A Trio Of Winners At The Masanz Invite

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/02/15)—Rochelle Hickerson, Cherae Reeves and Hillary Birchem led Concordia across 8th Street to compete in the Ron Masanz Invite held at MSU Moorhead. The trio all posted event wins in a meet that was mostly NCAA Division I and II athletes.

The meet was the last chance for Cobber athletes to compete before the MIAC Championship Meet next weekend.

Hickerson made a triumphant return from an injury by winning the long jump with a Division III top 20 distance. She posted a distance of 18-05.25 which won the event by .25 of an inch. Her winning mark is currently the farthest in the MIAC this year and No.15 on the list of DIII marks in 2015.

Reeves returned to her winning ways in the shot put. After finishing second to a Division I athlete from the University of North Dakota in Tuesday's Cobber Twilight Meet, Reeves recorded a distance of 46-05.25 and won the event by 19 inches. She still owns the top mark (47-05.25) in the MIAC this year and fifth best in Division III.                 

Like Reeves, Birchem also returned to the winning circle. She won the discus at the Masanz Invite with a distance of 151-06 which topped the runner-up who finished at 147-03. Birchem's winning toss marked the second time this season she has gone over 150 feet. She still leads the conference with a distance of 157-05. That PR is also fifth farthest in DIII this year.

Birchem also recorded a top 5 finish in the shot put. She came up with a distance of 41-07.25 and placed fifth.

Vanessa Johnson and Olivia Johnson had the other top three finishes for Concordia.

Vanessa Johnson finished tied for second in the high jump with a height of 5-04.25 while Olivia Johnson was third in both the javelin and shot put. Olivia Johnson had a meet-best distance of 123-03 in the javelin and posted a mark of 43-08.50 in the shot put. Olivia Johnson currently leads the MIAC in the javelin with a season-best distance of 136-06.   

Another Cobber athlete also made a successful return from an injury. Melissa Uhrich competed in her first meet of the season after suffering an injury during last year's outdoor season. Uhrich recorded a top 10 finish in the 1500 meters. She placed seventh after crossing the line in 5:13.62.

Concordia will now turn its attention to the MIAC Championship Meet. The Cobbers will compete in the conference outdoor meet on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 at Macalester College.  

COBBER NOTABLES

Cobber All-Time List:
100 Hurdles – Vanessa Johnson – 15.51 – ALL-TIME #9
4x100 relay – Greta Walsh, Chelsey Petrich, Hannah Lundstrom, Rochelle Hickerson – 49.78 –ALL-TIME
7
Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 18-5.25 (5.62m) – ALL-TIME #4
Hammer Throw – Olivia Johnson – 152-1 (46.35m) – ALL-TIME #5

Personal Records:
100- Chelsey Petrich.
800- Olivia Hamilton.
Long Jump- Rochelle Hickerson.
Shot Put- Ashley Thompson.
Hammer Throw- Olivia Johnson.
Javelin Throw- Greta Walsh.