Women's Track & Field Wins Four Events At L&C Spring Break Meet

Junior Katya Schwieterman won the 3,000m steeplechase

PORTLAND, ORE.—Four Lewis & Clark College women's track & field student-athletes won events to lead the Pioneers to a second-place showing at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open Meet.

THE BASICS

112 Points – 2^nd out of 11 teams

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Pioneers won the opening two events on Saturday morning and racked up 13 top-five finishes in their first home meet of the 2023 outdoor track & field season.

Sophomore Riley Buese opened the day with an emphatic victory in the 10,000m. The Pioneers All-Region honoree won the 10k in 38:30.11 to defeat the next closest runner by 4.5 minutes. She came back in the second-to-last event of the day to run the 5K. Buese posted a time of 18:09.84 to place third in the event. Freshman Alli Kerschner took 11^th in the 5,000m with a time of 21:16.66.

Junior Katya Schwieterman was the second Pioneer to earn a victory on Saturday. In an incredibly tight 3,000m steeplechase, Schwieterman edged Pacific University's Madelyn Hubbs by 1.46 seconds to win the race in 11:48.00. Freshman Madeleine Boyle (14:00.20), senior Gillian Pifer (14:25.70) and junior Macy Carroll (14:35.44) finished sixth, seventh and eighth in the steeplechase.

Junior Macy O'Hara was the final Pioneer runner to earn a victory. She defeated the 25 contestants in the 200m when she crossed the finish line in a new PR of 26.08. Freshman Malia Heien placed ninth overall (27.79) and freshman Elsie Chin took 19^th with a time of 29.42.

Earlier in the day, O'Hara and Heien finished second and third in the 400m. O'Hara ran the fastest time of any collegiate athlete, as her mark of 59.86 was second only to Cascadia Elite runner Anna Connor. Hein came in just behind O'Hara in 1:00.66. Chin was the third and final Pioneer to run the 400m and she placed 11^th(1:06.10).

Sophomore Cameryn Nagaji accounted for the Pioneers fourth and final victory of the day. The defending Northwest Conference triple jump champion took gold in the event with a leap of 10.94m (35-10.75 feet) on her sixth and final jump. Freshman Anli Davis and Alma Williams placed third and fourth overall. Davis posted a 9.64m (31-07.50 feet) jump to start and Williams' best mark came on her final jump, when she flew 9.10m (29-10.25 feet).

Nagaji added a second-place showing in the long jump. She posted the top leap for any Division III athlete when she jumped 4.66m (15-03.50 feet) on her third attempt. Williams placed sixth overall with a jump of 4.29m (14-01.00 feet) and Davis took seventh (4.14m/13-07.00 feet).

Freshman Piper McCoy Harmon was the Pioneers top thrower on the day. In the discus throw, McCoy Harmon took second behind Portland State University's Ahliah Nordstrom. McCoy Harmon's throw traveled 32.99m (108-03 feet). Fellow freshman Michèe Brika finished 12^th in the discus with a toss of 19.58m (64-03 feet).

Freshman Nia Pile led four Pioneers throwers in the shot put. Pile took fifth place when her fifth throw traveled 10.47m (34-04.25 feet). Harmon took eighth place with a toss of 9.85m (32-03.75 feet). Brika (9.56m/31-04.50 feet) and freshman Autumn Loporto (8.99m/29-06.00 feet) placed ninth and 13^th.

Heien was the Pioneers lone representative in the 100m hurdles. The freshman took eighth place with a time of 19.42.

Sophomore Maggie Martin led three Pioneers in the 800m run. Martin finished in 16^th place with a time of 2:40.42. Freshmen Miriam Reside (2:46.72) and Tara Elsa (2:54.07) came in 20^th and 22^nd.

Lewis & Clark had two runners compete in the 1500m. Freshman Emogene Lutz placed 15^th with a time of 5:12.99. Elsa came in just behind her when she crossed the line in 5:44.42.

BY THE NUMBERS

O'Hara ran PR times in both the 200m and 400m. While she stayed in the same spot on the all-time record list (6^th in the 400m, 11^th in the 200m), she became the sixth woman in program history to break 1-minute in the 400m.
Heien moved into 9^th all-time in the 400m, 23^rd in the 200m and 48^th in the 100m hurdles.
Pile sits 20^th all-time in the shot put. McCoy Harmon (27^th), Brika (32^nd) and Loporto (40^th) all joined her in the top-50 in the event.
Nagaji moved into 34^th all-time in the long jump and Davis (25^th all-time) and Williams (32^nd all-time) joined Nagaji in the top-35 for the triple jump.
Schwieterman's time in the 3K Steeplechase (11:48.00) was less than three seconds off her PR time from last season, that saw her earn All-Conference honors in the event.
After this weekend's meet, Nagaji ranks second in Division III in the triple jump, Buese ranks third in the 10K and and Schwieterman is 5^th in the 3K steeplechase.