Senior sprinter Crystal Andalcio-O'Neil set two personal best times in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran the opening leg of the 4×400-meter relay team that finished third at the Mike Poehlien Invitational this weekend at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Winds were gusting up to 25 to 30 mph during the meet, hindering a lot of the competitors.
"It was extremely windy this weekend, one of the windiest meets we've ever been to," Marquette head coach Dave Uhrich said. "It really affects anyone running the 400 on up, but in the 100 and 200 it actually helps you. All our times were pretty slow because of the wind, but it was good to get everyone competing."
Andalcio-O'Neil finished second in the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.03, a mere three hundredths of a second behind LaShauna Harris of Purdue. Andalcio-O'Neil greatly improved on her time from Marquette's spring break meet at South Alabama, when she ran the 100 meters in 12.15, a difference of over a tenth of a second — an eternity for a sprinter.
The senior from Trinidad clocked in at 24.89 in the 200-meter dash, good enough for fifth place, and another personal-best time.
"I'm very excited that my times are dropping, first of all," Andalcio-O'Neil said. "I just feel a lot more comfortable running the 200 meters now and I'm stronger in certain areas that (I) knew I had to work on. Everything is just kind of clicking now."
Andalcio-O'Neil participated in the 4×400 relay for the first time this year, an event she skipped during the indoor season. She ran rand the relaywith Lauren Chimielewski, Christina LeDonne and anchor Kristina Malin.
"I have always run the relay, but this was the first time I led off," Andalcio-O'Neil said. "It was very windy, but I know I need to run longer distances to improve my time in the 200."
Emily Leklem captured the only event crown of the weekend for Marquette, winning the shot put with a heave of 45-4 1/4 feet.
Freshman Cassie Peller, shifting to the 800-meter run in the outdoor season after running longer distances indoors, continued her smooth transition by finishing third at Purdue with a time of 2:19.04. Kaitlyn Chambers, another freshman, finished fifth in the 800 in a time of 2:21.32.
Jodi Jakubek posted a time of 17:37.73 in the 5000 meters, good enough to finish in third place.
Michaela Courtney placed fourth in the 1500 meters, running a time of 4:47.02. Kristin Stoniecki continued her solid season in the pole vault, finishing in fourth place.
On the men's side, senior Jonathon Rosploch took second place in the shot put and finished seventh in the hammer throw to continue his stellar campaign.
Junior Jon Shaffer placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 54.55, and anchored the men's 4×400 relay team that finished second place. Jed Burey led off, followed by Jake Sienko and Ryan Seebruck.
Freshman Joe Pierre posted a time of 1:55.54 to finish fourth in the 800-meter run.
In other action, Jeremy Williams finished third in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:33.8. Matt Piekarski threw the javelin 50.5 meters to finish third.
The Golden Eagles will next be in action this weekend, when they travel to Eastern Illinois for the EIU Big Classic.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 5 2005.