From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University track and field teams dropped a dual meet with archrival Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday at the Veale Center in Cleveland, losing the 14th Annual Battle for the Obelisk by a score of 176-96.
In the unique scoring format, the combined totals of the men's and women's teams are compared to determine the winner of the obelisk. The Spartan women's track and field team contributed 55 points.
The CWRU women's team won four events at the dual. The Spartans swept the podium in the weight throw, with senior thrower Tori Cohen taking first with a heave of 13.52 meters, junior thrower Adrienne Wachtman placing second with a mark of 13.36 meters, and junior thrower Ailean Duffie earning the bronze by recording a mark of 13.26 meters. In the triple jump, junior hurdler/jumper Emily Hopkins set a new meet record with a mark of 11.42 meters, the second-farthest jump in school history. Her mark currently ranks 25th in Division III and second in the University Athletic Association. Sophomore hurdler/jumper Sarah Ozeki placed second in the event with a mark of 10.69 meters and added two third place finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (9.69 seconds) and long jump (5.00 meters).
CWRU senior vaulters Shelby Cooper and Victoria Zhao claimed first and second in the pole vault with identical marks of 3.30 meters. Cooper won the event by clearing the height in fewer attempts. The Spartan distance medley relay of senior runner Melissa Phung-Rojas, first-year runner Melanie Taylor, and junior runners Jessica Kwasny and Grace Jackson recorded the fourth-fastest time in Division III (after converting for track size) with a time of 12:39.06 and a first place finish.
Both first-year hurdler/jumper Grace Misiunas and junior sprinter Elise Moore placed second in two events. Misiunas was the runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 9.36 seconds, the third-fastest time in school history. She added a silver medal in the 200-meter dash by crossing the line in 27.70 seconds. Moore was second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.37 and was a member of the 4x400-meter relay, along with sophomore sprinter Lalah Saleem, senior runner Chloe Relf, and senior hurdler Mia Kilroy, that finished in 4:24.61.
Senior jumper Mia Vargo placed second in the high jump by clearing 1.60 meters, the third-best mark in the UAA and tied for the 32nd-best mark in Division III. Kilroy placed third in the event by clearing 1.45 meters. The Spartans also finished second and third in the 5,000-meter run with first-year runner Ashley Novak crossing the line in 18:40.33 and senior runner Catherine Phillips following her in 18:43.65. Senior runner Danielle Sarno placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.61.
Taylor (400-meter dash, 1:02.61), first-year hurdler/sprinter Gabby Alphonse (200-meter dash, 28.18 seconds), and sophomore runner Alyssa Storm (mile run, 5:39.29) all contributed points with third place finishes.