April 22, 2016
Wolverines win PAC North Quad; Packard breaks pole vault record
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Junior Melanie Packard (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) broke the 14-year old Grove City College women's pole vault record and several other Wolverines posted notable performances as the Grove City College women's track and field team earned the team win at the 2016 Presidents' Athletic Conference North Quad Meet in conjunction with the Slippery Rock University Open on Thursday afternoon and evening at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Packard cleared 3.40 meters (11 feet, 2 inches) to tie for second overall and tie for first among PAC competitors, breaking the College record of 3.35 meters (11-0) set by Jessica Cooper on May 4, 2002 at the Grove City Invitational.
Freshman Elizabeth Donahoe (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) improved upon her own top conference mark of the year in the 800 by taking second overall and first among PAC runners with a time of 2:23.98 while junor Lydia Keiper (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) was led PAC runners to take second overall in the 5000, posting a career-best time for the third time this season with a mark of 18:43.60.
Senior Allison Blain (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) was first among PAC runners in the 400, completing the race in 1:00.28 to take fourth overall, while sophomore Margi Haiss (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) posted a career-best mark in the discus for the second-straight week to take fifth overall and the PAC win with a top throw of 37.02 meters.
Junior Rachel Watson (Jackson Center, Pa./Lakeview) posted a season-best mark of 10.39 meters in the triple jump to finish fourth overall and second among PAC jumpers while Haiss was second in the PAC and 11th overall in the shot put with a best heave of 10.46 meters. Freshman Rachel Martin (Mars, Pa./Eden Christian) was also second among PAC runners in the 5000, finishing seventh overall in 20:05.48.
Grove City's 4x400 relay of sophomore Melanie Wizorek (Grove City, Pa./Grove City), junior Lauren Pearce (Grand Rapids, Mich./Hudsonville), Blain and Donohoe was third overall and tops among PAC schools with a time of 4:04.42 while the Wolverine 4x100 relay of junior Sarah Williamson (York, Pa./Northeastern), Blain, Pearce and Wizorek were sixth overall and second among PAC relays with a time of 51.11 seconds.
Grove City returns to action next Friday and Saturday when they compete at the 2016 Presidents' Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Bethany College. Competition is slated to begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.