The Doane (Neb.) women's track & field program saw their 19 year run atop of the conference end on Saturday, but the squad showed what champions are made of and did not go down easy. Concordia won the meet and was the heavy favorite, expected to out-score Doane by nearly 100 team points. In the end, Concordia finished with 151 points and Doane was second with 136 points. Doane finished with four event champions and two meet records. Athletes finishing in the Top Eight earn All-GPAC honors and scored points for their team.
In the 60m dash, Deejay Silcott (El Paso, Tex.) edged out favorite Charista Zehnder of Concordia and in the process broke the meet record held by former teammate Regan Carlstrom. Silcott blazed to a time of 7.70 seconds. Cami Hasenohr (Clatonia) placed seventh for the Tigers.
Jillian Ourada (Omaha) placed third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.36 seconds.
In the 200m dash, Silcott posted another meet record as she won in a time of 25.26. Blair Dixon (Wauneta) ran a time of 25.90 as she hit a NAIA automatic mark. Hasenohr placed eighth for the Tigers.
Dixon placed second in the 400m dash with an automatic NAIA time of 58.35. Ourada was sixth in the event for Doane.
Amanda Woodward (Kearney) placed seventh in the 800m run with a time of 2:24.31. Viviana Arreola (El Paso, Tex.) finished fourth in the 3000m run with a time of 10:28.85 and fifth in the 5000m run with a time of 18:18.27, a NAIA automatic mark.
The Doane 4x400m relay team placed fourth with a time of 4:04.31. Team members were Woodward, Alyssa Straub (Blair), Ourada and Dixon.
The 4x800m relay team also finished fourth, posting a time of 9:54.45. Running for the Tigers were Mikayla Baumert (Scribner), Jessica Driewer (York), Yadira Salazar (El Paso, Tex.) and Lizzie Kolbo (Papillion).
In the field events, Emily Reed (Syracuse) posted a seventh place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-03.00.
Janelle Weber (Dorchester) placed second in the triple jump and Shelby Meier (Elm Creek) finished third. Natalie Kramer (Holyoke, Colo.) placed eighth for the Tigers.
Katie Bartels (Elk Creek) will set her sights on the NAIA high jump after claiming the GPAC title. Bartels' winning mark was 1.68m (5-06) and she is the defending NAIA Indoor High Jump Champion. Michelle Ortmeier (Utica) placed fourth in the high jump and Alyssa Rogge (Auburn) placed fifth.
Leah Petersen (Auburn) finished fifth in the pole vault with an automatic NAIA mark and Mary Kouma (Denton) placed eighth.
Whitney Collins (Prague) claimed fourth place in the shot put with an automatic mark while Kelsee Meisner finished sixth overall. Collins took sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 16.07m, a NAIA automatic mark.
Ourada claimed the inaugural pentathlon crown on Friday, the first day of the multi-events, with 3,262 points. This is the first year that the multi-events were part of the GPAC Championship. Kayti Mark (Exeter) placed fifth in the event while Reed was seventh and Sara Bloom (North Bend) was eighth.