WHITEWATER, Wisc. – The Trine University women's track and field program had several notable performances at the Midwest Elite Invitational on Saturday, including an event win and a new school record. All told, the Thunder were seventh overall of nine squads with 27 points while the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse swept the men's and women's team scores with 173 points.
The new school record belongs to freshman Isabel Ferguson, who secured a new best height of 1.58 meters (5' 2.25") in the high jump. The old mark of 1.55 meters (5' 1.00") was met last season. That height was good for sixth at the event.
Bailey Puckett was able to score points in two events, the 3000-meter run and mile run. Puckett won the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:38.78 to secure maximum points for the team. Puckett would also bring home a fourth-place finish in the mile run at 5:05.43.
Mackenzie Miller was the top student-athlete in three separate events on Saturday. Miller just missed a school record time in the 200-meter dash where she was sixth with a time of 26.27 seconds. She was 11th in the 60-meter preliminary race at 7.99 seconds and 13th overall in the long jump at 5.18 meters (17' 0.00"). In the final two field events for Trine, Macy Bonifield recorded scores of 9.41 meters (30' 10.50") in the shot put (31st) and 11.57 meters (37' 11.50") in the weight throw (33rd).
Brynn Mericle was the final scoring member for the team with a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. She completed the race with a time of 9.41 seconds. Mericle was also a member of the 12th-place 4x400-meter relay team (4:22.53). The other members included Adrianne Jackson, Kristin Baker and Anissa Rios.
In the 5000-meter run, Lydia Randolph ran an 18:28.59 to secure an 11th-place finish. Also leading the Thunder were Halle Overmire in the 800-meter run at 2:26.63 (19th) and Baker in the 400-meter run at 1:03.54 (26th).
The next event for Trine will be the Hillsdale Tune-Up on Saturday, February 17.