Waidelich Wins Discus at Hanover Invite

HANOVER, IND. -- Junior Brooke Waidelich (Pettisville) captured the discus event to lead the Defiance College women's track & field team at the Hanover (Ind.) College Invitational in Hanover, Ind.

The women posted a team score of 25 points and finished in a three-way tie for eighth place out of 16 teams.  Cedarville University won the team title with 164 points and was followed by Indiana Wesleyan University with 148 points.  Taylor (Ind.) University rounded out the top three with 99 points.

Defiance's top performances in the running events was turned in by junior Danielle Robbins (Westland, Mich./Wayne Memorial) who finished 12th in the 400-meter dash and 15th in the 200-meter dash.  Robbins crossed the finish line in a time of 1:07.79 in the 400-meter dash and 28.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash. 

Waidelich highlighted the field events for the Jackets with her win in the discus thanks to a best toss of 125' 7.00".  She was one of five athletes to compete in the event and one of four to place in the top-20.  Junior Hannah Williams (Swanton) finished ninth in the event with a distance of 113' 8.00" and was followed by senior Alexis Walker (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) in 18th place with a mark of 102' 0.00".  Freshman Madi Bowman (Eaton) finished 19th with a distance of 101' 7.00".

Williams also had a strong showing in the hammer and was one of three to place in the top-10.  Williams paced the other DC competitors by placing third overall following a best distance of 145' 3.00".  Walker was fourth at 144' 10.00" and Waidelich placed eighth at 136' 4.00".  Also coming in the top-20 was junior Cassidy Santen (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) who posted a mark of 119' 7.00" which was good enough for 16th overall.

Santen was the lone Yellow Jacket to compete in the javelin and finished seventh with a mark of 91' 9.00" and also led all Defiance athletes who competed in the shot put with an eighth-place showing and a distance of 36' 1.50".  Walker and senior Katie Tilman (Miami Springs, Fla./Immaculata-La Salle) joined Santen in the shot put and placed 15th and 19th with Walker posting a distance of 33' 4.00" and Tilman coming in at 32' 9.00".

"We ended the day with 16 personal bests, and an event champion," said Head Coach Ken Ciolek.  "We had to battle through another day of cold and wet conditions, but we were still able to put together some very strong performances."

The Yellow Jackets are scheduled to compete at the Huntington (Ind.) University Invitational next Saturday, Apr. 8 in Huntington, Ind.  The meet is scheduled to begin at noon.