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DWU women’s 4x100 team ends season at National Meet

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The record-setting Dakota Wesleyan University women’s 4x100-meter relay team finished its incredible season over the weekend with a trip to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, which were held at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill., just outside of St. Loius.

Steph Leist	Kailey Hunhoff
Sarah Weidler	Natalie Wipf

The Tigers, who broke the previous 4x100 school record numerous times this season, finished seventh in the fourth heat of the preliminaries with a time of 49.27. The relay team consisted of sophomore Steph Leist, freshman Kailey Hunhoff, freshman Sarah Weidler and junior Natalie Wipf.

DWU failed to advance to the semifinals as the top three in each heat plus the next three best times moved on to the next round. The team from Wayland Baptist won the women’s 4x100 national title with a time of 45.27, followed by McKendree (45.63) and Shorter (46.58).

Leist, Hunhoff, Weidler and Wipf recorded the second-fastest time in school history at nationals. Only their time of 49.06 at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships was faster.
The previous school record of 51.21 was set in 2004 by Kim Zachrison, Jenny Wright, Kristi Anderson and Kristin Welsch.

This season, the Tigers’ 4x100 wasn’t just the best in school history, it was also the most consistent. In DWU’s seven outdoor appearances this spring, the women’s 4x100 team finished with times of: 49.06, 49.27, 49.75, 49.91, 50.91, 51.36 and 51.50. That impressive list includes the top five times in school history, and seven of the top eight, with only the previous record from 2004 joining the group at No. 6.

The four sprinters received All-GPAC honors and the trip to nationals with their 49.06 earlier this month, and with all four having underclassmen status, it’s a strong possibility the team could reunite next season to challenge for All-Conference honors and a repeat trip to the National Meet.

But regardless of what happens down the road, 2009 was certainly a memorable season for Leist, Hunhoff, Weidler and Wipf. Their performance at the National Championship officially closed the book on the 2008-09 athletic season at Dakota Wesleyan University, and it seems fitting to end a successful year for Tiger athletics with a group who etched their names in the DWU record books.