KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage women's track & field team hosted the Firebird First Invitational in the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center on Saturday to kick off the 2024 portion of the indoor track season. The Firebirds battled hard and ultimately came away with a second place finish in the team standings.


 

1. Elmhurst - 159
2. Carthage - 119
3. Parkside - 108
4. Carroll - 59
5. North Park - 47
6. Concordia (Wis.) - 34
7. Concordia Univ. Chicago - 17
8. Lake Forest - 14

The Firebirds dominated in shot put this afternoon, with Aubrey Schoeneman leading the charge. Schoeneman won the meet with a throw of 14.06m. Alexis Mattox placed second at 12.86m. Alyssa Gulsvig placed fifth with a mark of 12.60m, while Madison Payne placed sixth at 12.36m, and Mikayla Wright placed seventh at 12.03m.

The final results for the weight throw looked very similar to that of shot put. It was Mattox who broght home the victory with a throw of 16.97m. Nicole Tarpley placed second at 16.15m. Schoeneman took third with a mark of 16.04m. Hannah Lizano placed sixth at 14.12m. Payne placed seventh with a mark of 13.90m, while Dora Dill rounded out the scoring in eighth place with a throw of 13.70m. The Firebirds scored 57 points between shot put and weight throw.

Kylie Florance and Julie Heinrichs both ran personal bests in the mile and finished second and third respectively, with Florance finishing in 5:43.59 and Heinrichs finishing in 5:55.15. Katherine Mahoney placed eighth in 6:46.69.

The 4x400m relay team, which included Mandy Nelson, Julia Kraus, Anna Kegel, and Grace Nisius, placed third in the event with a combined time of 4:24.74.

Tara Schaalma placed third in the triple jump, clearing 10.52m. Nisius placed seventh at 9.42m.

Christina Hall placed fourth in the long jump with a mark of 5.19m. Angelina Gersch finished just behind Hall in fifth place at 5.13m, while Teagan Johnston placed sixth at 5.09m. The trio combined for 15 points for the Firebirds.

Kaitlyn Jerbi placed fifth in the 3,000m, running a new personal best 11:45.53. Jackie Zaravia placed eighth in her 3,000m debut with a time of 12:42.64.

Nelson debuted and placed sixth in the 55 meter dash with a time of 7.56.

Maya Stone placed sixth in her collegiate 400m debut, finishing in 1:14.40.

Schaalma placed eighth in the 55m hurdles, finishing in 9.41.



"I felt like we had a decent meet coming off of holiday break," said Head Coach Stephanie Domin. "Each event group had its bright points but we need to get back into our routine and get the excitement from competition.  We are happy with this starting point but have some work to do in the coming weeks to make a statement. I am confident once we have the whole team back the energy will be there."



The Firebirds return to action on Saturday, Jan. 20 as the team heads to North Central to compete in the Heenan Invitational. Track & Field returns to the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center on Feb. 2 as the Firebirds host the Tadd Metzger Invite and Multi. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.