OMAHA, Neb. - The Tabor Bluejays women's indoor track and field team had a day to remember, qualifying multiple players for national events at the KCAC Championships in Omaha, Neb. on Monday and Tuesday, finishing fifth as a team out of 13 teams.
The Bluejays delivered on the track, particularly in the 4x800m relay (9:40.71), where they set a school record by nearly 30 seconds in their 'A' Standard national qualifying performance. Tabor took second in the race with a team of Danielle Allison, Hannah Grover, Sonya Zimmerman and Brooke Wiebe.
"The women's 4x800m relay team of Danielle Allison, Hannah Grover, Sonya Zimmerman, and Brooke Wiebe not only broke the school record, they obliterated it while hitting the 'A' Standard to qualify for indoor nationals. They were fun to watch!" Head Coach David Kroeker said.
Aubrey Bahner starred in the 5000m, an event that she was already nationally qualified for, by taking 4th place (17:59.06) in an 'A' Standard performance that broke the Tabor record. Wiebe and Allison will also join Bahner at nationals as qualifiers in the event. Adrienne Selzer took 12th (19:37.08) and Kaylee DeAngelis took 15th (21:01.67) in the event as well.
"What a weekend for our women's crew! Allison, Bahner, and Wiebe had amazing weekends scoring a ton of points for us in a distance dominant conference. Bahner was under 18 for the first time in the 5k, breaking the school record set by Allison a year ago at the same meet. Allison and Wiebe were part of the 4x8 with Sonya Zimmerman and Hannah Grover that took over 30 seconds off the school record and recorded the number 5 time in the NAIA this year!" Distance Coach Rylan Hincher said.
Tabor had a couple of 'B' Standard performances in the 1000m as well, as Allison (3:00.30) and Wiebe (3:00.99), finished second and third, respectively, in a tight race that saw Allison finish runner-up by .24 seconds. Both Allison and Wiebe earned a national qualifying spot in the race. Adelia Janssen also finished 10th (3:32.55) in the 1000m.
Zimmerman put together a great race in the 800m (2:21.15), taking second place. Andrea Serrano took 18th (2:45.08), Aidyn White took 19th (2:49.46) and Allison Johnson took 22nd (2:59.26). In the mile, Sydnee Gardner took 11th (6:04.22), DeAngelis took 13th (6:10.88) and Sarah Dark took 18th (6:37.13).
In the 3000m, Wiebe took third (10:29.80) and was just short of her school record by seven hundredths of a second. Bahner finished right behind her in fourth (10:31.13) and Allison rounded out the top 10, finishing eighth (10:40.71).
"Zimmerman followed up the 4x8 with a second place finish in the 800 after Allison and Wiebe went 2, 3 in the 1000 meters where 5 runners hit the national qualifying standard. Allison, Bahner and Wiebe battled with several All-Americans in the 3k to end their conference meet finishing 3, 4 and 8," Hincher said. "We're in a great spot and our women are in a great spot heading into the National meet with the most standards we've ever hit on the distance side."
Tabor took fifth in the DMR (13:40.71), with a team of Grover, Janssen, Gardner and Selzer. The team of Bahner, Wiebe, Allison and Zimmerman had already locked in a national qualifying bid in the DMR. In the 4x400m relay, a group that included Allie von Leonrod, White and Serrano took ninth (4:45.65).
"Some performance that get overlooked by most was the day the rest of our crew had. Kaylee DeAngelis ran personal best in the mile and 5k, Adrienne Selzer had a huge day in the 5k cutting almost 20 seconds off her lifetime best then followed up anchoring the DMR with a huge mile to finish 5th with Grover, Janssen, and Gardner running great legs as well! Andrea Serrano and Aidyn White went 1-2 in their heat which was awesome to watch them do together!" Hincher said.
Over in the field, the Bluejays also had some top 10 finishes. D'myia Cox led the way with a third place finish (16-10.75) in the long jump and a fifth place finish (34-08.25) in the triple jump. In those same events, von Leonrod took 15th (29-08.75) in the triple jump and 23rd (12-08.25) in the long jump.
"D'myia Cox also had a very good couple of days placing 3rd in the LJ and 5th in the TJ as a freshman," Kroeker said.
Sasha Wasinger helped lead Tabor in the throwing events with a sixth place finish in the shot put (37-04.50) and 10th in the weight throw (38-10.00). Ali House finished seventh in the weight throw (43-00.00) and 12th in the shot put (34-09.00). Sarah Miser finished 13th in the weight throw (37-10.00) and 16th in the shot put (31-04.75), while Andelyn Johnson finished 14th in the weight throw (37-09.00).
"A number of other athletes also had personal records in their events so I was very pleased with the overall performance of our Tabor tracksters!" Kroeker said.
Up next, the athletes that have qualified for nationals will compete at the NAIA Indoor National Championships from Thursday, Feb. 29 through Saturday, March 2 in Brookings, S.D. Outdoor track and field season is scheduled to start Friday, March 15 at the St. Mary's Distance Carnival, a distance-only event in Leavenworth, Kan.
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the NAIA and compete in the KCAC.
