RedTail Women’s Track & Field Team Records Best Finish at Nationals

Hobbs, NM - The Hawkeye Community College women's track and field team sprinted to the end of its season with a 29th-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Championships, which was the RedTails' best finish at nationals in school history.

It was the 4x800-meter relay team that led the charge for Hawkeye, as Joanna Topham, Madison Larsen, Alayna Kollasch, and Rebecca McDermott blazed to a seventh-place finish and a school-record time of 9 minutes, 56.24 seconds.

The RedTails also got strong individual performances from Paighton Malek, Zarreeel Knox, Topham, and Larsen. Malek had a 14th-place finish and personal record in the long jump with a leap of 5.57 meters. Knox, who will continue her career at Minnesota State next year, also had a personal record. She placed 15th in the triple jump by covering 10.83 meters.

In the 3,000 steeplechase, Topham and Larsen finished eighth and 10th, respectively, as each earned All-America status. Topham turned in a time of 12:11.91 and Larsen had a 12:31.20.

"I was very happy with their race as Madison got out strong and ran her race well, this being only the second time she ran it," said head coach Tyler Mulder. You could see the confidence building as the race went on.  Joanna set a more conservative approach and had a strong kick to help the team get points."

"I was very proud of the women's team and how well they fought and pushed to improve all year," added Mulder.