UD Women Win the UD Spartan Invite

Feb 21, 2014 | J.Crane

RESULTS: 2014 UD Spartan Invite

DUBUQUE, IOWA - The University of Dubuque Women's Track team defended its home turf on Friday night with a win at the 2014 UD Spartan Invite. The UD women finished with 176 team points. The Spartans had seven wins and six second place finishes. Brenda Breimon (Oconomowoc, Wis./Slinger), Rachael Busjahn (Sobieski, Wis./Pulaski), and Nickolette McKenzie (Hoffman Estates, Ill./William Fremd) all set new school records. Dubuque finished 63 points ahead of second place Cornell. 

The records began to fall early with McKenzie setting a new school record in the long jump on her fourth jump of the day. Her win worthy leap of 5.41m (17' 9.0") broke a 29 year old record set by Jan Jacobs by 3.5". The Spartan crowd witnessed another school record fall during the first field events when Breimon once again upped her record setting height in the pole vault. Breimon moved the bar to 3.43m (11' 3.0") on her way to first place, two full heights past second place finisher and teammate Amanda Zbilski (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley). The third school record to fall came from Busjahn in the 800m Run with a time of 2:22.05, 3.5 seconds better than the previous record by Beth Michaelis in 2010. 

UD also earned individual first place finishes from Brittany Burns (Beloit, Wis./Beloit Memorial) in the 400m Dash at 1:02.22 (5th best all-time at UD) and Taylor Cary (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) in the 55m Hurdles. The Spartans relay teams were on mark all day winning the 4x200m and 4x400m. The 4x4 team of Busjahn, McKenzie, Burns, and Fabiola Ortiz (Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North)  ran the second fastest time in school history at 4:09.14. Not to be out done, the 4x2 team of Zbilski, McKenzie, Jamyia Catchings (Pavle Forest, Ill./Bloom Trail), and Alexis Higgins (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) won with the fifth fastest time in school history at 1:48.95. 

‌The Spartans put together a strong team effort in the 1 Mile Run with Brenda Nava (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) leading the way with a second place finish. UD went 2-3-4 with Kiersten Wenthold (Fort Atkinson, Iowa/South Winn) and Samantha Holen (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) coming in third and fourth respectively. In a small field, Breimon took second of three in the 55m Dash. 

Strong field event performances came in the form of second place finishes by Busjahn in the triple jump with a the fourth place jump in school history at 10.54m (34' 11.25"). Joining Busjahn was Catchings finishing second in the long jump and Katelyn Herbig (Aurora, Ill./Aurora Central) in the weight throw. 

Team Standings
Rank   School   Points  
1) Dubuque 176
2) Cornell 113
3) William Penn     64
4) Clarke 63

UP NEXT: The Spartans will compete in the Iowa Conference Indoor Championships on February 28th and March 1st. The 2014 IIAC Championships are hosted by Luther College. The complete schedule of events can be found at: IIAC ITF Schedule

Follow all UD Athletics action on Twitter at: @UDubuqueSports