Track & Field Opens 2024 Outdoor Season with Seven Event Wins at Central Nebraska Challenge

Saturday, March 30

Kearney, NE

Omaha

Central Nebraska Challenge

Track & Field Opens 2024 Outdoor Season with Seven Event Wins at Central Nebraska Challenge

Mar 30, 2024 | Track & Field

The Omaha Track and Field team began their outdoor season at the University of Nebraska Kearney on a chilly Saturday morning. The cold temperatures didn't affect the Mavericks as they set the track on fire with their performances.

In the first running event for Omaha, Jade Jackson won the 100m hurdles in a lifetime best time of 14.78. Grace Mustard crossed the line in 2nd with a college best time of 15.09. Addi Webster was close behind in 4th with a 15.52 which was half a second faster than her opening race last year.

Next came the 400m where freshman Ava Robinson ran a college best 58.70 to finish 6th. Macy Persinger was just behind in 7th with a 58.90.

In the 100m, Tania Gleason came away with the win in a personal best time of 12.08 and the 7th fastest time in school history. Freshman Avyn Urbanski was just behind in 3rd with a 12.37. Jade Jackson finished 5th with a PR of 12.47. Ashley Ostrand came away with a college best which was just just .15 off her all-time fastest and Grace Mustard ran a quarter second personal best as well.

Some familiar faces also put up some impressive times in the 200m. Tania Gleason led the way once again for her second victory of the day and a PR time of 24.30. That time beat her previous fastest by half a second. Avyn Urbanski crossed the finish line in 5th with an impressive opening time of 25.26. Macy Persinger continued her strong day in 6th with a lifetime best time of 25.58. The PR continued with Ashley Ostrand running a personal best of 25.77.

In the 800m, lone Maverick Lily Jackson finished 7th with a solid time of 2:23.80.

In the 1500m, an army of Mavericks dominated the field with Kamryn Ensley winning the event in 4:45.54. Lily Schwartz, Emily Treptow, Lily Jackson, Emma Hain and Sydney Beaudin finished in 3rd through 7th respectively.

In the final running event of the day, Lauren Metzger cruised to a 17:37.22 to win the 5000m. That time was over 20 seconds faster than the next closest competitor.

Not to be outdone by the runners on the track, the field event athletes had quite a day as well. In the javelin, all three Mavericks multi-eventers had lifetime best throws. Roxy Denton finished 3rd with a distance of 107'9". With her third PR of the day, Jade Jackson bested her previous farthest by 5 feet while freshman Julia Niemeyer bettered her previous best by an amazing 35 feet.

In the hammer throw, sophomore Chloe Walker launched the implement 135'8 to finish 5th and better her previous farthest by over seven feet.

In the long jump the Maverick freshman took over the event. Shay Sinnard had the event victory with a college best mark of 18'1.75". After her javelin throw, Julia Niemeyer finished 3rd with a college best distance of 17'8.75", just 3 inches off her lifetime best. Hannah Dunning also to tied her college best of 17'4" for 6th place.

In the final field event of the day, Kaitlin Hellbusch finished second with a clearance of 5'3" with very good attempts at 5'5".

"I was really impressed with the way our team competed today. When you show up to the track and it's cold and windy, it's easy to write the day off before it even starts. They didn't do that. They came out and competed their tails off. This was the first of many steps to get us to where we want to be as a team. No excuses," Omaha head coach Chris Richardson said.

Overall the Mavericks won seven events and came away with 11 lifetime bests. They will next head to Vermillion, SD on April 5th and 6th for the USD Early Bird.