School Records Pile Up for Ortiz in Final Tuneup Before IIAC Championships
Feb 21, 2015 | None
DUBUQUE, Iowa – Sophomore Fabiola Ortiz keeps her streak alive after setting her third-straight UD school record with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 800 meters and the 4x400-meter relay to lead the University of Dubuque women’s track and field team to a fifth-place finish at their very own UD Spartan Invite.
The Spartans accumulated 75 points in the eight-team meet as UW-Platteville won the team title with 121.5 points.
Ortiz snagged 16 of those points after blazing a 2:18.73 in the 800 and running the third stretch of the 4x400-meter relay (4:04.22) with Rachael Busjahn, Brittany Burns, and Katrina Pagel. The 4x400-meter relay time give UD the fourth-best time in the IIAC.
For Ortiz, both of those races followed a school record (5:18.70) in the mile set at last week’s UW-Platteville Invitational. That mile time leaves her in sixth-place overall in the IIAC as she also sits in third-place in the 3000 meters with a time of 10:37.79.
Ortiz’s 800-meter time leaves her with the fifth-best time in the IIAC while Busjahn’s fourth-place finish in the 800 (2:23.58) places her eighth overall. Busjahn, the multi-event specialist, also owns a triple jump of 35’10.5” that sits behind fellow teammate Nikki McKenzie for second-best in the IIAC.
Burns captured a pair of Top-4 finishes after running to a third-place finish (7.62) in the 60 meters and a fourth-place showing (27.2) in the 200 meters.
Freshman Amanda Sinkler notched the third pole vault win of the year in a personal best and facility record, 3.50m/11’5.75”. That leaves Sinkler with the second-best vault in the IIAC this year. Sinkler’s vault is the 28th highest vault in the country. She now sits 0.5” shy of setting the school record.
Junior Alexis Higgins also snagged her third high jump win of the year after a leap of 1.59m/5’2.5”. Higgins’ 5’4.25” jump at UD’s Sol Butler Classic gives her the second-best mark in the IIAC.
In the field, Tanasha Atwater placed third in the shot put (12.63m/41’5.25”) and 10th in the weight throw (12.52m/41’1”). Atwater’s school record toss of 42’4.75” at the Cornell Hilltop Invite is the second-best throw in the Iowa Conference.
Lauren Egnarski finished fourth in the shot put with a toss of 11.94m/39’2.25”.
Nicole Forson placed third (15.04m/49’4.25”) and Katelyn Herbig (14.68m/48’2”)earned sixth in the weight throw. The pair currently sits fourth and fifth, respectively, heading into the IIAC Championships.
The Spartans suit up for next weekend’s two-day IIAC Championships hosted by Wartburg. The festivities begin on February 27 and continue through February 28.
