Led by a five-foot, five-and-a-quarter inch jump from Haidyn Wamsley and personal bests from Brianna Brudy and Olivia Cisco, the Shawnee State women's track and field program was able to put together a strong representation from its group of five competitors at the Harrison Dillard Twilight Meet, which was held on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University in Berea Friday evening.
Wamsley, who posted a personal best five-foot, five-and-three-quarters inch jump at the Otterbein Twilight Meet back on April 19, then added in a five-foot, five-inch jump at the River States Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships to win the conference title in the high jump, notched a NAIA National 'B' Standard jump for the third consecutive meet. Wamsley, who is 22nd nationally in the event, matched fellow conference rival Emma Pavelek of Point Park (Pa.) for fifth overall in the 18-competitor field.
Wanting to hit a NAIA National 'A' Standard mark, Wamsley, who cleared the equivalent of 1.66 meters with her jump, skipped the 1.69 meter mark to try to hit the standard by clearing 1.72 meters. While her vailant attempts to do so came up just short, only Wright State's Cierra Lively was able to clear 1.72 meters with the performance taking Lively two tries to do so.
Along with yet another impressive performance by Wamsley, fellow Shawnee State multi-sport athlete Brianna Brudy posted a strong effort in the long jump, clearing 18 feet for the first time in a collegiate event with her 18-foot, one-inch performance.
Brudy, who finished fourth out of 19 competitors in the long jump field, came within two-tenths of a meter of NAIA National 'B' Standard qualification and bettered her previous personal best by nearly an entire foot. It's the third consecutive meet in which Brudy has posted a personal best in either a track or a field event.
Cisco, who ran in the 5,000 meter run, finished seventh out of 29 competitors in posting a 17:58.43. That mark represents the fifth time in the last six meets where Cisco has posted a personal best, including the second time in the last three events in the 5,000 alone -- as her 17:58.43 betters her previous personal best of 17:59.75 set at the Otterbein Twilight on April 19.
Additional
Along with Wamsley, Brudy and Cisco, Shawnee State veterans Mckenna Pannell and Jozi Brown competed as distance runners for SSU. Pannell, who ran in the 5,000, posted a 20:05.20 while Brown, who competed in the 10,000, notched a 40:56.90.
The official field of competitors for the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will be announced next Friday, May 17. Between Wamsley and Cisco, Shawnee State is expected to have a competitor in the high jump and the 10,000 meter run, respectively, from the women's track and field perspective.
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