LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Winona State track and field team set six qualifying marks for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships and finished second out of 11 teams at the Phil Esten Challenge Friday in La Crosse.
 
The Warriors also finished first in three events, with Andrea Bartz winning the triple jump, Hannah Mueller winning the long jump, and Alissa Rausch winning the discus event.
 
It was a fantastic day for the Warriors in the hammer throw, with three provisional qualifiers, all of which with career bests. Freshman Kaitlyn Long finished second with a 54.98-meter (180' 4") throw, which ended up being the fifth-best throw in WSU history.
 
Junior Abbey Ristow also threw a career-best 53.20-meters (174' 6"), recording the eighth-best throw in WSU history and provisionally qualifying. Sophomore Nicole Nelson also set the ninth-best throw in WSU history and provisionally qualified with a 52.73-meter (173') toss.
 
In the long jump, senior Hannah Mueller won the event and setting a season-best provisional qualifying mark of 5.76-meters (18' 10 3/4"). Sophomore Hailey Deschaine also had a strong showing in the event with a 5.48-meter (17' 11 3/4") leap, tying the fifth-best jump in program history.
 
On cue, the Warriors dominated the discus event with Alissa Rausch setting yet another automatic qualifying mark and winning the event by more than 25'. Rausch's mark of 52.07-meters (170' 10") won the event with her freshman teammate Ashley Thooft finishing second with 44.41-meters (145' 8").
 
Sophomore Andrea Bartz took home the third victory for the Warriors with a 11.60-meter (38' 3/4") tally.
 
The Warriors had a very successful day in the 1500-meter run with two personal bests. Junior Jordan Paschke set the second-best mark in program history and crossed the finish line in second with a time of 4:35.66. Senior Jordan Skelly also set a personal-best and set the third-best mark in WSU history, crossing the finish line in 4:38.22.
 
In the 4x100-meter relay, the team of Catherine Whitcomb, Brittney Schyvinck, Hailey Deschaine, and Megan Seidl set the fourth-best mark in program history, and crossed the finish line at the 47.88 mark.
 
Winona State also had a solid showing in the 800-meter run. Kelsey Bethke's time of 2:19.02 set the fourth-best mark in WSU history and Leah Karsten's 2:21.03 time in the event set the 10th-best mark in program history.
 
Seidl also made her mark in the 200-meter dash. Her time of 25.22 tied the fourth-best mark in WSU history.
 
Freshman Karina Elford already made her mark in the WSU record books, setting the fifth-best mark in program history in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:07.56 finish.
 
Sophomore Haley Reinke with a second-place finish in the high jump, tied the sixth-best mark in program history with her leap of 1.61-meters (5' 3 1/4").
 
Other notable finishers on the day for the Warriors was Rausch finishing second in the shot put with a 14.82-meter toss (48' 7 1/2"), McKenzie Carper finishing second in the 5000-meter run with a time of 19:23.40, Catherine Whitcomb finished second in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 57.29, and Jessica Young finished second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:34.19.
 
Next up for the Winona State track and field team will be the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa on Thursday and the Drake Relays Friday and Saturday in Des Moines.