Louisville, KY – The Patriots Women's track & field team competed at their first indoor meets of the 22-23 campaign this weekend. A handful of Patriots attended the BSC Indoor Icebreaker in Birmingham, AL on Friday while the rest of UC's team got their first action in Louisville at the Commonwealth College Opener on Saturday. Both meets featured teams from all levels, including multiple NCAA DI opponents.
 
The weekend was highlighted by a first place finish out of the DMR squad and a school record in the 300m dash. MaQuoia Raglin made the most of her first action as a patriot as she ran a 42.60 for a new program best time in the 300m. The distance relay included Emily Bird, Lauren Sanderson, Ashley Terry, and Ashlyn Liddle who crossed the finish in 12:31.56, just two seconds from a national qualifying standard.
 
Multiple Patriots found success in the 3k as Victoria Richardson came away with a second place finish. Richardson paced a 10:36.84 for her silver medal. Morgan Lucason and Tara Todd came away with ninth and 11^th place finishes, clocking times of 11:11.11 and 11:37.01 respectively.
 
Maggie Buerger and Delores Stevenson posted top-10 performances in throwing events on Saturday. Buerger hit a distance of 10.52m in the shot put for ninth while Stevenson placed ninth in the weight throw with a 13.51m throw. Trinity Sherrod rounded out the field athletes that competed this weekend as she took to the pole vault competition. Sherrod cleared the bar at 3.10m in her first action of the year.
 
Olivia Griese was the lone UC representative in the 400m in Louisville, placing 10^th on the day. She paced her two laps around the track in 1:04.08. Amelia Richardson, Shamaya Jones, and Shawna McAllister rounded out the sprinters this weekend as the trio entered the blocks in the 60m and 200m dashes. All three made it to the final prelim race in the 60m dash with times of 8.44, 8.70 and 8.74.
 
The women's 4x400 relay team consisted of A'yana Gray, Kathryn Couch, Shelby Cothron, and Olivia Griese came away with a top-10 finish. The squad raced to a 4:08.73 finish for ninth overall.
 
Coach Sowder was not surprised at his team's success in the first meet of the year saying "It's the start we wanted and expected… We had several field event participants with great progressions. Solid relays and several individuals showcased what we knew would happen."
 
The Pats will return in 2023 on January 13^th for their next bout of indoor action. They will travel up I75 to Lexington, KY for the Kentucky Indoor Meet.