Women's Track and Field 2/26/2022 12:00:00 AM

Ana Tucker Races to 5K and Distance Medley Relay Titles in MIAA Indoor Championships

by Dena Meiste

Behind winning performances in two events, the Hope College women's track and field team finished runner-up at the 2022 MIAA Indoor Championships on Saturday at Trine University.

Ana Tucker won the 5,000-meter race for the Flying Dutch. The junior from Midland, Michigan (H.H. Dow) also teamed with Jacinda Cole, Sophie Hall and Jessie Schamanek for a first-place distance medley relay.

The Flying Dutch scored 130 points to land in second place on the podium. Host school Trine University snapped Hope's two-year reign as MIAA champs with 173 points.

"This is a tough conference. We always hope to win, especially on the women's side. I thought we had a chance," head coach Kevin Cole said. "Things just didn't go our way in a few events. Second place is still very strong. I'm looking forward to transitioning outdoors."

Tucker won the 5,000-meter race in a time of 17 minutes, 41.90 seconds. It was her third individual indoor title, having previously won the 1-mile and the 3,000-meters in 2021.

Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / William Fremd) followed Tucker across the finish line in the 1-mile run with a time of 17:51.61.

In the distance medley relay, Tucker ran with Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa), Sophie Hall (Holt, Michigan / Haslett) and Jessie Schamanek (Rochester, Michigan / Stoney Creek). The squad combined for a time of 12:48.56 to add another 10 points to the team tally.

Freshman Greta Robrahn made her conference championship debut with a second-place result in the shot put. The Zeeland East graduate landed a season-best throw of 13.00 meters to highlight action on the field. Amelia Bont (Chesterfield, Michigan / Anchor Bay) took fifth (11.60m).

Grace Behrens (Mishawaka, Indiana / Trinity School At Greenlawn) turned in All-MIAA performances in the 60-, 200- and 400-meter races. The junior's highest finish came in the 400, with a second-place time of 1:01.08.

Also finishing in the top-eight in the 400-meters were Julie Timperman (Lafayette, Indiana / Faith Christian) and Madeline Moore (Hillsdale, Michigan / Hillsdale) with times of 1:03.06 and 1:04.27, respectively.

Junior Helen Dodge (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South) paced Hope in the 60-meters, clocking an 8.17 in the finals to place fourth. Behrens came in just behind her at 8.22 while fellow junior Amanda Lines (Naples, Florida / First Baptist Academy) finished in sixth after crossing the line at the 8.25 mark.

With a time of 27.04, Behrens also placed fifth in the 200-meters just ahead of Dodge in sixth (27.18) and Lines in seventh (27.28).

"They are the core of the sprint group," said head coach Kevin Cole of juniors Behrens, Dodge and Lines. "I can always count on those girls to give it their all. They were completely exhausted by the end of the day and they came through, did what they were supposed to do and I'm proud of them."

Cole reached the podium in the 1-mile, turning in a time of 5:18.40 for third place. Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn) and Heleyna Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Herbert Henry Dow) followed, coming in just under 5:22 to round out the top-five.

Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian) turned in a time of 10:23.56 in the 3,000-meter race to tally another podium finish for the Flying Dutch. Joining Mason Olivia Quillan (Grandville, Michigan / Calvin Christian), who was the sixth competitor overall to cross the finish line.

In the 800-meter run,. Jankowski placed fourth (2:22.91) to lead the Flying Dutch, Cole took seventh (2:24.58) with Schamanek) edging her by mere tenths to claim the sixth spot (2:24.26).

"I thought Jacinda had a good day, a busy day," Cole said, "She's worked really hard to contribute to the team in any way she can and she contributed in a big way today."

Cole also had a hand in Hope's top-three finish in the 4x400 meter relay. Teaming up with Timperman, Madeline Moore (Hillsdale, Michigan / Hillsdale) and Behrens, the quartet clocked a 4:13.48 to claim a podium position.

Other point scorers for Hope included:

60-meter hurdles – Lily Kueber (Northville, Michigan / Saint Catherine of Siena), seventh, 10.41; Hayley Scollard (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City Central), eighth, 10.74
High jump – Allison Schram (Fenton, Michigan / Hartland), 1.54 meters; Lindsay Lane (West Olive, Michigan / West Ottawa), eighth, 1.48 meters
Triple jump – Taylor Novotny (Batavia, Illinois / Batavia), eighth, 10.03 meters
Pole vault – Bethany Colbrunn (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) and Laura Klubech (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian), tied for sixth, 2.75 meters; Kyria Gowman (Livonia, Michigan / Adlai E Stevenson), eighth, 2.75 meters