Williams Earns First Team All-HCAC Honors to Lead Women's Track

DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College women's track and field team finished with three athletes being honored with postseason Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference awards.

Senior Hannah Williams (Swanton) earned first team All-HCAC honors following her HCAC championship performance in the hammer throw on Saturday with a throw of 47.29 meters (155 feet, 2 inches), just 0.01 meters off of her personal best. That 47.30 meter toss (155 feet, 2 inches) has Williams as the 44th ranked hammer thrower in the country, as well as the second best hammer thrower in school history. Williams also placed second in the conference in the discus with a season-best throw of 40.06 meters (131 feet, 5 inches), a throw that makes her the third best in that event in school history entering action at the University of Toledo Invitational this week.

Senior Brooke Waidelich (Pettisville) earned honorable mention All-HCAC honors after she placed third in the discus competition on Saturday with her throw of 38.94 meters (127 feet, 9 inches). Her best toss of the season came a week earlier at Ohio Northern, where her 40.52 meter throw (132 feet, 11 inches) was good enough to move her into second place on Defiance's all-time list. The senior also placed sixth in the hammer throw at the HCAC Championships last weekend, where she also sits fifth on Defiance's all-time leaderboard.

Sophomore Malia Ferry (Milford) was also honored by the HCAC with a spot on the All-Sportsmanship Team. Ferry was a member of the 4x100 meter relay team that finished eighth at the HCAC Championships, and also competed in the 400 and was a member of the 4x400 meter relay at the conference meet.

Defiance's track team kicks off last chance meet action on Thursday, May 3 and Friday, May 4 with action at the University of Toledo. The hammer, javelin, and shot put competitions are taking place on Thursday with the rest of the meet scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.