Lady Bison Track Third at South Region Meet
Roper Wins Discus and Shot Put
by Scott Goode
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Harding women’s track and field team won six event championships en route to a third-place finish at the NCAA South Region Meet on Saturday. Rhiannon Roper, a freshman from Fortuna, Calif., won both the shot put and the discus.
Harding finished with 149 points, trailing only host Alabama-Huntsville (174) and Fort Valley State (150). Schools from the Gulf South Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Sunshine State Conference competed in the event.
The Lady Bisons won two regional championships in the running events. Esther Kosgei, a senior from Kenya, won the 1500 meters in 4:49.00. It was her third career win the 1500 meters and her seven career outdoor win. Naomi Landecker, a freshman from Staples, Minn., won the 10,000 meter title in 44:23.80. It was her first collegiate outdoor race.
Harding scored four victories in the field events, including Roper’s double. She won for the third straight meet in the discus, throwing 122 feet, 3 inches, the best throw of the season by a Lady Bison and
Roper’s personal best.
Roper’s throw of 36-05.75 in the discus gave the freshman her first career win the event.
Harding recorded two other season-best marks. The Lady Bisons’ 4x400 relay team ran 4:08.40, and freshman Amanda Riley threw the hammer 81 feet.
The South Region Meet concluded the outdoor season for the Harding women. Senior Katy Grant is the team’s lone provisional qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held in Charlotte, N.C., on May 20-22, but with her 3,000-meter steeplechase time of 11:11.71, is not likely to receive an invitation to the meet.