ST. PAUL, Minn. – It hasn't taken long for freshman Kaitlyn Long to make her mark in the Winona State track and field program. Earlier in the year, she recorded the third-best throw in WSU history with a 61' 11" throw that provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championship.
It didn't take her long to top that mark. At The Showcase at the University of St. Thomas Friday, Long made a throw that stretched 64' 3 ¼" (19.59-meters), which not only won the event by almost 10 feet and netted her the second-best throw in WSU history, but also automatically qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14 in Birmingham, Ala.
The Warriors as a team had a very successful outing in the weight throw. Abbey Ristow finished second with a 55' 5 ¾" (16.91-meters) throw and provisional qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Alissa Rausch finished third with a 55' 3" (16.84-meters) toss and also provisionally qualified and Ashley Thooft would be the fourth Warrior to provisionally qualify with a throw of 53' 11 ¼" (16.44-meters).
Rausch would end up setting two provisional qualifying marks on the day, as her 47' 8" (14.53-meters) throw in the shot put netted her the fourth-best throw in WSU history with that mark. Delaney Miller netted third in the shot put with a 42' 7 ½" (12.99-meters) toss.
Winona State's distance runners also had a great day at the track. Amanda Kaiser won the one-mile run with a time of 5:06.68, giving her the third-best mark in WSU history in that event. Jordan Skelly's time 5:08.49 netted her a third-place finish and also put her right behind Kaiser for the fourth-best mark in the WSU record book. Chelsea Schrubbe's time of 5:15.72 cracked her into the Winona State record book as well, netting her sixth on the list.
The Warriors also dominated the 400-meter dash, as Winona State swept the top five spots. Catherine Whitcomb won the event, crossing the finish line in 58.40 and placing her sixth in the WSU record book. Kelsey Bethke took second with a time of 58.80 and put her in seventh in the WSU record book and Megan Seidl made the record book as well with a third-place time of 58.95, putting her in tenth.
Another event the Warriors dominated in was the triple jump, taking the top three spots and four of the top five spots overall. Andrea Bartz won the event with a total of 36' 9 3/4" (11.22-meters), netting her sixth in school history with that mark. Angie Miller, who finished second, also cracked into the WSU record book with a 36' 3 1/2" total, netting her a tie for ninth in school history. Taylor Weis took third in the event with a 34' 6 3/4" total.
WSU had a strong showing in the 1000-meter run as the Warriors netted two strong finishes. McKenzie Carper won the event with a time of 3:07.11, giving her the fifth-best time in WSU history. Leah Karsten's second-place finish of 3:11.60 also netted her a spot in the record book, putting her in seventh in school history.
McKenzie Fortier also found a top five spot in the WSU record book, this time in the 3000-meter run. Fortier's time of 10:28.18 netted her the fifth spot in the WSU record book for that event.
Hailey Deschaine took home a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 7.91 seconds and giving her the sixth-best mark in school history.
Katie Bagley put together a strong run in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line in 2:21.99 and setting the seventh-best mark in Winona State history.
The Warriors weren't done breaking their own personal marks, as the Warriors had a strong outing in the 60-meter hurdles. Brittney Dulak took home third-place in the event with a time 9.41 and recording the eighth-best time in school history. Amanda Lettsinger finished right behind her with a time of 9.59 and set the tenth-best mark in school history as well.
Winona State also had two of the top three finishers in the high jump. Amanda Schaefer netted a leap of 5' 2 1/4" (1.58-meters), putting her in second in the event and Alyssa Weiler took third with a 5'0 1/4" (1.53-meters) leap.
The Warriors next meet will take them to Madison, Wis., as Winona State will compete in the Red & White Open on Feb. 20.
