Leatherneck Track and Field Finds Success Splitting Up Saturday

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Western Illinois sophomore Chelsea Lynes recorded the eighth fastest 800-meter run time in school history at the EIU Big Blue Classic and the Fighting Leathernecks won 17 events at the Knox College Invite as the Western Illinois track and field program opened the 2011 outdoor season Saturday, April 2.

EIU BIG BLUE CLASSIC (Charleston, Ill.)

Lynes finished third out of 46 competitors in the 800-Meter run with a mark of 2:13.68. That mark ranks eighth all-time, just behind Heather Wetzel's time of 2:13.49 set in 2008.

Senior Nikki Klier (13th), senior Julie Dietsch (19th) and junior Carianna Cottone (31st) also competed in the 800-meter run. Additionally, Cottone ran in the 1,500-meter run and placed seventh out of 40 competitors with a time of 4:52.55.

Senior Anne Borgertpoepping, who played in 81 games over the last three seasons for the Leatherneck women's basketball team, made her track debut and finished 16th out of 22 competitors in the 400-meter dash with a mark of 1:01.10. Borgertpoepping, Lynes, Klier and Dietsch made up Western's 4x400-meter relay squad and placed ninth out of 12 teams with a time of 4:07.41.

On the men's side, senior Aaron Russo and junior Michael Hemming ran in two events. In the 800-meter run, Russo placed 11th and Hemming finished 14th. Meanwhile, Hemming finished 29th and Russo 31st in the 200-meter dash.

KNOX COLLEGE INVITE (Galesburg, Ill.)

While seven Western Illinois athletes competed at the EIU Big Blue Classic, the remaining Fighting Leathernecks collected 17 wins at the Knox College Invite at Trevor Field.

Highlighting the effort was junior Nichole Manning, who recorded the third best pole vault performance in school history while easily winning the event. Manning, who holds the outdoor school record with a mark of 3.95 meters, cleared 3.69 meters Saturday.

In the hammer throw, junior Lizzy Jones won the women's event with the seventh best mark in program history (49.59 meters) and junior Paul Hames won the men's event with the tenth best throw in program history, 54.09 meters. Jones also won the discus throw with a mark of 40.32 meters.

Elsewhere in the throws events, junior Jason Crisman won both the Men's Shot Put (15.52 meters) and Discus Throw (43.84 meters). Senior Jesse Bernhardt won the Men's Javelin Throw (50.19 meters) and junior Dana LaRue was victorious in the Women's Shot Put (12.78 meters).

Sophomore Davin Dollison won both the 200-meter (22.40) and 400-meter dash (51.02) while sophomore Zach Glasebrook was victorious in the Pole Vault (3.97 meters) and Long Jump (6.83 meters). Sophomore Jamario Taylor, an Indoor All-League Selection, began the outdoor season with a win in the Men's High Jump (2.02 meters).

In other track events, sophomore Danyelle Ehredt won the women's 400-meter dash (1:01.61), sophomore Alexa Williams won the women's 1,500-meter run (5:18.77) and freshman Michael Castel was victorious in the men's 1,500-meter run (4:10.68).

Western Illinois is back in action next weekend (April 8-9) when the Fighting Leathernecks host the 22nd Annual Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational at Hanson Field. The two-day event, which honors former Western Illinois track coach and Olympic Gold Medalist Lee Quency Calhoun, begins on Friday at 3 p.m. with the field events.

For all the latest information on the 22nd Annual Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational, click HERE.

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