Waltham, Mass., Feb. 25, 2017 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's and women's track & field team finished day one of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Track & Field Championships with three event titles at the Gosman Sports & Convocation Center.
Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams captured UAA titles. The women's team is in first place after day one's events with 42 points followed by University of Chicago (37), Case Western Reserve University (26), Carnegie Mellon University (26), Emory University (20) and Brandeis University (4). The men are currently fifth out of a seven team field with 17.33 points, trailing Carnegie (39.33), Emory (37), Case (24) and New York University (19) while leading Chicago (12.33) and Brandeis (6).
Leading the men's DMR to victory were seniors Mike Sullivan and Deko Ricketts joined by junior Thomas Gales and freshman Nick Matteucci. The group finished first for the conference title with a time of 10:03.76.
The women's winning DMR team was composed of junior Audrey Western, senior Kelli Hancock, freshman Sara Mesiano and junior Alison Lindsay. The Bears ran to a winning time of 12:13.45, finishing more than five seconds ahead of the nearest team.
Sophomore Heidi Nassos earned an individual UAA Championship in pole vault with a season-best tying height of 3.77m. Nassos tied with Carnegie Mellon's senior Grace Yee at 3.77m but won the jump off to determine the champion. Sophomore Dominique Meyer also earned all-UAA honors with a third place finish while scoring six points for the Bears' women on a 3.52m jump during the pole vault event.
Senior Rebecca Ridderhoff also finished the 400m prelims with a new UAA record, bypassing former teammate Emily Warner with a time of 56.35.
Also earning all-UAA honors for the women by placing within the top-3 were junior Aly Wayne and senior Annie Marggraff during the 5,000m. Wayne posted a time of 17:27.17 to place second while Marggraff finished in 17:58.06 for third place.
A top-six finish is required to score points. Listed below are the top-six finishes for the Bears on Saturday, Feb. 25:
Men
Michael Billington – Long Jump (6.51m, Fifth)
Thomas Gales - DMR (10:03.76, First)
Peter Johnsrud – 5,000m (15:07.6, Sixth)
Nick Matteucci - DMR (10:03.76, First)
Collis McKenzie – High Jump (1.84m, Sixth)
Ezugo Onejeme – Long Jump (6.49m, Sixth)
Deko Ricketts - DMR (10:03.76, First)
Mike Sullivan – DMR (10:03.76, First)
Everett Witt – High Jump (1.84m, Fourth)
Women
Kelli Hancock – DMR (12:13.45, First)
Kayla Harley – Weight Throw (13.58m, Fifth)
Alison Lindsay – DMR (12:13.45, First)
Annie Marggraff – 5,000m (17:58.06, Third)
Sara Mesiano – DMR (12:13.45, First)
Dominique Meyer – Pole Vault (3.52m, Third)
Heidi Nassos – Pole Vault (3.77m, First)
Aly Wayne – 5,000m (17:27.17, Second)
Audrey Western – DMR (12:13.45, First)
The Bears will conclude the UAA Championships tomorrow at Brandeis University. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
