Friday and Saturday at the Penn Relays did not present anywhere near ideal conditions for athletes, but the Wisconsin women’s track and field team still made the most of it.
The women’s 4×200 meter relay team of Gabby DesRosiers, Bianca Stubler, Hannah Wilson and Morgan Parzych finished in 11th place and set a new school record in the event, posting a time of one minute, 38.95 seconds. The new time breaks the old record of one minute, 39.75 seconds set at the 2011 Florida Relays.
Then, the 4×400 meter relay team shattered the UW record Saturday. The quartet of Stubler, DesRosiers, Ebony McClendon and Haley Lubow set the record in the championship heat, finishing with a time of three minutes, 37.85 seconds, good for the fifth-best time in the Big Ten.
The group finished 2nd place in the event, breaking the previous school record of three minutes, 38.70 seconds set at last year’s Big Ten outdoor championships. The group also owns the indoor 4×400 school record with a time of three minutes, 39.43 seconds.
“Our women’s 4×4 did a fantastic job out there this afternoon. 3:37.85 in these conditions is pretty awesome,” UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne told UWBadgers. “The wind was nasty out on the oval. Coach [Kareem] Jackson did a nice job keeping this team focused and they did not allow the conditions get to them.”
Other notable finishes came from Ebony McClendon, who finished 13th in the 100-meter dash and the 4×1500-meter relay squad, which finished in 4th place with a time of 17 minutes, 58.39 seconds, the fifth-best time in school history.
Armoni Brown took seventh place in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet, 9 1/4 inches while Meagan Blair took ninth place with an 18 feet, 7 1/4 inch jump.
Up next for Wisconsin is the team’s lone home outdoor meet of the season, the Wisconsin Alumni Classic, which takes place May 3 at the McClimon Track/Soccer Complex. Field events will start at 1 p.m. with running events to follow at 4:30 p.m.