Sprinters Lead DC to Second Place at HCAC Championships
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The women’s track and field team took second place at the HCAC Championships on Saturday, May 1. Defiance set a new school record in the final race of the meet, as Ashlyn Howell, Kristin Goldstein, Shavonda Price and Courtney Swabb finished the 4x400 relay in 4:09.61.
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The women's track and field team took second place at the HCAC Championships on Saturday, May 1. Defiance set a new school record in the final race of the meet, as Ashlyn Howell, Kristin Goldstein, Shavonda Price and Courtney Swabb finished the 4x400 relay in 4:09.61.
The 4x400 relay broke the previous school record by nearly three seconds, and capped off a fantastic day for the Yellow Jacket sprinters.
In the 100-meter dash, Goldstein crossed the line in 13.40 to claim second place at the HCAC Championships for the second-straight year. Howell finished a half step behind Goldstein, placing second overall with a time of 13.52, while Marlea Rolander took seventh place for the Jackets.
The Jackets had three sprinters finish in the top-eight in the 200-meter dash as well, as Price posted a second-place time of 27.17, and Howell set a personal-record with a time of 27.26. Goldstein rounded out the scoring in the event with an eighth-place finish.
Price set a personal-record in the 400-meter dash, coming in at 1:00.52 to claim the HCAC title. The performance gives Price the third-fastest time in school history for the event. Swabb placed seventh in the race as she crossed the line in 1:04.12.
Kaitlin Switzer, who won the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday, added to her point total with a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meter run. Her time of 19:37.50 in the race is a personal-record. Ellen Stryfeller was the only other distance runner to earn points for the team, as she completed the 10,000 meter run in 44.40 to finish seventh at the meet.
Rolander was outstanding for Defiance in the hurdle events. The sophomore claimed the conference title in the 100-meter hurdles as she crossed the line in a personal-best 15.61 seconds. Rolander continued her strong meet by setting another personal-record in the 400-meter hurdles with a seventh-place time of 1:12.09.
The sprinters excelled in the 4x100 meter relay as well, as Howell, Rolander, Swabb and Goldstein finished in 51.22 seconds to claim second place at the meet and post the best time by a Defiance College women's relay team since 2001.
In the field events, Price added to her lofty point total by claiming second place in the javelin throw, and set a personal record in the long jump with a third-place leap of 16-02.25.
Next on the team's schedule is the Yellow Jacket Multi-Event, which will be held in Defiance on Friday and Saturday, May 7-8. The meet is set to kick off on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.