Track & Field Records 13 Top-8 Finishes at Vanderbilt, Grand Valley State

Saturday, February 11

Nashville, Tenn.

9:30 a.m.

Central Michigan University

Music City Challenge

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

Track & Field Records 13 Top-8 Finishes at Vanderbilt, Grand Valley State

2/11/2023 9:39:00 PM | Track & Field

Anya Turner leads CMU with three placings at Grand Valley; Manners second in long jump at Vandy

By: Andrew Seavey

Central Michigan track & field student-athletes earned 13 top-eight finishes as the Chippewas competed in two weekend meets, the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., and the Grand Valley State Big Meet in Allendale.

Anya Turner started the Chippewas' busy weekend off on Friday with an eighth-place finish in the mile Run at Grand Valley State. She finished with a time of 5:00.28.

Turner continued to be a spark by placing fifth in the 3,000-meter run in 10:02.09 and then paced the Chippewas to a solid fourth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. Jaci Rife, Grace Jenkins and Libby Munderloh joined Turner in the relay. They finished in 4:03.64.

"It was a weekend full of personal records," CMU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jenny Swieton said. "Which is what you want this time of the year. We had a lot of personal records and even the people who did not PR or run their best ever competed really well."

CMU's Emily Paupore finished fourth in 5:01.09 in the mile on Saturday at Grand Valley, while teammate Maija Rettelle finished seventh in the 3,000-meter run (10:06.03).

CMU continued its recent success in field events with Alyssa Vandegriff finishing second in the high jump at 1.56 meters (5 feet, 1 ¼ inches). Tricia Pierce placed seventh for the Chippewas in the pole vault at 3.42 meters (11-2 ½).

The Chippewas' Mohogany Wells shined in the weight throw invite, placing fourth with a toss measuring 18.17 meters (59-7 ½). She also finished sixth in the shot put at 13.63 meters (44-8 ¾). CMU's Aliyah Boeve placed fourth in the open weight throw at 17.07 meters (56-0).

"We had some people coming off illnesses and stuff, but they still fought really hard and just competed really well," Swieton said. "We've had a lot of people that have consistently been at a high level, and usually when you're consistent that means we are about ready for a breakthrough."

At Vanderbilt, CMU's Hayley Manners continued to prove she is one of the best field athletes in the Mid-American Conference by placing second in the long jump invite and seventh in the triple jump in a strong field at the Music City Challenge.

Manners' best long jump measured 6.06 meters (19-10 ½), while her top triple jump was 12.12 meters (39-9). The Challenge featured several SEC and Big Ten schools.

The Chippewas' Reghan Draper finished seventh in the 60-meter dash in 7.66 seconds.

"It was a very good weekend all around," Swieton said. "It felt like we were all over the place, you know being at the track for 13 hours today, but it was definitely worth it."

The Chippewas will compete at the Michigan Silverston Invitational in Ann Arbor on Friday, Feb. 17, and then will partake in the MAC Championships at Bowling Green on Feb. 24-25.