Purple and Gold Sit Fifth After Day One of HCAC Championships

MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Defiance College women's track and field team came away from the first day of action at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with a solid outing Friday, April 26. DC was led by senior Katie Heitkamp, junior Kali George and sophomore Brooke Lime.

The sprinters on the squad were the ones to make the noise on the afternoon, as the Purple and Gold set themselves up well for the finals tomorrow. In the 100 hurdles, Lime blazed her way to the top time in the qualifiers (15.34) that gives her the number one seed for the final.

George then was strong in both of her preliminary events. In the 400-meter dash, the East Palestine, Ohio native finished second at 59.71 and then clocked a personal-record time of 26.86 in the 200 that has her seeded fourth for tomorrow. The junior also added sixth in the triple jump with a career-best distance of 10.37 m.

For the four-year veteran Heitkamp, she was successful on the first day of the meet by scoring the second-best mark in the pole vault with a height of 3.05 meters. The Memorial High product also competed in the 400-meter dash with George and finished fourth in the qualifiers with a personal best 1:02.52.

Other top outings for the Lady Jackets came in the field events. Senior Kate Borer cleared a height of 3.05 meters, which was the same as Heitkamp, but took fourth in the pole vault due to jump offs. Junior Kim Bingley gave a strong showing by placing fourth in the shot put with a hurl of 11.20 m.

The Defiance women's track and field team scored 22 points in the first day of action for fifth. The host Manchester Spartans hold on to the top spot for tonight with 57 and Hanover is close behind in second with 55 points.

DC will compete tomorrow Saturday, April 27 in day two of competition at the conference meet and look to move up in the final standings. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m.