Track, field collect first-place finishes

Tess Ehrhardt broke school records in the 3,000-meter run. Photo: Steve Woltmann

The men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded action at the Benedictine Twilight afternoon at Benedictine University.

Junior Rebecca Zaiter took home top honors in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.84. Zaiter earned second place in the 800-meter run, clocking in with a time of 2:11.97.

Teammate Tess Ehrhardt placed first in the 3,000-meter run, crossing the finish line with a school record-breaking time of 9:51.85.

Sharon Mwale (1.65 meters) and Noelle Williams (50.86 meters) set personal records in the high jump and hammer throw.

“Competing is about PR’s [personal records] and we had huge ones from Sharon Mwale and Noelle Williams,” head coach Jim Knoedel said. “These two seniors are going to be going out with a bang.”

Freshman Imani Dixon ran in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 58.17 seconds to secure the top spot.

On the men’s side, Gunnar Sterne and Angelos Karkalis placed first and second place in the 800-meter run, finishing with times of 1:53.21 and 1:53.43.

“Gunnar and Angelos worked as a team and finished 1-2 in the 800 meters, only 0.2 seconds apart to put both of them in the top-five of the Horizon League list. I couldn’t have been happier with their performances,” Knoedel said.

Freshman Kyle Hauser took home top honors in the 1,500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 3:55.14.

The Flames continue action Friday, traveling to Youngstown State to compete in the 2014 Horizon League Outdoor Championships.