Yellow Jackets Finish Strong at HCAC Championships

FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Defiance College women's track and field team used many strong performances to move up one spot and finish in fifth-place overall at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday.

Sophomore Kali George placed in six events on the second day of the meet to lead the Yellow Jackets. George provided the best performance of the day in the javelin, where she claimed second place with a throw of 114-00. The sophomore athlete added a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash by crossing the line at 1:02.75. George was fourth in the long jump at 15-10.50, and took seventh in the high jump with a mark of 4-09.75.

George was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team and the 4x100-meter relay team that took home second and third, respectively. She teamed with sophomore Kim Bingley, junior Katie Heitkamp and senior Courtney Swabb in the 4x400-meter race. The team finished the event with a time of 4:14.85. George and Bingley then combined with freshman Brooke Lime and freshman Morgan Redick to take third in the 4x100-meter relay with a finish of 52.01.

Bingley added another impressive display for Defiance by earning fourth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.20. She was fifth in the 100-meter dash at 14.04, and wrapped up her day with a sixth-place mark of 97-00 in the javelin.

Lime continued her freshman campaign with third-place results in the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. Lime finished the 100-meter hurdles in 16.58 and the 400-meter hurdles at 1:08.29. Sophomore Ericha Griep and freshman Malana Ledley gave DC a boost by placing in the 400-meter hurdles. Griep was fifth at 1:12.51, while Ledley was eighth at 1:21.10. Finishing a great display in the hurdles for DC was senior Marlea Rolander, who took eighth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.92.

The Yellow Jackets received points from Heitkamp's eighth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:04.34. Sophomore Nikki Young also earned a point with an eighth-place mark of 94-09 in the discus.

On Friday, the Yellow Jackets received a fourth-place from Heitkamp in the pole vault with a clearance of 9-08.00. George was fourth overall in the triple jump at 33-03.25. Bingley also notched a fourth-place effort in the shot put with a toss of 35-04.50. Other notable performances from Friday include a sixth-place result from freshman Sadie Daeger in the 3000-meter steeplechase, and two eighth-place finishes from junior Katie Borer in the pole vault and triple jump.

Hanover won the team title with 158 points. Defiance earned 88 total points.

Defiance will compete again on Thursday, May 10 at the Dr. Keeler Invitational held in Naperville, Illinois. The meet is scheduled to begin at 12:00 pm.