Ladies Take Fourth at Washington University Invite
Published: April 13, 2021
The Greenville College Lady Panthers Track & Field team traveled to Washington University for a two-day invitational on April 2nd and 3rd. The women put forth an outstanding showing at the 25 team event, finishing 4th overall. In all, the Lady Panthers came away from the meet with 3 event winners, one school record, one near miss, 21 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) qualifying marks and one NCAA DIII qualifier. The ladies are currently ranked (for the first time ever) in the NCAA DIII's top 25 nationally. The first rankings of the outdoor season were released this week with GC ranked 23rd!
On Friday night the throwers and distance runners battled cool winds and steady rain, but fought through to some excellent performances. Senior Michelle Sutton (Springport, MI/Jackson) continued to rewrite the Greenville distance record books as she ran 17:54.10 to nab her 4th school record. While sophomore Kristen Schutte (Stewardson, IL/Stewardson-Strasburg) came up a mere 2 inches shy of a school record of her own with an effort of 115-08, good for 4th place overall. One of best events on the ladies side came in the Hammer throw where Jaclyn Johnson-Cross (Belleville, IL/Belleville East), Rochaunda Harris (East St. Louis, IL/East St. Louis), and Sarah Wignall (Des Moines, IA/East Des Moines) gave the Lady Panthers a 2, 4, 5 finish, respectively.
Saturday brought even more success. In spite of prevailing winds, sophomore Penny Grant (Beardstown, IL/Beardstown) won the Long Jump with a season best, and NCAA DIII qualifying mark, 18-2.5. Talen Gerber (Sr. /Fairbury, IL/Prairie Central) won the 800m with a season best of 2:19.09. The 3rd victory of the day came from another sophomore, Philita Johnson (East St. Louis, IL/East St. Louis), as she brought home the 400m title in 59.16.
