Butler women place in three events on Day 1 of NJCAA Indoor

Butler women place in three events on Day 1 of NJCAA Indoor

PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Butler women's track and field team placed eighth in three events and had one qualify for finals during Friday's Day 1 of the NJCAA Indoor Championships  at Pittsburg State University's Robert W. Plaster Center.

Grizzly sophomore Alexxis Milner took eighth in the pentathlon and scored 3,223 points. Milner's top pentathlon event was the 60-meter hurdles, where she finished third with a time of 8.99 seconds. She also took fifth in the long jump (5.14 meters) and sixth in the 800-meter run (2:34.01).

Milner also qualified for Saturday's finals in the 60-meter hurdles event after finishing runner-up in her heat. She finished seventh overall in the preliminaries with a time of 8.78 seconds.

The women's distance medley relay team of Jeanna Baker, Davia Smith, Roshea Burrell and Jade Searles opened Friday's running events for the Grizzlies, taking eighth with a time of 12:48.68.

Freshman Jayne Roberts also placed eighth in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 3.35 meters (10' 11-3/4") on her first attempt. Teammates Madison McLaughlin (3.20m) and Anna Robbins (3.05m) finished 12th and 15th, respectively.

Of the 15 Butler female athletes competing on Friday, 12 Grizzlies finished in the top 20 in their respective events. In running preliminaries, freshman Conangela Senior was 12th overall in the 800-meter run (2:22.23), while Searles was 13th in the 1,000-meter event (3:06.83). In the 400, freshman Davia Smith finished 15th (57.44 seconds).

Other top 20 finishers for Butler were freshman Roshae Burrell (1,000m, 3:10.74, 17th), Janelle Carty (60m hurdles, 9.13, 18th), Javonda Peagler (60m dash, 7.69, 18th) and Roberts (60m hurdles, 9.15, 19th).

In shot put, freshman Dejah Erskine took 14th overall with a mark of 12.47 meters (40' 11") on her final throw, while freshman Julianna Horner was 20th at 11.84 meters (38' 10 1/4").

The Butler women's 4x800-meter relay opens Saturday's schedule at 12:30 p.m., while sophomore Valeriya Kostiuk and Roberts will be in the high jump event at 1:00 p.m. Kostiuk is one of the top jumpers in the event, with a top clearance of 1.76 meters (5' 9 1/4") this season.

Other Grizzlies competing Saturday are Searles (1 mile), Milner (60m hurdles) and the women's 4x400-meter relay.