Women's Track and Field 5/14/2022 5:36:00 PM Ted Schultz

Grinnell women put on impressive display to post runner-up finish at MWC Championships

Results

GRINNELL, Iowa - Sparked by a huge final day that included three event titles, Grinnell College's women's track and field team raced to a runner-up finish at the Midwest Conference Outdoor Championships Saturday.

Grinnell piled up 136 points - its highest total since the 1980 league meet - to finish with its best MWC finish since capturing second in 2014. Monmouth College was the champ with 167 points.

Athena Frasca '23 was a part of two event championships Saturday at Strong Stadium, winning the 400-meter dash and anchoring home the champion 4x400 relay squad. Grinnell's other winner Saturday was Emma Schaefer '23 in the 5000 run.

Frasca's clocking of 1 minute, .38 seconds in the 400 helped her beat the runner-up by .11 of a second to claim her first-ever MWC crown. Her time ranks ninth all-time at Grinnell.

Frasca later added her second MWC title, teaming with Sonia Edassery '24, Paige Olowu '22 and Sadie Staker '24 to win the 4x400 in 4:07.92. The ninth-best time in program history was .34 of a second better than the runner-up. The relay win marked Olowu's third-ever MWC title, and second of the 2022 outdoor meet. Staker is now a two-time MWC champ, while Edassery got her first title.

Schaefer claimed her fourth MWC title, but first outdoors, by dominating the field in the 5000. She ran the race in 18:13.37 to win by more than 11 seconds.

The titles were just a part of the Pioneers' success Saturday. Grinnell had three individual runners-up, Aiyana Rockwell '24 in the discus (126 feet, 9 inches), Micaela Daney '22 in the 800 (2:22.93) and Staker in the 400 hurdles (1:07.70). Rockwell's throw moves her up to fourth on Grinnell's all-time list and Daney's clocking ranks 10th. Staker's time in the hurdles, which remains third all-time at Grinnell, is a personal best.

Olowu was third in the triple jump with a leap of 33-10, while Staker and Edassery were fourth in the 100 hurdles and 400 in 16.88 and 1:02.27, respectively. Staker's time ranks fourth in program history.

Mira Diamond-Berman '25 and Daney were fifth and sixth in the 5000 in 19:14.16 and 19:40.99, while Crystal Kaczmarek '25 took sixth in the 3000 steeplechase in 13:01.36 and Megan LeBlanc '23 placed eighth in 13:22.15.

The 4x100 relay team of Edassry, Olowu, Frasca and Eva Carchidi '24 placed sixth in 50.50, a season-best that ranks second in program history.

Carchidi added a seventh-place finish in the 200 with a time of 26.91. Though not placing in the hammer, Annie Filkins' '23 throw of 100-9 ranks seventh at Grinnell and Arsema Berhane's '22 toss of 99-6 is eighth.

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Players Mentioned

Arsema Berhane: Senior

Eva Carchidi: Sophomore

Mira Diamond-Berman: First-Year

Sonia Edassery: Sophomore

Annie Filkins: Junior

Athena Frasca: Junior

Megan LeBlanc: Junior

Paige Olowu: Senior

Emma Schaefer: Junior

Sadie Staker: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Arsema Berhane
: Senior

Eva Carchidi
: Sophomore

Mira Diamond-Berman
: First-Year

Sonia Edassery
: Sophomore

Annie Filkins
: Junior

Athena Frasca
: Junior

Megan LeBlanc
: Junior

Paige Olowu
: Senior

Emma Schaefer
: Junior

Sadie Staker
: Sophomore