April 12, 2003

Complete Results

OXFORD, Ohio - Behind the strength of seven individual performances that earned NCAA Regional qualifying marks, the Miami women's track and field team was head-and-shoulders above the competition at Saturday's Miami Invitational. The closest team to Miami's invitational-winning mark of 253.0 was Ball State who finished with a score of 169.

Junior All-American Andrea Kremer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) took first place in two events, the 1500-meter run and 3000-meter steeplechase, as she met an NCAA Regional qualifying mark and set a meet record in the steeplechase with a 10:27.39 clocking. Kremer's other first-place finish was in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:34.85.

The RedHawks finished 1-2-3 in the 100-meter hurdles, paced by an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 14.06 by junior Erin Connolly (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). Junior Jen Caldwell (Sabina, Ohio/East Clinton) finished behind Connolly with a 14.37 clocking, while senior Kate Christoff (Lima, Ohio/Central Catholic) rounded out the trifecta finish with a time of 14.47.

Caldwell completed her afternoon with a fine performance in the 400-meter hurdle event. The junior hurdler earned her NCAA Regional qualifying mark with a time of 60.27, while taking first place by a mere 0.25 in front of Purdue's Kristy Liphardt.

Despite finishing behind Purdue's Simona Kovacic in the pole vault, sophomore Tabitha Schwartz (Concord, Va./Appomatox) met an NCAA Regional qualifying standard with her second-place performance. Schwartz cleared the bar at 12-feet to meet the NCAA qualifying mark.

The RedHawks took three more first-place finishes in three more field events before the afternoon was complete. Junior triple-jumper Bernitta Johnson (Wilkes Barre, Pa./GAR Memorial) jumped ahead of the competition with a distance of 12.43 meters, while freshman Joanna Borawski (Canton, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas) took the gold in the javelin with a toss of 38.22 meters. The Red and White placed 1-2 in the shot put as junior Lauren Collins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) won the event with a throw of 13.78 meters, and sophomore Kristine Carlson (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) took second with a toss of 12.93 meters.

In an exciting 4x400-meter relay, the foursome of sophomore Rasheda Malcolm (University Heights, Ohio/Hawken), sophomore Katie Dyer (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville), Caldwell and junior Erika Harper (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford) took advantage of a botched handoff off the baton by Purdue's relay squad to take first with a time of 3:45.16. Not only did the winning relay time set a meet record, but it also qualified this quartet for the NCAA Regional meet.

The women's track and field team heads to Cincinnati next weekend for the Southern Ohio Cup meet being held on Saturday, April 19.

Printer-friendly format	Email this article