PICTURED ABOVE: Freshman Hannah Roeske is the first member of the Wheaton women's track & field team to earn multiple All-American honors in individual events since 1986.

La Crosse, Wisconsin – The 2018 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded Saturday on the campus of UW-La Crosse. The Thunder women's program scored 14 points to finish in 16th place this weekend in the 151-team field. Freshman Hannah Roeske picked up All-America recognition in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run, while sophomore Favor Ezewuzie earned All-America honors in the long jump.

THURSDAY RECAP --- FRIDAY RECAP --- SATURDAY RECAP Saturday Recap
Saturday's opening event on the track, the women's 3,000-meter run steeplechase, featured two Wheaton runners in Ellie Hawthorne and Hannah Roeske. Roeske earned All-America recognition by finishing third in 10:23.26 to shatter the school record of 10:42.04 that was set by Jordan Tuin in 2016. Hawthorne finished 12th in the 14-woman field with a time of 11:00.13.

Head coach Scott Bradley said of Roeske's performance in the steeplechase, "She started with great composure, stuck with her race plan and moved with the pack as the race went on and she was very strong at the end. It is really remarkable for a freshman to have the ability to run that race, but also to have the composure to run the race that she did."

Roeske (PICTURED LEFT) also competed in the second-to-last women's event on the track Saturday with a strong performance in the women's 5,000-meter run. She posted a time of 17:16.54 under hot and sunny conditions to place sixth in the 22-woman field to earn her second All-America honor of the day.

Bradley noted of her second performance on Saturday, "As a coaching staff we went into the day thinking there was a good chance that we would not have her run in the 5,000. She came through the steeplechase feeling very good and we decided to go ahead and give it a try in the 5,000, knowing that we could pull her out of the race. We did not want it to be dangerous for her." He continued, "She is very good at monitoring her energy level and being patient and composed. She started in last place and was in last place for a couple of laps. She maintained the same pace, which just moved her through the field." He concluded, "To my knowledge, since the Division III Championships has gone to this new format where the finals are all on the same day, I don't think there has been another woman from any school that has been an All-American in both the steeplechase and the 5,000. I could be wrong, but to my knowledge that is the case and several other coaches agreed with that."

Roeske is the first Wheaton competitor to earn All-America honors in the steeplechase and 5,000-meter run at the same Division III Championship event. Today's pair of All-America nods gives her five All-America selections in a tremendous freshman year (she also earned All-America honors in cross country, the distance medley relay in indoor track and the 3,000-meter run indoors). Friday Recap
The heptathlon concluded on the second day of action with the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. Nicole Kitchen (PICTURED RIGHT) earned 559 points in Friday's opening event with a leap of 5.00-meters (16' 5"). She tallied a toss of 21.52-meters (68' 5-1/4") in the javelin and concluded her performance with a time of 2:21.53 in the 800-meter run for 803 points. Kitchen placed 15^th in the 22-woman field with 4,199 points for the two-day event.
 
Thunder junior Erika Johnson competed in the prelims of the women's 800-meter run, the final event on Friday. The start of the event was delayed because of the three-hour weather delay. Johnson posted a time of 2:12.20 to place 15^th in the 22-woman field
 
Favor Ezewuzie participated in the prelims of the women's 100-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon. The sophomore placed 16^th in the 22-woman field with a time of 15.16-seconds. Thursday Recap
Favor Ezewuzie's (PICTURED LEFT) fourth-place performance in the women's jump highlighted the afternoon's action for the Thunder. By finishing in the top-eight in the event, the sophomore earns All-America recognition in the long jump. Ezewuzie's first two jumps were identical distances of 5.85-meters (19' 2-1/2") as she broke a school record that had stood since 1986. Kim Huey '89 set the previous record of 5.83-meters.

Coach Bradley said of Ezewuzie, "The long jump is an event she is still learning. She has only done track for two years so in all of her events she is still learning. She caught fire the last two weeks and set a qualifying mark two weeks ago and then improved on that mark one week before Nationals. Then, she got a hold of one here at Nationals and did a great job to finish fourth. It has been really fun and exciting."
 
Both of Wheaton's participants in the prelims of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase qualified for the finals of the event on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. Freshman Hannah Roeske's effort of 10:48.00 placed fourth today in the 22-woman field for the prelims. Senior Ellie Hawthorne qualified for Saturday's final with a time of 10:58.41 that was 14^th in the prelims.
 
Sophomore Marissa Heath placed 11^th in the 21-woman field of the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.89, narrowly missing a chance to qualify for Saturday's finals in the event. Junior Aryn Embretson posted a time of 37:49.47 on Thursday morning in the finals of the women's 10,000-meter run to finish 14^th in the 21-woman field.
 
The Thunder women's 4X400-meter relay team of Natasha Brown, Heath, Erika Johnson and Ezewuzie posted a time 3:51.42 in the first of two prelims on Thursday afternoon. The effort was 11^th of the 16 participating teams.
 
Nicole Kitchen participated in the first four events of the women's heptathlon on Thursday. Kitchen was 15^th in the 22-woman field after Thursday's action with 2,520 points. Her effort of 1.60-meters (5' 3") in the high jump portion of the heptathlon was second among the 22 competitors in event.