by Tiara Pajimola
The Whitworth women’s track and field team finished tenth with 43.2 points among the 15 teams who competed at World War #5 at Spokane Falls Community College last Saturday.
Freshman Kellyn Roiko finished third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:44.35.
The 4×400 relay team consisting of freshman Joanna Hope, freshman Savanna Atherton, sophomore Kate Jones, and sophomore Meghan Holzer took fourth place crossing with a time of 4:30.59.
In the women’s hammer throw, senior Rebekah Daniels placed fourth throwing 48-31 meters followed by freshman Dakota Klimovich taking fifth with a throw of 48-3 meters.
Sophomore Christina Anderson took second in the 1,000 meter run crossing with a time of 37:48.58 while freshman Kerry Wright took second in the javelin with a throw of 42-39 meters.
“I threw well,” Wright said. “I got a good consistent mark so I was happy with that. Of course, I want that big throw but it will come.”
The weather Saturday posed a problem and had an impact on performance, Wright said.
“It was super windy,” Wright said. “It was blowing constantly for the whole morning.”
The weather may have played a factor in the performances but Wright believes there are other things the women can work on as a team.
“I think we need to come out and be more aggressive. We need to have the confidence that we can beat any of our competitors,” Wright said. “We need to trust the training that we have put in so when it comes to time to compete we can to focus on the task at hand. People are stepping up their game and I think come conference we’ll be ready.”
Head track and field coach Toby Schwarz echoed Wright’s comments about weather.
“It was not good conditions for track,” Schwarz. “It was windy all day and cold and it was a big meet so it was a long day. We got behind schedule on the track so it was just a lot of negatives. With that being said a lot of people performed well.”
The Northwest Conference Championships are two weeks away and Schwarz said the women are where they need to be.
“We just need to come in healthy,” Schwarz said. “ We need to keep improving and keep gaining confidence.”
The Bucs will next compete at the Whitworth Twilight Meet on Thursday, April 18 at the Pine Bowl starting at 2 p.m.
Contact Tiara Pajimola at tpajimola16@my.whitworth.edu