Freshman Pascale Hansen set another school record in the pole vault and sophomore Dillon Raidt won the 1,000 meter run, respectively for the women's and men's track teams Saturday at the DePauw Indoor Track and Field Classic.
The women finished fourth out of 14 teams with 78 points. Bellarmine University won the meet for the women with 178 points. There were no top finishes on the women's team.
The men placed sixth out of 18 teams with 49 points. Wabash College finished in first with 146 points. Raidt's win in the 1,000 meter was the only first place finish for the Tigers.
The win by Wabash marked the second time in two weeks the Little Giants have finished first at DePauw, although with very different margins.
"Wabash is a great team and to say anything less wouldn't give them justice," Raidt said. "However, the important thing for our team isn't to worry about what Wabash or any other team is doing, but to worry about ourselves and our own training."
Men's and women's head coach Kori Stoffregen also recognizes Wabash's talent but says his team his working hard to improve.
"Wabash is definitely at a whole other level right now and hopefully our guys aren't discouraged," Stoffregen said. "I think they have twice as many guys out for track as we do, and that's tough to overcome. We just got to keep battling and do what we can take care of and hope we have some good things happen."
Despite having no first place finishers, the women's team recorded a strong performance. Hansen, who broke her own record on Saturday in the pole vault on her way to a fifth place finish, was particularly happy with her results.
"I haven't (set a personal record) yet," Hansen said. "That's what I think is funny. But I'm trying to get over 10 feet. I'm really close."
After jumping 9 feet, 8 inches at the meet, Hansen is just two inches away from her goal.
And she admits that pursuit may trump winning.
"I just want to PR," Hansen said. "I don't care if I win, I really don't. I don't care if I get third, fourth, fifth. I just want to get better and get the form the way I want it."
Other highlights for the women's squad included a second place finish from junior Taryn Owens in the 600 meter dash, a third place finish for junior Lee Harmon in the same event and a another third place for freshman Megan Everhart in the 3,000 meter run.
"We are just continuing to get better every week," Stoffregen said. "The kids that are healthy and getting at it are all getting better."
For the men, junior Noah Droddy placed second in the 3,000 meter run and freshman Jim Easterhouse placed third in the 600-meter dash.
DePauw's lone first place finisher, Raidt, was surprised but pleased with his win.
"I wanted to run something different because once the outdoor season starts I'll most likely only be running the 800 and 1,500 meter races," Raidt said. "Winning the race came as a surprise. It definitely will serve as a confidence booster for me."
Both teams will now compete off campus for the first time in the indoor season as they travel to Anderson University this weekend.
The teams have just two weeks until their first-ever indoor conference championship as a new member of the North Collegiate Athletic Conference.
"We are just continuing to get better every week." Stoffregen said. "The kids that are healthy and getting at it are all getting better. Again, it was another great step and we're looking forward to these last two weeks."
The track and field teams will travel to Anderson, Ind. for the Fred Wilt Invitational this Saturday.