Championship sweep in school history, doing so in 2017.
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