The University of Dayton track and field squad continued its spring schedule on Saturday at the University of South Carolina’s Weems Baskin Relays, where the Flyers competed against a large field of 17 and came out with a four individual wins, two of which came from junior Mallory Barnes.
There was no team scoring at the event.
Barnes, one of UD’s many standout throwers, won the hammer throw by approximately 13’ by firing off a distance of 191-08 and also won the shot put event with a toss of 48-08.25. The All-American, showing her versatility, also placed fourth overall in the discus throw with a mark of 142-07.
In the sprints, senior Brittany Thomas ran a season best time of 12.25 in the 100-meter to place second in her heat and 16th overall against a massive field. Classmate Lauren McCormick also put up a competitive time of 12.40 to place third in the same heat as Thomas and wound up 18th overall.
Dayton’s relay teams also combined forces for top-ten finishes. The 4x100 squad of Thomas, Jada Henderson, Lauren O’Brien and McCormick placed tenth with a time of 48.19. In the 4x400, the foursome of Rachel Weber, Henderson, Thomas and Ashley Cattran took sixth overall (4:04.89)
Competing in the 800-meter event, the Flyers got two top-ten finishes from juniors Brigitte Sherman (sixth, 2:22.97) and Maureen Bulgrin (eighth, 2:23.44).
The team also had three of the best four finishers in the 1,500-meter run. Bulgrin won the event with her time of 4:38.82 and was followed by classmate Ashley Cattran, who placed second overall with a clocked time of 4:38.85. Sophomore Elissa Mason grabbed fourth for UD, finishing with a time of 4:48 flat. Dayton also had two more athletes in the top-ten, as sophomore Emily Zimmerman (sixth, 4:50.09) and junior Brigitte Sherman (eighth, 4:50.44) helped showcase the team’s distance depth.
Junior Lindsey Cummings also notched a win for Dayton with her first-place result in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:32.24). Two rookie Flyers also joined her in the top-five, as Marisa Slomski (fourth, 12:08.96) and Allie Heniff (fifth, 12:16.22) posted strong finishes.
In another event where Dayton dominates with depth, the team fielded three of top-four hammer throwers at the competition. Barnes was the winner with a personal best mark for the second straight week (191-08). Trailing Barnes’ gargantuan mark were teammates Kerry Allen (fourth, 171-05) and Molly McCarty, who posted a season best mark of 171-06 to place third overall.
Dayton also had three of the best marks in the shot put, where Barnes was once again top dog with her distance of 48-08.25. Classmate Johnna Zaccari trailed Barnes in sixth position (44-10.25), while senior Sarah Allen wound up seventh overall with her toss of 42-11.50.
Again, three more throwers – all seniors – were in the top-ten for Dayton in the javelin event. Senior Emma Steinmetz placed sixth (116-09), while Micailah Brock trailed in seventh position (112-11) and Emily Krizmanic took tenth (102-07).
In the pole vault, sophomore Courtney Siebenaller elevated to a fifth-place finish and cleared 11-03.75 as junior Pembroke Strickland earned eighth with her height of 10-09.75.
Dayton also had a leaper tie for second in the high jump, as Tiffany Maske leapt over a bar of 5-05.00.
Next week the Flyers will head back down I-75 for the second time this spring for another meet at the University of Cincinnati. The Oliver Nikoloff Invitational will take place Sat., April 3 and will be an all-day event. Stay tuned to DaytonFlyers.com for complete results and a recap of all the action immediately following the meet.
