MANKATO, MN – It was a fantastic start to the NSIC Championships for the 20^th-ranked University of Mary women's track and field team. On the first day of competition, the Marauders won two events and a school record fell. UMary is currently in second place as a whole.

The first win for UMary came in the Distance Medley Relay. The team consisted of Terez Wycklendt, Amber Rosemeier, Mara Bruno, and Elizabeth Acheson. Their collective time of 11:52.68 was five seconds ahead of the next best team, Winona State University.

The next win came in the final event of the night, as Alyssa Becker won the 5,000m run for the second straight season. After racing neck and neck with Augustana University's Ella Bakken for the majority of the race, Becker pulled away on the final lap to win by three seconds.

Andrijana Fundak placed third in the race with a season-best time of 17:18.94, earning the Marauders points in the team standings.

The Marauders also gained points from Taylor Weidner's 6^th place finish in the long jump. She reached a distance of 5.69m with her final jump of the day to move up in the standings.

Laila Cleare had a career day, starting with her performance in the 60m dash. Cleare broke her own school record with a 7.36 and is now 5^th in the nation in the event. She had the top time of the prelims and will compete in the finals tomorrow. Cleare went on to gain a season-best time of 24.37 in the 200m and holds the top spot in that event going into tomorrow's finals.

Advancing to the finals of their respective track events were the following athletes:

Laila Cleare – 60m Dash (7.36), 200m dash (24.37)
Tia Horning – 60m Hurdles (8.64)
Tionce Walrond – 200m Dash (24.54)
Sakena Massiah – 400m Dash (55.89)
Tayen Werner – 400m Dash (56.74)
Kelescia Downes – 600m Dash (1:37.30)
Morgan Hertz – 600m Dash (1:38.17)
Bernadette Belzer – 600m Dash (1:39.04)
Amber Rosemeier – 800m Run (2:15.21)
Elizabeth Acheson – 800m Run (2:16.32)

The full results from Day 1 of the NSIC Championships can be found here with the current team standings below:

Minnesota State University – 64
University of Mary – 29
University of Sioux Falls – 27
Winona State University – 22
Augustana University – 17
Northern State University – 14
MSU Moorhead – 6
University of Minnesota Duluth – 6
Concordia University, St. Paul – 4
Bemidji State University – 3
Minot State University – 2
Southwest Minnesota State University – 1

The second day of competition from Mankato, MN, begins at 9 a.m. with the women's pentathlon. Anna Rader will be representing the Marauders in the multi event.

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