ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine women's track and field team will be looking to continue to build off last season's success when the Thunder open the season Saturday in Keith E. Busse / Steel Dynamics Recreation Center.
The Thunder will once again feature a strong returning core of throwers, led by two-time All-American Kara Eck (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb). The junior earned All-America honors in the shot put by placing fourth in the nation at last year's NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships. As a freshman, Eck placed fifth in the weight throw to earn All-America honors in that event. She has appeared in four events at the Indoor national meet over the past two seasons and will be seeking a repeat trip this winter.
Joining Eck with a chance to make a major impact is senior Jenn Steyer (Fenton, Mich. / Lake Fenton). Last season, Steyer won the weight throw in the inaugural MIAA Indoor Championships. She notched the 28th-best performance in the event in the nation. Continued improvement this winter could result in Steyer contending for a potential trip to the national meet.
Another key returner in field events is Lydia Suchecki (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake). Suchecki set a school-record in the high jump last winter and went on to claim the MIAA Indoor title in the event.
On the track, Trine returns its core of distance runners. Leading the way is Kyla Binfet (West Yellowstone, Mont. / West Yellowstone), who is coming off her second straight All-MIAA performance during the cross country season. Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio / Anthony Wayne) and Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) also led the Thunder in multiple distance events last winter.
Sophomores Jensyn Garrow (Archbold, Ohio / Archbold) and Lydia Walterhouse (Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble) will look to continue to build off success in sprints. Garrow set school indoor records in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes last year, while Walterhouse set a new program-best mark in the 60-meter hurdles.
Joining the returners will be seven newcomers looking to make an impact this winter. Last season, the Thunder placed fifth in the inaugural MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.
The season opens Saturday with the Sean Brady Conditioner. Events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The event is named in honor of Sean Brady, a former member of the Thunder track and field and cross country teams who was killed in an auto accident at the age of 18.