Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University women's outdoor track and field team secured third place at the 2024 GLIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Allendale, Michigan. The team amassed a total of 119.5 points, finishing behind Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley State.

Head Coach Grant Lofdahl praised his team's performance over the two-day event. "We just had phenomenal performances across the board over both days of competition," he stated. He highlighted several athletes for their standout performances, including Reagan Justice, Hanne Bastiaansen, Nicole Warren, Katherine Ray, Keneisha Thomas, and Thailyia Christensen. Lofdahl also commended the team's attitude and camaraderie.

In terms of final scores, Grand Valley State led with 245.5 points followed by Saginaw Valley State with 147 points. Wayne State's third-place finish was supported by four NCAA Provisional marks achieved by its athletes: Nicole Warren and Mikayla Williams in the triple jump, Hanne Bastiaansen in the 200m dash, and Reagan Justice in the 10,000m run.

Reagan Justice won the 10,000m run with a time of 35:20.23 while Bastiaansen claimed first place in the 200m dash with a time of 24.03 seconds. In addition to these victories, other notable performances included Thailyia Christensen's third-place finish in the 1500m run and Emily Gordon's third-place result in the 800m run.

The Wayne State team also performed well in relay events; they finished second in the 4x400m relay and third in the 4x100m relay.

Looking ahead, some members of Wayne State's track and field team may participate in Last Chance meets next week as they aim to qualify for further competitions.