V-Hawks Take Third at Conference Meet

BROOKINGS, SD – The Viterbo University Women's Track and Field team took third place out of five teams at the North star Athletic Association (NSAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday with 146 team points.

Dickinson State (ND) took first with 240 points, while Dakota State (SD) was second at 182 points.

The V-Hawks dominated the 60-meter dash, with five athletes in the finals. Lillia Chvatal (7.97) took second, Braylee Hyatt (7.98) took third, Claudia Schunk (8.07) was fourth, Emily Howell (8.12) was sixth, and Kaylee McLeod (8.14) finished seventh.

Chvatal added a gold medal in the long jump, leaping 5.41m (17'9"). Grace Peyron claimed a fourth place finish with a mark of 5.17m (16' 11.5").

Tori Gerber earned two gold medals, in the 800 (2:20.35) and the mile (5:29.10). Hannah Butler recorded two points in the 800, finishing in 2:34.18.

Five V-Hawks also scored in the pole vault, led by Howell in second and Emma Johnson in third, each clearing 3.47m (11'4.5"), which passes NAIA "B" Standard and qualified them for the National Meet. They were joined by Olivia Wingo in fourth, 3.32m (10' 10.75"), Emily Ludwig in fifth, 3.17m (10'4.75"), and Monica Schmidt in seventh, 2.57m (8'5.25").

Wingo also took second in the high jump, clearing 1.60m (5'3").

Johson took home a silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.38, Ludwig was just behind her in third at 9.41, and Ashley Veronon finished fourth with a time of 9.42. Hyatt earned a bronze in the 200 with a mark of 26.37, and Schunk was fourth at 26.56. the V-Hawks 4x800 relay team of Hannah Butler, Olivia Cox, Bernadette Frisch, Jerica Mueller was third at 11:49.51.

Other scorers for Viterbo included Vanessa Thomas taking fourth in the 5000 (19:36.99) and fifth in the 3000 (11:26.26), the 4x400 team of Mackenzie Geers, Ashley Veronen, Lainey Teynor, Claudia Schunk scored five points with their time of 4:16.21, Jayna Schema scored one in the triple jump with a mark of 9.44m (30' 11.75"), and Veronen took eighth in the 400 with a time of 1:02.93.

The top three finishers and top two relays in each event earned all-conference. For the full list of all-conference recipients, click here. 

Johnson and Howell will compete in the NAIA Indoor National Championship Meet on Feb29-Mar 2 in Brookings, SD.