KENOSHA, Wis. – The Carroll University women's track and field team won the Firebird Opener with 119.5 points on Saturday at Carthage College. Five Pioneers took home gold medal places, including Elizabeth Reddeman, Abbey Casey, Jessica Mueller, Vanessa Uitenbroek, and Jamie Pankratz.
 
In the track events, Reddeman took home the first-place finish in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 11:00.34, seven seconds faster than second place. Alison Klostermann secured Pioneer points with a fourth-place finish in the same event. Casey scored 10 points for Carroll in a close Casey scored 10 points for Carroll in a close 800-meter event, and Natalie Dresang scored three points as well.  Lexi Elegbede-Peer picked up two top-10 finishes in the 55-meter (7.49s) and the 200-meter (27.57s). Abby Brinkman and Hannah Boukamp scored 14 points for the Pioneers with their second and third place finishes in the 400-meter race. Ali Spitzer finished in the top-five in the 1 mile run, while Mary Quinn and Abigail Alberts scored five points total in the 55-meter hurdles. The women's 4x400 relay team of Brinkman, Casey, Dresang, and Spitzer finished second with a 4:25.64.
 
In field events, Mueller reached the 3.35 meter mark on her second try to claim the easy victory and scored 10 points for the Pioneers. Sydney Halverson, Quinn, and Sarah Gomez all finished in the top-eight to pick up team points in the women's high jump event, with Halverson coming away with fourth. Uitenbroek threw almost two feet farther than second place to come away with first place on a 13.63 meter throw (44' 8 ¾"). Maria Falk and Cate Gudaitis also finished inside the top-eight and received points. Pankratz's weight throw mark was over four feet longer than the next best throw, and finished with a mark of 16.72 meters (54' 10 ¼ "). Uitenbroek and Falk also added points to the Carroll total in the event as well.
 
Carroll will continue to compete next weekend at the Red Hawk Opener at Ripon college on Saturday, January 22.