Hawks Take Third at NJCAA Nationals for Second Straight Year

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Four different Harper College women's track and field athletes earned All-American status at the 2016 NJCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Holyoke Community College at Westfield State University. Behind those efforts and other major contributions across the board, the Hawks placed third in the nation for a second straight season and had one athlete, Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg), who was a double national champion.

Harper tallied 139 points in the two-day meet to finish third behind only Prince George's Community College (149 points) and national meet champion Suffolk Community College (156.5 points).

Gutt qualified for the finals in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.34 in the prelims on Saturday. On Sunday, she ran a 2:16.85, a national meet record and school record, en route to winning the 800m by nearly four seconds over her nearest challenger, Zuwena Johnson of Prince George's CC (2:20.79). The freshman also competed in the 1500-meter run on Sunday and won the national title, clocking a time of 4:52.91 to win by over five seconds over second place Menely Genao of Suffolk Community College (4:57.94).

Sophomore Leah Kloss (Grayslake, Ill. /Grayslake Central) won the hammer throw in convincing fashion. Her best throw of 43.19m (141'8") was significantly better than second place Pam Watson of Home Rowan College at Gloucester County (34.58m, 113'5"). Kloss was also an All-American in the javelin throw. She placed second with a throw of 36.21m (118'9") behind only Watson, who had a throw of 37.01m (121'5").

Kloss had a busy meet as she also took third in the women's shot put with a toss of 10.55m (34'7 ½"). She also qualified for the finals in the 100-meter dash and placed fourth in 12.81 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, the sophomore qualified for the finals and scored two points with a seventh place finish in 26.36 seconds. She also played a big role on the Hawks' relay teams. She teamed up with Ashley Proksa (Palatine, Ill. /Palatine), Shayan Dussard (/Hoffman Estates), Beth Petrunich (McHenry, Ill./McHenry East), and Nancy Leinwander (Inverness, Ill./Fremd) (ran in preliminaries) to take third place in the 4x100m relay and set a school record of 49.58 seconds. Kloss anchored the 4x400m team, joining teammates Proksa, Dussard, and Petrunich to place fourth in 4:15.10.

Proksa was the national champion in the long jump. Her leap of 5.21m (17'1 ¼") gave her title over Bryeana Rhodes of Montgomery College (5.09m, 16'8 ½"). Proksa also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 25.82 seconds and fifth in the 100-meter dash in 12.86 seconds. She was a member of the school record 400m relay team and was also a member of the 1600m relay team that placed fourth.

Mary Saitta (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) won the discus with an impressive showing. Her toss of 31.78m (104'3") was the best in the meet by a wide margin. Her teammate Bobbie Buerer (Cary, Ill. /Cary-Grove) placed third in the event with a heave of 25.93m (85'1"). Saitta also took fourth in the shot put (10.41m, 34'2") and seventh in the hammer throw (29.75m, 97'7"). Buerer placed eighth in the high jump by clearing 1.41m (4'7 ½").

The Harper College women's distance runners placed well in both the 5k and 10k. In the 5k, Leslie Rosiles (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows)captured third in 20:31.08, and Katie Thevara (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) claimed sixth in 22:00.97. In the 10k, the two runners placed in identical spots. Rosiles completed the lengthy race in 42:32.10 for third place, and Thevara crossed the finish line in 44:34.26 for sixth place.

The Hawks also finished third in the 4x800m relay. The team of Veronica Brooks (Arlington Heights, Ill./Battle (Mo.)), Jacqueline Colon (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove), Hristy Valeva (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove), and Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) scored six points and finished in a time of 10:43.35.

Dussard earned points with a seventh place finish in the high jump (1.51m, 4'11 ½"). The sophomore narrowly missed out on making the finals in the 200m and 100m, placing ninth and tenth in the prelims. She was a member of the school record 4x100m relay team and was also key in the success of the 4x400m relay team.

Other noteworthy performances included a ninth place finish in the 100m hurdles (17.68 seconds) from Damaris Fuentes (Elgin, Ill. /Larkin). Leinwander took 11th in the 400m hurdles (1:20.48) and also took 12th place in the discus (21.74m, 71'4"). Finally, Ashonte Sims (Bloomington, Ill. /Normal Community West) placed 12th in the shot put with a throw of 9.03m (29'7 ½"), and Petrunich made her mark as a member of the successful 400m and 1600m relay teams.