(All photos by Josh
Moczygemba)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Competing in its first Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference meet, Texas Lutheran University
pulled away to earn the 2014 SCAC Women's Track & Field
Championship Saturday afternoon on the campus of Trinity
University. Official
Championships Website | Event-by-Event Results &
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After having won four consecutive American Southwest Conference
track and field championships, TLU had to fight to win its fifth
straight conference crown. On Saturday, a great team effort -
highlighted by 10 individual wins and a victory in the 4x100 relay
- was enough to produce 263 points and a 26-point victory over
Trinity, who finished with 237 points. Southwestern University was
third with 47 points, Colorado College was fourth with 37 points
and the University of Dallas finished fifth with 31 points.
Texas Lutheran was led by Vanecia Spencer, who earned SCAC Female
Track & Field Athlete of the Meet honors after victories in the
400 meter dash (57.98) and the triple jump (36 feet, 5 inches),
second place finishes in the 100 meter (12.75) and 200 meter dash
(25.66) and third place finishes in the high jump (4 feet, 9 3/4
inches). She also ran on the first-place 4x100 meter relay team and
the second-place 4x400 meter relay team.
TLU's Kristyna Landry and Claudia Morquecho got the Bulldogs off to a good start with a 1-2 finish in the discus. Landry won with a SCAC-record toss of 139 feet, 6 inches. The old mark of 130 feet, 4 inches had stood for 12 years. Morquecho followed with a throw of 115 feet, 2 inches, and Trinity's Kelsey Oelze was third with a toss of 109 feet, 5 inches.
Kristi Ellis earned gold for TLU in the high jump with a winning leap of 5 feet, 5 3/4 inches. Sarah Pickett of Trinity was second (5 feet, 1 3/4 inches) and TLU's Spencer was third (4 feet, 9 3/4 inches).
The Bulldogs produced another 1-2 finish in the long jump with Sarah Randall earning the gold with a leap of 17 feet, 7 inches and Marlena Hunt placing second with a jump of 17 feet, 1/2 inch. Trinity's Salome Wilfred was third with a jump of 17 feet.
Oelze of Trinity took first place in the javelin throw with a toss of 119 feet, 1 inch. Texas Lutheran took the next two slots as Brittany Bowers was second (112 feet, 5 inches) and Ellis was third (90 feet, 6 inches).
Southwestern's Lilly Duarte earned top honors in the 1,500 meter run with a winning time of 4:47.83. Trinity duo Vanessa Moreno (4:56.19) and Maddie Murphy (5:03.52) rounded out the awards podium with second and third place fniishes.
Abigail Sheppard of Trinity took first place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.51. Ranecia Faison of Texas Lutheran was second in 16.59 and Anna Butler of Trinity finished third in a time of 17.16.
TLU's Spencer won the 400 meter dash (57.98) and was followed by Dallas' Katie Mcintyre (59.02) and Texas Lutheran's Cori Picazo (59.16).
Monique Anderson of Texas Lutheran earned the "Fastest Woman in the SCAC" unofficial crown with her first-place finish in the 100 meter dash (12.20). Fellow Bulldogs Spencer (12.75) and Brittany Steubing (12.80) completed the sweep for TLU.
Mariana Sigala of Trinity won the 800 meter run with a finishing time of 2:19.53, barely outkicking Duarte of Southwestern who placed second with a time of 2:19.91. The Pirates completed a 2-3 finish in the event with Kara Koinis taking third in a time of 2:23.10.
Jessie Dean of Trinity won the 400-meter hurdles for the second consecutive year, earning the gold medal at this year's meet with a time of 1:06.24. Southwestern's Emily Ammon was second in a time of 1:08.79 and Trinity's Rebecca Jenks finished third with a time of 1:10.27.
In the 200 meter dash, TLU's Anderson took gold with a winning time of 25.10 and Spencer was second with a time of 25.66. Bailey Drury of Trinity finished third in a time of 26.17.
Vanessa Moreno of Trinity became just the third athlete in SCAC history to win three 5,000 meter titles in their career. She completed this year's event in a winning time of 18:41.24. Teammate Maddie Murphy was second in a time of 18:42.76 and Leah Wessler of Colorado College placed third with a time of 18:46.30.
In the final event of the meet, Trinity University picked up its second straight 4x400 relay win. The team of Drury, Wilfred, Dean and Sigala won in a finishing time of 4:02.16. Texas Lutheran placed second in a time of 4:09.56 and Dallas was third at 4:10.66.
