Results

TACOMA, Wash. — Eva Wirth cemented her name among the nation's best on Friday and Saturday, pacing the Pacific Lutheran University women's track & field team at the PLU Open.

"It was great to compete back at home, it's always good for the athletes and we thought this weekend was a strong follow up to our first meet," said Head Coach Trey Henderson.
 
"There were performances that showed growth from some of our younger athletes and strong days from our veterans like Eva."
 
Wirth opened the meet with a bang during Friday's hammer throw competition, finishing as the top Division III competitor with a toss of 145 feet, 10 inches to place third overall. The senior's toss currently ranks as the fifth best throw in all of Division III this spring. On Saturday, the senior continued where she left off, uncorking a throw of 122' 10" in the discus to secure fourth overall. It's a mark that also sits fifth nationally in D3 through the opening two weeks of the outdoor season.

Kyleigh Archer soared 35' 4 ½" to place third in the triple jump, finishing behind a pair of Division II athletes. Archer currently holds the seventh best jump in D3 this season. Teammates Madison Downey (34' 4") and Jennie Brown (31' 5 ¼") finished fifth and sixth, respectively, 

Sydney Sparks cleared 4' 9 ¾" for third place in the high jump with Allie Youngs and Downey tying for fourth after clearing the same height but having more missed attempts. Lilly Achterling was the fourth Lute inside the top eight, finishing seventh with a clearance of 4' 7 ¾". 

Alessandra Valmonte was fourth in the hammer throw with a distance of 136' 9" while Taylor Kenaston was sixth in the javelin with a toss of 77' 8". Tajanai Huff placed seventh in the shot put, throwing almost a foot better than her debut performance last week, boasting a toss of 36' 8 ½". 
 
In the pole vault, Ki Neir soared over 10' 0" to finish fifth while Downey was sixth (9' 0 ¼"). Sarah Brandt and Jennie Brown finished sixth and seventh respectively in the long jump with marks of 15' 6 ¾" and 14' 5". 
 
On the track, Jessalyn Robles was sixth in the 800-meter run, finishing the two-lap race in a personal best time of 2:28.29. Fellow distance runner Victoria Lindley was sixth in the 5,000-meters in 20:37.92 while the 4x400-meter relay squad was fourth overall to close the meet, crossing the tape in 4:34.13. 
 
PLU also received a fifth place finish from the 4x100-meter relay team (51.71) while Addison Herring was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:14.35) and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.05) while Adalia Olmos was seventh in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:15.75. 

"Our focus is being process oriented and not too focused on the results and we thought the team did that well today."
 
The Lutes host their second meet of the season on Friday, welcoming teams back to the home oval for the PLU Invitational.