WHEATON, Ill. - The Elmhurst University women's track and field team had a standout performance at the Wheaton Invitational, highlighted by a series of personal bests, top-three finishes, and school-record performances across the board.
In the sprints, Alyssa Busker dominated the 100m and 200m, winning both with times of 11.94 and 24.16 respectively. Lauren Marshall placed third in the 100m at 12.25, while Jenna Smolen clocked a personal-best 13.49. In the 200m, Tiana Grady took fourth with a time of 25.29—good for third in Elmhurst history—while Carmela Woods finished seventh in 25.47, marking a personal best and the fourth-fastest time in school history. Gianna Konieczny (26.47), Emily Mikos (27.16), and Brooke Greaves (27.68) also posted personal bests in the event.
The 100m hurdles saw Nakala Nadeau finish second in 14.54, followed by Brooke Greaves in third at 15.08, a personal best and the fourth-fastest time in school history. Tiana Grady placed fourth in 15.40, and Anna Andretich was close behind in fifth at 15.45, another personal best and fifth on Elmhurst's all-time list. Jasmine Pickett recorded a PR of 16.28.
In the 400m, Carmela Woods ran a personal-best 57.18 to place second, marking the second-fastest time in Elmhurst history, while Violet Schramm notched a PR of 1:03.43. The 400m hurdles saw Jasmine Pickett place seventh with a personal-best 1:07.35, the fourth-fastest mark in program history, and Sadie Hartmann ran 1:10.81, placing ninth on the Elmhurst list with her PR.
Middle distance runners also shined. In the 800m, Nayeli Villegas took seventh in 2:23.11, with Katie Nalley (2:32.27) and Rhiannon Galasso (2:41.91) setting new personal bests. The 1500m was a showcase of personal bests from top to bottom, led by Nalley in 5:02.07, followed by Alyssa Roelli (5:07.42), Riley Wieringa (5:12.12), Keagan Burke (5:20.08), Lauren Snelgrove (5:36.52), Julietta Contreras (5:38.01), and Annie Hathaway (5:48.49).
In the 3000m steeplechase, Ashley Kachurik secured second in 11:34.33, with Esther Brown in fifth at 11:55.62 and Jessica Solar taking seventh in a personal-best 12:03.96, which ranks eighth in program history. In the 5000m, Molly Roberts placed eighth in 18:36.76 and Sabrina Kadow ran 19:14.05, both setting personal bests.
In the field events, Caroline Slater hit a personal-best 26.74 meters in the discus. A three-way tie in the high jump saw Brooke Greaves, Caylah Boyd, and Angelina Camaci all clear 1.53 meters for fourth place, while Annabeth Webb reached a personal-best 1.43 meters.
The long jump was a major highlight, as Chloe Selmer broke the school record with a leap of 5.64 meters, narrowly edging teammate Paulina Tinajero, who posted the second-best mark in Elmhurst history at 5.63 meters. Vanessa Carr jumped 5.51 meters to place third, with Lauren Marshall and Sherlyn Carrasco finishing sixth and seventh, the latter setting a PR and claiming ninth on the all-time list.
Kate Weber finished second in the pole vault, clearing 3.30 meters. In the triple jump, Selmer again impressed with a second-place finish at 11.34 meters, the second-best mark in school history, while Vanessa Carr followed in third with a jump of 11.12 meters.
The relay teams capped off the day with record-breaking efforts. The 4x100m team of Grady, Marshall, Schwarz, and Busker blazed to a winning time of 45.73, setting a new school record and posting the fourth-fastest time in NCAA Division III history. The 4x400m relay squad of Schramm, Villegas, Cebrero Flores, and Mikos placed fourth in 4:08.67, which ranks eighth in Elmhurst history.
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