Jessica Ehlen Reaches NCAA Regional Mark In Discus

May 9, 2009

MADISON, Wis.-- The Marquette University track and field squad concluded the Wisconsin Twilight meet Saturday evening at the Dan McClimon Memorial Track/Soccer Complex in Madison, Wis., with senior Jessica Ehlen recording an NCAA qualifying mark in the discus.

"I felt that the team got after it this weekend," said head coach Bert Rogers. "They might have run out of gas a little with this coming after the conference meet, but they competed hard and we had some good performances."

Having already qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the hammer throw, Ehlen recorded a personal-best and regional-qualifying distance of 47.46 meters (155 feet, 8 inches) to win the event. Ehlen's mark moves her to fourth all-time at MU, passing teammate Audra Ketelsen's best mark of 47.24 meters (155-0) set in 2007.

"I'm very happy for Jessi," Rogers said. "As a fifth-year senior, it is neat that she could qualify for the regionals in both the hammer throw and discus with two big PRs this weekend. She really put it together and should be ready for the regional."

In the hammer throw, Ehlen set a personal record with a heave of 56.51 meters (185-05) to jump from fourth to second on the all-time MU list.

School record-holder Rachel Thiel captured a win in the shot put with a distance of 14.02 meters (46 feet), but fell just short of an NCAA Regional qualifying mark. Kelley Corcoran finished fifth in the event.

In the 800 meters, Katlin Millin took home the event victory, crossing the finish line in 2:14.93, ahead of MU runners Olivia Johnson in third, Dani Owen in seventh and Melissa Burghardt in 10th.

Freshman Carly Windt placed third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:49.89.

Co-captain Jeff Kluge won the men's discus with a distance of 48.90 meters (160-05).

Senior Scott Mueller finished second in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:23.63, beating his seeded time by six seconds.

Tyler O'Brien fnished second in the 200-meter dash but failed to record a regional standard with a final mark of 21.63 seconds.

Senior Drew Craig won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:43.67.

Peter Bolgert placed third in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:56.67, followed by Blake Johnson in fifth and Nick Szczech in eighth.

The Golden Eagles will return to action Fri., May 15 at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., with a few student-athletes still looking for regional marks.