Results
Heptathlon (Day 1)
La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's track & field team leads after the first dayof the Ashton May-Phil Esten Meet at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Eagles totaled 114.50 team points on Friday night while UW-Eau Claire is second with 81.5 points, UW-Oshkosh third with 73.0 and UW-Stout fourth with 42.
UWL recorded five individual first-place finishes on Friday, including one on the track.
Ashley O'Connell won the pole vault (12-2 ½) while
Gabby Johnson captured the javelin throw (119-4),
Skye Digman the hammer throw (179-6) and
Nicole Lord in the long jump (18-3). Digman set a school record in the hammer throw, breaking
Kristen Raether's record of 175-9 set in 2003.
On the track,
Emma Malooly earned the 5,000-meter run (17:32.82) while
Maddie Hannan was second (17:39.48)
Other top finishers on Friday included,
Madison Page fourth in the high jump (17-2 ¾),
Maddie Hansen fourth in the high jump (4-10 ½) while
Jessica Stelzner took second (38-3 1/3),
Kylah Frederixon third (37-4),
Sydney Wambach fourth (36-11 ¾) and
Kemmesha Thomas sixth (35-10 ¾) in the triple jump.
UWL's Digman would place second (44-11) in the shot put with
Brianna Schyvinck sixth (42-10 ¾).
Olivia Mattsson was second in the discus throw (109-8) while
Kara Gilmeister was third (109-1).
The Eagles'
Pamela Gramer placed second (171-1) in the hammer throw with Schyvinck fourth (166-8) and Leah Suprenant fifth (163-10). In the pole vault
Abby Meidl was second (11-10 1/2) and
Lindsay Ruff third (10-10 ¾).
Carley Elmhorst took third in the javelin throw (103-4).
UWL's
Hannah Zenkovich is in second place after four events in the heptathlon with 3,053 points.
Amanda Wiebke is third (2,700) and
Skylar White fourth (2,333).
The meet is named for former assistant women's track & field coach Ashton May, who passed away September 17, 2012 after a traffic accident north of Adams, Minnesota. She completed her second season as an assistant coach with the Eagles in 2011-12. May earned her degree from UWL in 2010 in elementary education and was a math and social studies teacher at Holmen (Wis.) Middle School.
A four-year track & field letter winner for the Eagles, she earned 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III All-America awards, including second-place finishes in the long jump and triple jump at the 2010 outdoor championships. May was also second in the long jump at the 2010 indoor national championships.
Esten served as head coach of the men's cross country program at UWL for 28 years (1970-97). He led the Eagles to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III title in 1996. UWL added national runner-up honors in either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or NCAA Division III eight times during Esten's tenure. In all, Esten's squads finished in the national top-10 in 26 consecutive tries and appeared in a national championship in 27 of his 28 cross country seasons. UWL won 20 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles under Esten. He was named the WIAC Men's Cross Country All-Time Coach.
He also served as an assistant track & field coach at UWL for 34 seasons. Esten is a member of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame, UWL Wall of Fame, NAIA Cross Country Hall of Fame, NAIA District 14 Hall of Fame and Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches' Association Hall. He is a 1965 graduate of UWL and former cross country and track athlete.
UWL returns to action Saturday April 17 in the second day two of the Ashton May-Phil Esten Meet.
