by Dena Meiste
The Hope College women's track and field team continued the outdoor season on Friday at the Comet Invitational, hosted by Olivet College. Senior Addyson Gerig, pictured right, impressed in the field events, picking up wins in both the high jump and triple jump.
The Flying Dutch scored 115 points with a partial squad in attendance, good enough for fourth overall. Trine University owned the day with 196 points for first place.
Gerig of Holland, Mich. (West Ottawa HS) earned the top spot in both the high jump and triple jump – a week after placing second in both events at the outdoor season opener at Indiana Wesleyan.
She extended her collegiate-best mark in the triple jump, in either an indoor or outdoor venue, with a distance of 33-feet, 1/4-inch. She was the only student-athlete in the field to surpass the 33-foot plateau.
The senior picked up an additional 10 points in the high jump, with a first-place height of 5-feet, 1-inch.
Hannah Kenny (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven), pictured left, led Hope in the running events with a first-place result in the 1500 meters. The senior dominated the race, clocking a time of 4:45.02 – nearly 20 seconds faster than the closest competitor and 9+ seconds better than her previous collegiate-best time.
Kenny went on to take third in the 3,000 meters, clocking a 10:39.24.
Sophomore Amelia Bont (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) reached the podium in the shot put after achieving a distance of 35-feet, 4-inches, good enough for third place. Emma Althouse (Ludington, Michigan / Ludington) and Mical Knafel (Marshall High School) also scored points for Hope in the event, taking fifth (33'8") and eighth (30' 11 1/4"), respectively.
Kimmie Drake (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes) had an impressive day in the sprint events. The freshman first took second place in the 100 meters (33'8") before finishing fifth in the 200 meters (29.12).
Ellie Stevens (Twin Lake, Mich./ Whitehall) and Madelyn Marciniak (Otsego, Mich./Otsego) added to the Flying Dutch's point total, going two-three in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Hope earned several more fourth-place finishes in the field events, including Hannah Bredeweg (Benton Harbor, Mich./Stevensville-Lakeshore) in the triple jump (31' 4 3/4"); Althouse in the hammer throw (125'6"); Elisabeth Strotman (Maine Township) in the javelin (102'3"); Claire Benedict (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) in the long jump (15' 10 1/4"); and Bethany Colbrunn (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) in the pole vault (9' 1/4").
The Flying Dutch return to competition next week Friday, April 9 with the Albion Invitational.
