McMINVILLE, Ore.  – The Bushnell women's track & field team endured the elements on Saturday, opening the outdoor season at the Erik Anderson Icebreaker Memorial Invitational, hosted by Linfield University.
 
Director of Track & Field Kyle Will said, "The meet went well given the conditions. It started off great with Kaitlin in the steeple, setting a new PR. Sierra had a great race in the hurdles, finishing third. Then the weather took a deep dive south. Between the snow, wind and rain, it was a pretty miserable day, so I'm really proud of their effort given the conditions. We were using this meet as training, so a lot of sprinters were running longer events and distance were doing doubles to get ready for the rest of the season."
 
Kaitlin Cook opened the meet with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in a personal record time of 12:39.18. Cook also ran the 400-meter, taking 13^th with a time of 1:07.70. Madeline Desemone (1:06.33) was the top Beacon finisher in the 400m, placing 11^th.
 
Sierra Janikowski and Audri Ward posted top-five finishes in the 400-meter hurdles. Janikowski crossed the finish line in 1:13.98 for third and Ward took fourth in a time of 1:19.14. Ward took sixth in the 100-meter hurdles, running an 18.28.
 
The 4x100-meter relay team of Adrienne Mai, Macayla Parrish, Desemone and Janikowski took third, finishing in a time of 50.39. Parrish competed in three events, the 200-meter, long jump and 4x100.
 
Ellie Gresham posted a strong result in the discus, tossing 30.92m (101-05) for eighth place.
 
Up next, Bushnell competes at the LCC Open, hosted by Lane Community College on March 9.