MANKATO, MN – Already a three-time all-conference performer and the reigning champion in the 600 meter run, University of Mary senior
Ava Grimm successfully defended her title to headline a strong day for the Marauders at the 2022-23 Northern Sun Women's Indoor Track & Field championships.
In addition to Grimm's title, UMary generated four NCAA provisional qualifying marks on Sunday and eight for the weekend.
After placing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore, Grimm won her first NSIC title in the 600 at the 2022 championships. Her win this season gives Grimm all-conference honors in all four of her seasons.
Entering the finals as the fourth seed following the preliminaries, Grimm won the 600 meter title in comfort with a time of 1:35.86. The native of Elk River, MN, outpaced the runner-up by over a second.
Grimm led a trio of Marauders in placing in the 600 meter run.
Grace Acheson picked up sixth place in a time of 1:38.21 while
Danalee Brock claimed 8
th in a clocking of 1:39.54. All three combined scored 14 team points for UMary in the event.
In the high jump,
Antonia Genet finished in a 4-way tie for 4
th place after clearing the bar with a season-best effort of 1.65 meters. As she and one other competitor only needed two tries at 1.65 meters those two were awarded a higher team point total.
Sakena Massiah had a strong day in the 2000 meter dash. Competing in her first championship race for the Marauders Massiah placed 5
th with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 25.04 seconds.
A'Lena Chaney scored for the Marauders in two more events on Sunday when she placed in both the 60 meter hurdles and the triple jump. The junior placed 6
th overall when she cleared the 60 meter barriers in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8.76 seconds. She also finished 7
th in the triple jump with a top effort of 11.43 meters on her final attempt of the day. Chaney placed 8
th in the long jump on day one of the NSIC championships, giving her a team-best three visits to the podium.
Kiran Green posted a pair of podium efforts on Sunday, scoring for UMary in both the 800 and the mile runs. The senior snared 6
th place in the 800 meter run after she finished the event in a time of 2:18.41. Green finished 8
th in the mile run as she crossed the finish line in 5:10.05.
After shattering her own school record to earn second in the long jump,
Arianna Passeri placed for the Marauders in a second event as the senior sprinter finished 7
th in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.73 seconds.
Morgan Hertz matched her placement from the preliminaries and finished 7
th in the 400 meter run. She posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 57.78 to score for the Marauders.
Laura Inama finished seventh in the pentathlon with a career-best effort. She totaled an NCAA qualifying mark of 3232 points over the five events.
In the 1000 meter run,
Marisa Shiland claimed 8
th overall in a clocking of 3:12.78.
The Marauders 4x400 meter relay team of Hertz, Acheson, Grimm and Massiah placed 8
th in 4:02.50.
UMary finished 5
th overall with 52.5 points. Host Minnesota State University claimed the NSIC title.
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