Sarah Burnell ’14 and Maja Gamble ’11 (pictured) paced the Grinnell College women’s track and field team on the opening day of the 2011 Midwest Conference Championships Friday at Monmouth, Ill.
Burnell claimed runner-up honors in the 1500-meter run, while Gamble finished second in the 10,000.
Burnell ran the 1500 in 4:43.90 and finished just two-hundredths of a second behind the winner. Burnell’s time ranks third in Pioneer history.
Another Grinnell runner also fared well in the event, as Leah Russell ’11 was fifth in 4:52.91. That time is seventh on the Pioneers’ all-time chart.
Gamble finished the 10,000 in 41:10.03 and was one of two Pioneers to earn top 10 honors in the event. Jacqui Vautin ’13 was eighth in 42:41.99.
Sachi Graber ’12 was sixth in the pole vault with a leap of 9-1 ½, Jordan Young ’14 was eighth in the hammer at 117-6 and Young also placed ninth in the discus with a toss of 111-10.
Young’s performance in the hammer ranks second all-time at Grinnell and her discus effort is eighth.
Isabelle Miller ’13 had the second-fastest preliminary time in the 400 hurdles (1:05.94), while Christine Ajinjeru and Miller made the final of the 400 dash with clockings of 59.69 and 1:00.05, respectively. Ajinjeru’s time is fourth-best in Pioneer history.
Ajinjeru didn’t make the final of the 200, but her prelim time of 27.31 ranks ninth in Grinnell history.
Grinnell is fourth in the team standings with 24.5 points. Monmouth College leads the event with 106.
The meet concludes Saturday.
