Mustangs Open Strong at Mustang Distance Carnival and Open

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Mount Mercy's women's outdoor track and field team turned in a consistent set of performances Friday night during Day 1 of the Mustang Distance Carnival and Open.

In the field events, the Mustangs placed four athletes in the top eight of the women's shot put open. Grace Kelley led the group with a fourth-place throw of 10.97 meters. Natalie Deford and Jaclyn Wooldridge followed in sixth and seventh, respectively, with DeFord recording a mark of 10.44 meters and Wooldridge at 10.36m. Claire Geerts finished eighth with a throw of 10.19 meters.

In the shot put elite division, Ava Conrad placed fourth with a throw of 12.41 meters, while Alyssa Striegel came in fifth at 12.23 meters. Miyah Fox also added a fifth-place finish in the women's javelin with a mark of 34.56 meters.

On the track, J'Lyn Knutson earned third place in the 1,500-meter invite with a time of 4:54.84. In the 5,000-meter invite, Abby Knepper finished second with a time of 18:09.25. Knepper was followed by Kayla Overton in sixth (19:06.97), Kalin Rotzoll in seventh (19:13.00), Ruth Jennings in ninth (19:43.78), and Kendall Orozco in tenth (19:46.73).

The Mustangs closed the night with a win in the women's 4x400-meter relay. The team of Brooklyn Johnson, Ester Attwood, Corinne Gadient, and Catie Reittinger finished first with a time of 3:59.93, setting a new Mustang Open meet record.

Mount Mercy resumes competition on Saturday for Day 2 of the Mustang Distance Carnival and Open. Events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.