Bloomington, Ill., Dec. 3, 2016 - The Washington University in St. Louis men's and women's indoor track & field teams won seven event titles to open their season at the Titan First Chance Meet hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University Saturday.
Junior Annalise Wagner earned two first-place finishes for the WashU women. Wagner raced to first in the 600 with a time of 1:37.03, while senior Ashley Knudson finished second with a time of 1:37.25. Wagner and Knudson also teamed up with seniors Kelli Hancock and Daisy Ogede to win the women's 1,600 relay with a time of 3:56.68.
Senior Rebecca Ridderhoff captured the third event title for the WashU women, winning the 60 hurdles with a time of 9.19 to lead a first- through third-place sweep as Ogede (9.49) and freshman Cienna Jordan (9.59) placed second and third, respectively. Ridderhoff added a third-place finish in the 300 with a school-record time of 41.80, while Jordan finished third in the long jump with a leap of 5.14m. Ogede notched her third top-three finish of the meet after racing to third in the 60 with a time of 8.09.
In her first collegiate meet, freshman Anna Cossio cleared a height of 1.57m to win the women's high jump, while freshman Caroline Niesen took third after clearing a height of 1.42m. Sophomore Heidi Nassos rounded out the five event titles for the WashU women, winning the pole vault with a clearance of 3.35m.
The WashU men came away with two event titles and four additional top-three finishes. Senior Everett Kleven and junior Jacob Rother placed first and second in the men's pole vault with clearances of 4.67m and 4.25m, respectively. Senior Ethan Brodeur seized first place in the 3000 with a time of 8:46.81.
Junior Michael Billington had two top-three finishes for the Bears. Billington raced to third in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.97 before teaming up with senior Deko Ricketts, sophomore Jeremy Barnes and freshman Alex Severino to finish second in the men's 1,600 relay with a time of 3:30.73. Junior Ezugo Onejeme claimed third place in the men's triple jump with a career-best leap of 13.33m.
The WashU men's and women's track & field teams will travel back to Illinois Wesleyan University when they return to action Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Titan Triangular in Bloomington, Ill. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
