Women's Track & Field Opens 2023 With Strong Showing

Women's Track & Field Opens 2023 With Strong Showing | https://images.sidearmdev.com/

By Press release submission

Jan 31, 2023

THE RUNDOWN
The DBU Women's Track Team returned from the semester break to race at the Pittsburg State Invitational. Considering the lengthy hiatus, much of their rust was busted on the way to great performances across the board.

DBU's distance events were a highlight of the day, starting with the 800m run. Giselle Luera placed best amongst fellow Lady Patriots, almost tying her personal-best time with a mark of 2:21.06, placing 15th. Winning her heat and improving her career-best time was Mackenzie Bryan, finishing with a 2:24.94. Yariveth Morales also ran well, missing her personal-best mark by less than a second with a time of 2:27.80.

In the mile, Emme O'Donnell finished seventh overall, clocking in at 5:05.05. Megan Smith returned after multiple months of not racing to a time of 5:16.93, a respectable time good enough for 21st. Breanna Lipscomb ran her personal-best in the event, crossing the finish line in 5:29.53.

Placing fourth in the 3000m was Jenna Howard, who raced the best time of her career in 10:17.74. Following closely behind was Rylee Cristan, finishing with a time of 10:27.56, good enough for ninth place. Also running their fastest times ever were Megan Kirtley and Jessica Plascencia, executing an 11:01.68 and 11:08.96 respectively. In the 5000m, KayCee Keller dropped her career mark to a 17:40.50 for a 4th place finish.

Freshman Ellie Frye has already jumped out as one of the fastest girls on the team. In her second ever collegiate meet, she improved her personal-best mark in the 400m dash, placing 17th overall with a time of 58.78s. Amanda Chacon also ran a personal-best mark, lowering her 60m hurdle time to 9.76s.

In the relays, DBU put up strong times in both the 4x400m and distance medley. Frye opened the all-freshman mile relay, handing off to Abbey Bradshaw, Whitney Willeford, and Meggie Morris for a final time of 4:01.33. O'Donnell ran the opening 1200m leg for the DMR, passing the baton to Emily Cole, Luera, and then Keller for a 12:25.80, finishing third and standing atop the Lone Star Conference Qualifying List.

Also racing over the weekend but in Boston, MA were Madison Brown and Marissa Insinna. Both ran well in the 3000m, earning new career marks and improving on the National Provisional List. Brown crossed the finish line with a time of 9:36.37, now ranked ninth in the nation. Insinna's time of 9:39.12 is a remarkable improvement from her best mark set in December, trimming her time by almost 15 seconds for a national ranking of 10th.

DBU HEAD COACH JACOB PHILLIPS ON THE FIRST MEET OF 2023
"This weekend was a great opportunity for our guys and gals to get out and just get back into the routine of race day and competition. We haven't had a chance to compete since early December and so this was a great opportunity to just get the season kicked off and see where we're at!"
"All in all, this was a tremendous weekend for us. We had some great marks, got some conference marks, and really got a chance to see our young team compete against great competition! I'm really excited to see where the rest of the season leads, but just as excited to get back to work and keep building!"

DBU ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH ANDREW PRICE ON COMING BACK FROM THE BREAK
"I really like the direction we're headed coming off the winter break. If we can keep climbing and stay healthy, we'll be in a great spot soon."

UP NEXT
The Lady Patriots have one more race before the Lone Star Conference Championships. Per usual, most of the team will be traveling to Pittsburg, KS to compete in the Gorilla Classic. On top of that, a small squad will make their way up north to the Grand Valley Big Meet in Allendale, MI.