Women’s Track Places Second at HCAC Championships

HANOVER, Ind. – For a third consecutive season, the Defiance College women's track and field team placed second at the HCAC Outdoor Championships. The Jackets earned 125 points at the meet, trailing only Hanover, which garnered 142 points to claim its first team title in school history.

Kim Bingley was DC's only event winner at the meet with her first-place performance in the javelin throw. The freshman athlete tossed the javelin 104 feet to claim the individual title and just barely edge teammate, Kaye Bockbrader, who finished second at the meet with her first-career triple-digit javelin throw (101' 3").

Bingley turned in a personal-best performance in the 200-meter dash as well, crossing the line in 27.53 seconds for a fourth-place finish, and added a fifth-place showing in the shot put with a heave of 34' 3.50".

Marlea Rolander led Defiance by placing in five separate events. The junior athlete placed fifth in the 100-meter dash, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles, third in the 400-meter hurdles and fourth as a member of both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams.

The 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of Rolander, Ashlyn Howell, Courtney Swabb and Kali George, posted a season-best time of 52.26 seconds, earning the seventh-best time in school history. The 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Rolander, Swabb, Katie Heitkamp and George, was even more impressive, crossing the line in 4:12.17 to claim the third-fastest time in program history.

George and Howell were great in the jumping events as well. Howell placed third in the long jump with a mark of 16' 5.75", giving her a top-seven standing on DC's all-time performances list, while George placed fourth with a leap of 16' 0.50". The duo switched places in the triple jump, with George posting a personal-best mark of 33' 5.25" to claim third place at the meet, and Howell leaping 32' 11" to claim fourth place. Howell also added a sixth-place performance in the 100-meter dash.

Erika DeBos tied her season-best in the high jump, clearing 4' 9.75" to place seventh at the meet. She also finished seventh in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:34.70.

Heitkamp placed second at the meet in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet to tie Manchester's Emily Ballinger for the best height at the meet. Emily Cole placed sixth in the event with a mark of 8' 6.25". Heitkamp added a seventh-place showing in the 400-meter dash, crossing the line in 1:04.64 to just barely edge Swabb, who crossed the line in 1:04.84 to claim eighth place for DC.

Senior runner, Kaitlin Switzer, had a terrific meet for the Jackets, placing sixth in the 1,500-meter run, fourth in the 5,000-meter run and second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her time of 5:01.49 in the 1,500-meter run is a personal-best for Switzer, and gives her the second-best time in school history.

Ellen Stryffeler and Kate Busto were big for Defiance in the distance events as well. Busto finished eighth in the 5,000-meter run and sixth in the 10,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 43:04.22. Busto's 10,000-meter run performance ranks third in school history, just behind Stryffeler, who finished fourth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 41:58.70 to move into second place on DC's all-time performances list.

Other notable performers included Ericha Griep, who finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:00.91, and ran a personal-best 400-meter dash to place eighth at the meet.

Next on the schedule for Defiance is the Dr. Keeler Invitational on May 12-13.