The Omnibus

Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: In the Spotlight

Media Credit: Kelly Flowers Sophomore Jennifer Gillespie attacks a hurdle on her way to the eighth fastest time in the nation this year.

The 800-meter run is one of, if not the most, agonizing races in track and field. The 800 is also the event that the Southwest Baptist women's track team is laying claim to in the MIAA.
In the preliminaries on Saturday, freshman Kelsi Chowning easily qualified to finals by placing second in her heat (the top two places in each heat automatically qualified for finals) with a time of two minutes, 19.25 seconds. In the second heat, senior Alyssa Maggart (2:18.69) led the way and was directly followed by sophomore Mallory Roth (2:19.25). The third heat proved to be a little more difficult for SBU as freshman Kassidy Porter took fourth in her heat with a time of 2:20.29. Luckily for Porter and the Bearcats, her time was just good enough to get her through to the finals.
With four women qualifying for the finals of the 800, half of the field for finals was wearing the purple and white of SBU. In the finals, Maggart placed third (2:16.62) to lead all of the Lady 'Cats. Roth (2:17.41) and Chowning (2:18.43) took fourth and fifth as Porter broke the 2:20 mark for seventh (2:19.67).
Besides the women's domination of the 800, the other big story for the Bearcats this weekend was the performance of sophomore Jennifer Gillespie. Gillespie qualified for finals, and broke the school records in the 100-meter hurdles (15.21) and 400-meter hurdles (one minute, 2.5 seconds) on Saturday with her 400-hurdle time, earning her a provisional qualifying mark. Gillespie then turned around and placed seventh in the 100-hurdles before running an outstanding race in the 400-hurdle finals to earn her third place (1:01.25). Gillespie's time in the 400-hurdles also places her eighth in the nation and all but guarantees her a trip to outdoor nationals in Walnut, Cal. Gillespie then anchored the 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Jenny Blair, Porter and Maggart to a seventh place finish, just one-tenth of a second away from the school record.
Another Bearcat who hit a provisional qualifying mark was sophomore Chelsea Strahm in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Strahm's time of 11 minutes, 23.04 seconds was a huge personal best and placed her fourth in the conference.

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