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Women’s track and field team struggles against tough field at ISU classic

The women’s track and field team competed against its best competition of the year last weekend at the Iowa State Classic.
“It was a tough meet for us,” coach Dave Beauchem said. “It was far and away the highest level of competition we have faced.”
The Braves had four runners compete, with each finishing in the top 40 of their event.
Senior Katie Nowak earned the top finish for the team. She finished 11th in the 800 meter non-seeded race with a time of two minutes and 15 seconds. Nowak missed making the top 10 in the race by one-tenth of a second.
Also competing in the 800 non-seeded race was junior Leann Murphy. She finished 36 in two minutes and 19 seconds in her first 800-meter race of the season.
“Katie and Leann raced in the unseeded sections and did very well,” Beauchem said.
Junior Mary Goldkamp and freshman Nicole Benson each raced in the seeded section of the ISU classic.
Goldkamp ran in the 800-meter race, finishing 28th with a time of two minutes and 18 seconds. 
Benson set a season-best time in the 3000-meter event. She surpassed her best time by 34 seconds finishing 23rd with a time of 10 minutes and 16 seconds.
“Nicole and Mary raced in the seeded sections,” Beauchem said. “It was the first time for either of them to race in the fast sections. They both struggled on Saturday, but I think they both learned quite a bit. They will both find themselves in many more invitational races in their career and I am very confident the next time will bring a much better performance.”
The women’s indoor track and field season is almost over. The Braves will compete indoors at the University of Iowa this weekend and the University of Northern Iowa next weekend before moving to the outdoor portion of their schedule.
“I think we have progressed very well through the spring so far and should compete very well next weekend,” Beauchem said.
He also said he believes his team will finish the indoor season strong and is looking forward to his team continuing to improve heading into the outdoor meets. 
“We are constantly focused on progression,” Beauchem said. “I expect everyone on the team to continue to improve. As we move to the outdoor track and field season, I expect us to see a much higher level of performance throughout our team.”
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