Record-Breaking Day at Carthage for Harper Women

Full Results

It was a record-breaking day for the Harper College women's track and field team on Friday at the Carthage College Gill Athletics Final Qualifier, the fourth and final indoor meet of the season. Several Hawks set PR's (personal records) or qualified for the national meet, and Leah Kloss (Grayslake, Ill. /Grayslake Central) broke the Harper school record in the weight throw.

Kloss' heave of 14.75m (48'4 ¾") in the weight throw was also the best toss of her collegiate career and earned her sixth place in the event. Her teammates Shayan Dussard (/Hoffman Estates) (12.63m), Mary Saiita (8.75m), Bobbie Buerer (Cary, Ill. /Cary-Grove) (8.11m), and Beth Petrunich (McHenry, Ill./McHenry East) (5.76m) all set personal records in the weight throw as well.

Dussard also had her best performances of the year in the 200-meter dash (27.94 seconds) and high jump (1.44m/4'8 ¾"). Saitta placed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 9.25m (30'4 ¼"). Petrunich ran her best times in the 55-meter dash (7.84 seconds) and 200-meter dash (28.41 seconds).

Also in the 200m, Nancy Leinwander (Inverness, Ill./Fremd) and Damaris Fuentres crossed the finish line with new personal bests. Leinwander clocked a time of 30.94 seconds, and Fuentes finished in 32.49 seconds. Leinwander also had a leap of 4.17m (13'8 ¼"), a PR. Ashley Proksa (Palatine, Ill. /Palatine) jumped 5.04m (16'6 ½") in the long jump to set a personal-best.

In the women's 800-meter run, Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) finished runner-up with her best time of the year, a 2:21:48. Michelle Puma (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) set a PR in the event as well, recording a time of 3:03.07. Hristy Valeva (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) completed the race in 3:08.16, her best time of the year.

Leslie Rosiles (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and Katie Thevara (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) competed in the longest race of the day, the 5000-meter run, and both freshmen successfully qualified for nationals at the distance. Rosiles finished in 21:07.15, and Thevara finished in 22:01.51.

Finally, two Harper teams ran in the 4x400m relay. The team of Dianne Barajas (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg), Kloss, Proksa, and Gutt won the relay in 4:22.68. The team of Dussard, Fuentes, Leinwander, and Petrunich finished second in 4:41.90.

The Hawks will have just under three weeks to prepare for the outdoor season beginning Thursday, March 24 at the Augustana Early Spring Opener in Rock Island, Illinois.