Birmingham, Ala., March 9, 2018 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's track & field team leads the field after day one of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships as the Bears program totaled four All-American finishes at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The WashU women have 19 combined points and are just ahead of Ithaca (18), University Massachusetts Boston (16), MIT (14) and Otterbein (12) who rounded out the top-five. The WashU men are tied for eighth place with eight points as University of Wisconsin-La Crosse lead the pack with 22 points.
Pole Vault (Finals)
The WashU women scored six points during their first event as junior Heidi Nassos posted a personal-best height, 3.90m, in the pole vault to take third place. She earned the first All-American finish of her career. Freshman Julia Dannenbaum nearly matched her personal-best mark with a clearance of 3.75m in pole vault to just miss the All-American cut by placing ninth.
800m (Prelims)
Senior Annalise Wagner earned a spot in Saturday's finals by placing second in the second heat with a time of 2:11.86. The 800m final is scheduled on Saturday at 3:40 p.m., which Wagner will be seeded third. Freshman Sophie Grigaux placed sixth in the second heat and 12th overall out of 17 competitors to qualify for nationals with a time of 2:16.05.
5,000m (Prelims)
Sophomore Paige Lawler placed fourth overall for her first track & field All-American honor of her career, after earning All-American honors during the cross country season. She finished the distance in 16:41.26 which is a school record mark.
4x400m Relay (Prelims)
The men's 4x400m relay made their first ever appearance in the DIII Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Junior Jason Singer, junior Eddie Wintergalen, sophomore Jon Fleming and freshman Andrew Whitaker finished in 3:19.80 to place 11th overall.
The women's 4x400m relay team was full of underclassmen as three of the four members were first year student-athletes. Freshmen Sophie Grigaux, Rachel Novick and Elle Hansen teamed up with sophomore Sara Mesiano to place 11th with a time of 4:00.05.
Distance Medley Relay
The men's distance medley relay team earned All-American honors with a runner-up finish. Graduate student Ethan Brodeur, freshman John Harry Wagner, senior Thomas Gales and sophomore Nick Matteucci finished the relay in 9:57.81. All four Bears posted quality splits with Matteucci outkicking Middlebury's final leg as WashU finished a split second ahead.
Senior Audrey Western filled in for the Bears in the 1,200m opening leg, for an ill-stricken Bear and helped lead WashU to a second-place finish and All-American honor. Western paired with the national qualifying members sophomore Nicky Althoff, senior Annalise Wagner and senior Alison Lindsay to post a school record 11:41.24.
ALL-AMERICANS
Women
Nicky Althoff - Distance Medley Relay (11:41.24, second)
Paige Lawler – 5,000m (16:41.26, fourth)
Alison Lindsay – Distance Medley Relay (11:41.24, second)
Heidi Nassos – Pole Vault (3.90m, third)
Annalise Wagner – Distance Medley Relay (11:41.24, second)
Audrey Western - Distance Medley Relay (11:41.24, second)
Men
Ethan Brodeur – Distance Medley Relay (9:57.81, second)
Thomas Gales – Distance Medley Relay (9:57.81, second)
Nick Matteucci – Distance Medley Relay (9:57.81, second)
John Harry Wagner – Distance Medley Relay (9:57.81, second)
Up next for the Bears during Saturday's schedule:
2:00 PM: Women's Triple jump (Prelims & Final) – Eka Jose (11.70m, 13th)
3:50 PM: Women's 800m (Final) – Annalise Wagner (2:11.86, third)
The Bears will conclude the NCAA Championships Saturday, March 10 with their first event beginning at 2 p.m. in the women's triple jump. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
