Wisconsin Badgers
Mt. SAC Relays
Soceka leads charge again for Badgers at Mt. SAC
April 17, 2010 | Women's Track & Field
April 17, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- It’s become something of a habit for Jenny Soceka to lead the way for the Wisconsin women’s track and field team this outdoor season.
A day after winning the heptathlon at the California Invitational in Azusa, Calif., the senior returned to competition Friday in the pole vault at the Mt. SAC Relays.
All she did was grab a runner-up finish in the vault with a clearance of 13 feet, 9 1/4 inches to match her highest clearance of the season. She cleared the bar at that height on her first attempt and then made three unsuccessful tries with the bar at what would have been a personal-best 14-1 1/4.
In her first four vault competitions of the outdoor season, Soceka owns a pair of wins and two runner-up finishes.
She was not the only Badger to lead the charge on Friday, however.
Redshirt freshman Caitlin Comfort also claimed a runner-up finish in the ‘A’ section of the 5,000 meters after clocking a personal-best time of 16:32.95.
Freshman Taylor Smith notched a third-place finish in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 48-0 1/2 and also competed in the discus, achieving another personal-best with a throw of 159-6 to finish fifth.
Smith’s shot put mark ties her for seventh all-time at Wisconsin, while her discus mark ranks No. 4 on the Badgers’ all-time list.
Senior Amanda Hoeppner placed seventh in the shot put with a toss of 47-4 1/4, while freshman Jasmine Boyer recorded an 11th-place finish after a throw of 44-4 1/4.
Sophomore Sunni Massop was the Badgers’ other thrower on the day, and she posted a mark of 155-2 to finish eighth.
In the high jump, sophomore Monika Jakutyte finished fourth with a clearance of 5-8 3/4.
Senior LaQuita Brazil placed sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 39-10 1/2 while, in the long jump, senior Chavon Robinson finished eighth with a leap of 19-4 1/4.
On the track, freshman Jameice DeCoster ran a time of 55.71 – ninth-fastest in Wisconsin school history -- to grab a ninth-place finish in the 400 meters.
Redshirt freshman Brittney Harper was behind DeCoster in the event and clocked a time of 56.49 to finish 16th.
The Badgers also finished fifth in the 4x100-meter relay in a time of 47.25 seconds.
In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Jenna Severson placed 14th with a personal-best time of 1:01.05.
Junior Egle Staisiunaite finished right behind Severson in 15th, running a time of 1:01.11.
Staisiunaite also competed in the 100-meter hurdles, where she recorded a sixth-place finish with a time of 13.75 to finish just two hundredths of a second off her personal-best of 13.73.
The Badgers continue competition in the Mt. SAC Relays on Saturday, with events scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m. CT.
