GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- Led by five first-place finishes, the Trine women's track and field team placed fourth in the Indiana Division III Championship Saturday at DePauw University.
Jenna Gales (Mendon, Mich. / Mendon) was named the Most Valuable Track Athlete for her performance in the meet. The freshman won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.81 seconds. She also placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.51 seconds.
Gales ran a leg of the victorious 4-x-400-meter relay. She teamed with Jensyn Garrow (Archbold, Ohio / Archbold), Rebecca Flora (Greenfield, Ind. / Greenfield Central) and Kaylyn Forrest (Cassopolis, Mich. / Ross-Beatty) for a time of 4:05.94. The time was just one second off the school-record pace.
Kara Eck (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) notched two first-place finishes on the day. Eck paced a Thunder throwing crew that took home three of the top four places in the hammer throw. Her winning toss in the hammer was measured at a meet-record 55.11 meters (180 feet, 10 inches). She is now ranked fifth in the nation in the event. Jenn Steyer (Fenton, Mich. / Lake Fenton) added a personal-best throw of 50.75 meters (166 feet, 6 inches) to place third, while Andrea Hagar (Goshen, Ind. / Fairfield) added a personal-best throw of 44.15 meters (144 feet, 10 inches) to place fourth.
Eck also won the shot put with a toss of 13.34 meters (43 feet, 9.25 inches). She is ranked 14th in the nation in the event.
Hagar rounded out the first-place performances in the discus throw. The freshman came away with a personal-best distance of 39.47 meters (129 feet, 6 inches). Hagar turned in an oustanding overall effort, scoring in all four of her events with personal-bests in each event. In addition to her efforts in the discus throw and hammer throw, Hagar placed fourth in the shot put and eighth in the javelin throw.
Kyla Binfet (West Yellowstone, Mont. / West Yellowstone) highlighted the performances elsewhere on the track with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Binfet broke the previous meet record, but was edged out for the win by just over a second. The junior ran a time of 11:45.99 in her first-ever collegiate performance in the steeplechase.
Forrest and Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) scored individually in multiple events. Forrest placed third in the 100-meter dash, clocking a time of 12.77 seconds. She also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash. Blystone notched a third-place finish in the 1,500-meter run and added a seventh-place finish in the 800-meter run.
Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio / Anthony Wayne) placed fourth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 42:29.26. Garrow notched a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash.
Rounding out Thunder performers scoring in meet were Ashlyn and Massie Jo Maskow (Howe, Ind. / Lakeland). Ashlyn Maskow placed eighth in the 100-meter dash, while Massie Jo Maskow finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles.
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Trine returns to action Friday and Saturday, Apr. 21-22 at Grand Valley State University's Al Owens Classic.
