OXFORD, Ohio - The Western Michigan track & field team took home the gold in three events at the Miami Invitational, and the Broncos took second place overall in the field of 18 at the conclusion of the weekend's events. The Broncos finished in second with a points total of 121.50, which ranked them second among the five Mid-American Conference schools present at the meet.
The 4x400m Relay team of Rebecca Hall, Leya Munwam, Andrea Arnold, and Ariel Arnold represented the best of what head track & field coach Kelly Lycan said was a good day for the sprint relays. Made up of individuals who have not normally run on the "A" squad of the 4x400m in 2012, the team at the Miami Invitational took first in the field with a time of 3:44.41, the fastest of the season for the Broncos.
"I was impressed with all three teams we fielded today [in the 4x400m]," said Lycan. "We shuffled people around a little bit, especially on the 'A' team, and got some good results. Rebecca Hall got us to within striking distance with a solid second leg, and Ariel Arnold had a 57.55 split in the third leg to make it close before Andrea put it away. It was nice to see those people step it up."
The top performer in the field was Andrea Hiler, who set a new Miami Invitational record in the Discus with a toss of 50.67m/166-3, breaking the previous meet record held by Winona State by 0.42m and taking first place in the event. The mark represented a new personal best for Hiler, as well; the toss shattered her old PR of 162-6 by four full feet.
Hiler's performance paced the field of 20 competitors and rates as the third-best Discus toss in WMU history. Stephanie Negrete also scored in the Discus with a mark of 44.76m. Hiler also scored in the Shot Put with a toss of 13.43m, good for sixth place; Chelsea Gerbers took third in the event with a mark of 13.72m.
"Our throwers really bounced back today," said Lycan. "Gerbers had a solid day in the Shot Put, and Hiler was also able to a new season-best mark."
Elsewhere in the field, Lindsey Hufnagel set a new PR in the javelin with a toss of 34.21m. That mark was good for fourth place. Lycan said Hufnagel's finish was encouraging for a number of reasons.
"Lindsey had kind of an up and down day, and it was nice to see her close it out strongly with a PR in the javelin," said Lycan.
Iris Campbell was the top finisher in the 400m Hurdles, one of three Broncos to score in the event. Campbell broke the tape in 1:01.08 to pace the field of 17 competitors; Whitney Freeman and Alexis Hull finished with times of 1:03.94 and 1:04.68, respectively, to take fifth and seventh place. Freeman's mark tied her previous PR in the event.
Campbell was also part of the Broncos' second-place effort in the 4x100m Relay, teaming with Rebecca Hall, Andrea Arnold, and Stephanie Okolo to post a time of 46.50.
In the middle distance events, Rachel Whitley posted the top finish with a second-place performance in the 800m. Whitley finished the race with a mark of 2:10.39, just behind Kent State's Melinda Sawnor. Fractions of a second behind Whitley was teammate Aisha Hodge, who took third place with a time of 2:10.93. Samantha Draney scored in the 1500m with a fifth place finish, recording a mark of 4:33.50.
"The 800m was better today, and showed real signs of progress," said Lycan. "Both Whitley and Hodge stepped up to the challenge of going against one of the better middle-distance runners in the MAC in Sawnor. They've still got room for improvement, especially in race strategy and tactic, but they've making great strides."
The top performer in the jumps on Saturday was Chiara Allen, who took second place in the Triple Jump with a leap of 11.96m.
