Daily Herald Article Day 2
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UTICA, N.Y. – It was a very successful weekend for the Harper College women's track and field team at the 2015 NJCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship. In the final two days of competition, the Hawks won four more titles and secured a third place finish as a team.
Harper finished the meet with 109 points to take third place behind only champion Mohawk Valley Community College (151 points) and SUNY Delhi (137 points). Overall, the Hawks had 18 athletes finish in the Top-8 in an event and seven national champions.
"The athletes gave it their all," said Harper head coach Renee Zellner. "What more can a coach ask for?"
Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove) captured her second national title in as many days on Friday with a victory in the long jump. Nicholson's leap of 5.19m (17' ¼") was good enough to edge second place Bryeana Rhodes of Montgomery College (5.13m). Nicholson's teammate Leah Kloss (/Grayslake Central) also earned valuable points for the team in the long jump with a jump of 5.08m (16'8"), good for fourth place.
Kloss won two of her own individual titles on Saturday, as she took double gold in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. She blew away the field in the 100m with a winning time of 12.62 seconds, outrunning nearest challenger Rashida Wurie of Montgomery College (13.06 seconds). Kloss also won the 200m, running a time of 25.71 seconds to finish ahead of nearest competitor Ashley Dolgoff of Howard Community College (25.94 seconds). Kloss also broke a school record in the prelims with a time of 25.12 seconds.
"Leah is a remarkable athlete who is never satisfied with her times or distances. She is hungry to learn and be successful in more events," Zellner said. "It is not that often you have an athlete with that much passion."
Kloss' teammate Shayan Dussard (/Hoffman Estates) placed third in the 100m with a time of 13.06 seconds. Kloss also placed fifth in the javelin with a toss of 31.62m (103') while Dussard placed third in the high jump by clearing 1.54m (5' ½")
The Hawks captured a relay championship in the 4x100m relay as Samantha Soriano (/Hoffman Estates), Dussard, Nicholson, and Kloss ran a school record time of 49.58 seconds.
The 4x400m relay group of Stephanie Chaires (Palatine, Ill./Christian Liberty), Dussard, Taylor LoCoco (/Prairie Ridge), and Kloss earned five points with a fourth place finish in 4:13.52. Chaires placed fourth in the 1500m with a time of 5:11.59, and teammate Cynthia Siddiqui (/Palatine) placed 12th in 5:45.64. Chaires also captured fifth place in the 5k in 19:18.
Lori Delfin (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) also placed as an All-American in the 5k with an eighth place finish in 20:16.58. Delfin also was an All-American in the 10k with a fourth place finish in a time of 44:46.68.
