April 13, 2008

Complete Results

MACOMB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's track and field team scored in 16 different spots at the Lee Calhoun Memorial Track and Field Meet, finishing fourth as a team.

The Huskies scored 85 team points, more than seven other teams at the event. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville won the event with 147.25, followed by Western Illinois in second with 140, and Eastern Illinos just ahead of NIU with 101.50.

Seniors Elizabeth Berquist (Toddville, Iowa/Alburnett) and Meagan Guenther (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) earned the Huskies two first-place finishes. Berquist crowned the high jump, leaping 5-07.00, and Guenther won the hammer throw with a mark of 164-07.00.

Sprinter Coretta Evans (Wheeling, Ill./Evanston) also performed well for the Huskies. Evans, another senior, placed second in the 200-meter dash at 25.39, less than two-tenths of one second behind the winner, and finished third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.22.

The NIU distance runners also stepped-up at the meet. Freshman Sunsea Shaw (South Bend, Ind./Riley) scored the first points of her collegiate outdoor career with a sixth-place mark in the 1,500-meter run, while junior Denisse Valladares (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Hersey) placed second and Allison Grissom (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) finished eighth in the 5,000.

Senior Lauren Kubasiak (Genoa, Ill./Genoa-Kingston) scored in both the 200-meter and 400-meter hurdles, taking ninth and seventh, respectively, and rounding out a solid day on the track for the Huskies.

Berquist and Guenther's successes weren't the only quality performance in the field for NIU.

The Huskies scored four times in the jump events. Sophomore Jessica Statler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Prairie) jumped 5-05.00 in the high jump, second to only Berquist. Junior Shoshanna Brown (Plainfield, Ill./Romeoville) finished fourth in the long jump and triple jump.

NIU throwers also had a good outing. In addition to her hammer throw title, Guenther scored for the Huskies with an eighth-place 122-09 toss in the discus. Sophomore Cora Caulfield (Fox Lake, Ill./Grant) finished fifth in that event with a 136-01 throw, and also took sixth in the shot put with a 39-07.00 mark.

The Huskies return to competition Saturday, April 19 at Benedictine University.