Purdue Fort Wayne
Akron Open
Two More Records Fall for Track & Field
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 14, 2009
Akron, OH - The record-breaking 2009 track & field season continued over Valentines weekend, as Crystina Martinez and Whitney Lane each set school records at the Akron University Open.
Martinez, who has set a school record in each of the four meets she has competed in, smashed her previous school record in the 5,000, finishing third in the strong field with a time of 16:53.86, over 18 seconds faster than the time of 17:12.18 she put up in the indoor season opener at Bowling Green. Additionally, her time is just nine seconds off of the NCAA Provisional qualifying time of 16:45.00, and it puts her nearly a minute ahead of the next fastest time put up by a runner at another school in the Summit League this year.
Lane re-set her own school record in the triple jump, leaping her way to a distance of 34-1.25 (10.39 meters), which tops her previous record of 33-9.5 (10.30) that she set at the Jane Hermann Invitational on January 23.
Also competing in the "Gold" race of the 5,000 was Crystal Martinez, who took fifth overall with a time of 17:18.89, which is the second fastest time in the Summit League this year, behind only her sister's record-breaking race. Racing in the "Blue" race, Kim Matusik took fifth with a time of 19:03.53, a season best by 27 seconds.
Sarah Hutchings, in her first mile race of the year, took third in a time of 5:22.39, with teammate Ali Paul setting a new season best with a time of 5:31.25, placing seventh in the field. Rachel Schultz rounded out the Mastodons in the race by placing 10th in a time of 6:02.83.
Felicia Mondry had a 16-second season-best at the Stile Fieldhouse in the 3,000-meter run, finishing the 10-lap race in a time of 10:34.65, placing third, as teammates Jessica McNulty and Kayla Sweet placed 10th and 12th, with times of 11:11.25 and 11:28.16, respectively.
In the 800, Beth Hoekstra topped her previous season best by over three seconds, running a time of 2:21.94 on the 300-meter track, with Hutchings (24th/2:28.85) and Paul (27th/2:32.81) also competing in the event.
On Friday night, three student-athletes, Katy Moore, Lane, and Annina Gruber competed in the pentathlon, a grouping of five events: high jump, shot put, long jump, 60-meter hurdles, and the 800-meter run, with times and places earning points based on a intricate system. The trio had individual event high marks of 712 by Moore in the high jump (5-2.25), and 748 in the 800 (2:25.68). Lane's top marks came in the 800 (627 points/2:35.41), the high jump (544/4-8.25), and in the long jump (459/15-2.0), and Gruber had a top mark with a 487 in the 800 (2:47.73) and a 481 in the high jump (4-6).
Moore took top honors in the group with an overall point total of 2,412, placing 11th, with Lane taking 12th with 2,310 points, and Gruber 13th with 1,804. Tired from a strenuous Friday night, Moore placed in a tie for fifth in the high jump on Saturday, clearing 5-0.25 (1.53 meters).
Laura Williams placed 13th in the shot put, with a toss of 35-7.25, three feet further than her previous season best set in IPFW's last event, the Tom Wright Classic hosted by Bowling Green.
Jill Edmonds competed in a pair of sprint events, the 200, where she placed 24th in a time of :29.13, and in the 400, where she took 20th in 1:10.53. Gruber also ran in the 400, posting a time of 1:15.68 while placing 21st.
The `Dons take back to the track on February 21, where they compete at the Boilermaker Invitational, and a week later they travel to Kansas City, Missouri, where they compete in the Summit League Championships, hosted by UMKC.
~Dons~
