TROJANS WIN 2018 CROSSROADS LEAGUE TITLE
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – With a final tally of 207 points, the TU women’s track and field team captured the 2018 Crossroads League Championship. After two days, the Trojans collected 11 event championships, including eight on the final day of competition.
Taylor was able to pile up the points in a handful of events headlined by the women’s mid-distance team. In the women’s 1,500-meter race, TU’s Rachel Blagg, Alex Berends and Taylor Bluemel made up three of the top five finishers taking first, second and fifth. Blagg, the event champion, finished in 4:39.80 while runner-up Berends was narrowly off her pace by crossing the line at 4:41.54. Bluemel rounded out the run with a time of 4:53.97. Blagg capped off her day with a second title by winning the 800-meter run in 2:18.08. She was followed closely by teammates Margie Crosby and Anna Souzis who took fourth and sixth in the event.
Another standout performance in the mid-distance group was a one-two finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by Mae Elizabeth Gimre and Amanda Dibley. The tandem collected 18 points for the team with times of 11:12.74 and 11:34.00, respectively.
Not to be denied her own title after taking second in the 1,500-meter, Berends landed a first-place finish of her own in the 5,000-meter run by clocking in at 18:23.76. In the 5k, TU had arguably their most dominant performance of the day by recording four of the top six finishers with Sarah Harden taking second, Gimre taking fifth and Livy Schroder taking sixth.
The TU sprinters also had a big outing anchored by Plenseh-Tay Sakeuh. Having won the long jump on Thursday, Sakeuh came back to work on Friday to pick up two more event titles by winning the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.55 seconds and helping the women’s 4×100-meter relay to a first-place finish with a time of 48.38 seconds. Joining Sakeuh in the title-winning run was Lenna Klein, Sarah Robinson and Miriam Wood. Sakeuh also added a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash and a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash to her weekend resume to help the Trojans capture the team title.
Adding to her 4×100-meter title, Miriam Wood earned a second event championship by winning the 400-meter run with a time of 58.97 seconds. Robinson, another 4×100-meter champion, also contributed additional points to the team’s cause by taking second behind Sakeuh in the 100-meter hurdles.
TU’s final first-place finish was captured by Brianna Jordahl in the hammer throw. Jordahl landed a toss of 48.61 meters to earn the first-place finish and a spot on the 2018 All-Crossroads League Team.
The Trojans will return to action next Thursday and Friday at the North Central College Invitational, which will be their final meet before heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for the NAIA National Championships that will be held May 24th-26th.
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