FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Event-by-Event Results

DELAWARE, Ohio (May 26, 2011) - The North Central College women's track and field team enjoyed an ideal start to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships on Thursday, establishing a pair of school records in the first day of competition at Selby Stadium.

The Cardinals' first record came in the preliminary heats of the 4x400-meter relay. Seeded eighth in the event, the quartet of Lauren Brightmore, Linnea Higgins, Sheila Walsh and Krista Cota was clocked in three minutes, 46.54 seconds to qualify as the fourth-fastest team heading into Saturday's final. 

The time broke the previous North Central record of 3:49.90 by more than three seconds. The former record had stood since 2006.

Amanda Laesch followed by crushing her own school record in recording a third-place finish in the 10,000-meter run. Seeded eighth, Laesch bided her time in the middle of the pack early in the race before moving into sixth place and battling Carleton College's Simone Childs-Walker for position for several laps.

Late in the race, as the lead pack began to break up, Laesch continued to improve her position and sealed the third-place finish with a strong last lap. She crossed the finish line in 35:28.44, smashing her previous record of 35:41.35, set earlier this season.

"I knew the girls up front weren't getting any farther away, so I figured some of them would come back," Laesch said. "I liked having people to run with and being able to pass people throughout the race. I had confidence in my kick, and I was able to use it."

Also competing for North Central on Thursday was Kayla Murphy in the 200-meter dash. Her time of 25.50 seconds placed her 19th out of 26 competitors. 

The Cardinals return to action on Friday with entries in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase.