Washington University in St. Louis’ men’s and women’s track and field teams opened up the 2007 indoor season Saturday at the Rose-Hulman Five-Team Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. The Bears women won the meet, while the men took third place at the site of this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9-10).
Senior co-captain Natalie Badowski started the year on a high note, winning the 800-meter run in a school-record time of 2:16.24. The time, which was more than one second faster than the previous WU record, also provisionally qualified Badowski for the NCAA Championships.
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| For weekend sports scores, go to BearSports |
Among other notable women’s performances, senior Beth Herndon paced the Bears in the 3,000 meters (10:19.40), while sophomore Alli Alberts notched a personal best of 1.60 meters (5-3) in the high jump. Senior Delaina Martin just missed an NCAA provisional mark in the weight throw, recording a throw of 14.78m (48-6).
WU’s sprinters provided many of the day’s highlights for the men. Junior Doug Beattie clocked a team-best time of 6.77 seconds in the 55-meter dash. In the 400, freshman Iby Umana made a strong collegiate debut with a winning time of 52.55.
In the distance events, junior Jesse McDaniel and senior Joe Guinness finished 1-2 in the 3,000 meters. McDaniel posted a time of 9:01.31 and Guinness finished close behind in 9:02.64.
Washington U. returns to action Saturday, Jan. 27, when it heads back to Terre Haute for the Engineer Invitational.