Jenna Long

EAST LANSING — Junior Jenna Long of Northern Michigan University won a pair of sprint races against top competition at the Spartan Invitational held at Michigan State University over the weekend.

Long led several NMU runners in the 100-meter dash, winning in 12.70 seconds, then added the title in the 200 in 26.51. It marked her second straight weekend of winning multiple events after she accomplished the feat at the St. Norbert Twilight Meet in De Pere, Wisconsin, on March 1.

Also doing well in the 100 was freshman teammate Izabelle Peterson, a Marquette Senior High School graduate, who was second in 12.76. And in the 200, NMU sophomore Sydney McPeters was third in 27.46.

The meet, held on a cold, windy day, included a number of NCAA Division I and Division II schools. Some of the schools attending included Michigan State, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, along with NMU’s fellow GLIAC members Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Saginaw Valley State and Davenport.

Northern junior Paige Dutcher won the 400 in 59.09 and was 13th in the long jump.

Wildcats senior Kiernen Becker won the 1,500 by nearly two seconds in 4:39.12, while another MSHS grad, NMU junior Shayla Huebner, took the 800 in 2:18.02. Becker was fifth in the 800 in 2:23.74.

Northern swept the top three spots in the 5,000, led by sophomore Katelyn Smith in 17:59.50. Senior teammate Vivian Hett was second in 18:19.27 and junior Abby Fifarek third in 18:32.62. This was Hett’s first track appearance but still got her the eighth-best time in NMU history.

NMU’s 4-by-400 relay of McPeters, Dutcher, Huebner and junior Lynsey Collins of Escanaba won in 3:56.72.

Other Northern runner-up finishes included the 4-by-100 relay team (names not available) and senior Ine Mylle in the 100 hurdles.

The Wildcats head to the Golden Grizzly Invite at Oakland University in Rochester Hills on Friday and Saturday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.