Women's Track places sixth in HCAC preseason poll

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced the results of the Women's Outdoor Track and Field preseason poll, with Defiance picked sixth.

Manchester took first in the poll in commanding fashion, with nine first-place votes en route to 99 points. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology finished in second with 89 points and the other first-place vote. Hanover College took third with 82 points while Anderson University (69) and Franklin College (57) rounded out the top half of the poll in fourth and fifth respectively. The Yellow Jackets finished sixth with 49 points.

Six Yellow Jackets were named to the HCAC Athletes to Watch list, headlined by freshman Traci Cross who won two events and was named Most Outstanding Sprinter at the 2022 HCAC Indoor Championships. Also on the list are senior Lisa Markau, freshman Alexandria Ausmus, freshman Anaya Blakley, sophomore Destiny Oshodin, and junior Brianna Snider. Markau placed sixth in the 100-meters at the HCAC Outdoor Championships in 2021. Ausmus, a middle-distance runner, placed fifth in the 800-meters at the Indoor Championships last month. Blakely competes in the throwing events while Snider is a middle-distance runner who throws javelin as well. Oshodin was part of a 4x1-- relay team along with Markau that placed fifth in the conference last season at the championship meet.

The track team will open the 2022 outdoor season on March 26 at the IWU Polar Bear Invite in Marion, Ind.