MARQUETTE, Mich.—Northern Michigan University Women's Track & Field hosted their lone indoor meet of the year with the Northern Challenge Saturday afternoon in the Superior Dome. An NCAA Division II provisional and movement in the Wildcat record book highlighted a strong afternoon for NMU.
Senior Kameron Burmeister (Menominee, Michigan) bested her NCAA Division II provisional time in the 5,000-meters, finishing in 17 minutes, 13.83 seconds to take the top spot. The time is five seconds shy of Burmeister's school record in the event, which sits at 17:08.59.
Sophomore Katelyn Smith (Gaylord, Michigan) now sits in second all-time at NMU with her performance in the 5,000-meters. Smith finished second in 17:52.15, while junior Abby Fifarek (Buckley, Michigan) was third in 18:35.90.
The 400-meter run saw sophomore Sydney McPeters (Sugarland, Texas) enter the NMU record book with her time of 1:00.85. It was enough to win the event and move into eighth in the school's indoor record book. Junior Lynsey Collins (Escanaba, Michigan) and freshman Annicka McDonald (Windsor, Connecticut) placed second and third in the event.
In the 200-meter dash, junior Shayla Huebner (Marquette, Michigan) defeated the field with a time of 26.41 seconds. The mark is good enough for 10th in the NMU indoor record book. Junior Jenna Long (Suamico, Wisconsin) and junior Paige Dutcher (Williamston, Michigan) finished second and third in the event.
A pair of Wildcats dominated the field events. Senior Samanthia Johnson (Kingston, Jamaica) took the top spot in the weight throw and the shot put. A toss of 53 feet, 11 inches was enough to earn a victory in the weight throw, while her throw of 35'04.00" won the shot put.
Junior Michelle Juergen (Gau-Odernheim, Germany) performed well in a pair of jumping events, earning the win in the high jump. Juergen cleared 5'00.25" to take the top spot. In the long jump, Juergen finished second, clearing 16'09.
Other victories at the meet include freshman Nina Augsten (Koenigsbronn, Germany) in the 55-meter hurdles, freshman Izabelle Peterson (Marquette, Michigan) in the 55-meter dash, junior Hannah Lonergan (Novi, Michigan) in the 800-meters, and junior Kalina Pfannenstiel (Traverse City, Michigan) in the 3,000-meters.
In the team rankings, NMU took the top spot with 282 points.
NMU will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Saginaw Valley State University for the Jet's Pizza Invitational.
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships will be held February 23-24 with Grand Valley State University hosting the meet. The 2017 NCAA II Indoor Track & Field Championships are set for March 9-10 in Pittsburgh, Kansas.
