TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Amid an impressive group of freshmen and a rock-solid gang of juniors, Wartburg found its greatest diamond in the rough in its senior class, winning the program's first Division III Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship team title in 2009.
Akeye Aimable outdueled Wisconsin-La Crosse standout Caitlin Schetter in the triple jump – an event that Aimable took up only two months ago after a coach told her she looked like a “natural” – to help propel the Knights to their first indoor team championship March 13-14 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The senior edged Schetter – who on the previous day won her second straight indoor long jump title – with a leap of 12.04 meters (39 feet, 6 inches) to help give Wartburg a half-point lead over La Crosse going into the meet-ending 1,600-meter relay. The Knights then soundly beat the Eagles in that event to claim a 9½-point victory.
Once Wartburg assistant coach Dave Sage told Aimable early this year she could do well in the triple jump, “it didn’t take too long to get comfortable with it,” she said. Still, she knew she needed to “get on the board” when her turn came up just after Schetter took the lead in the event.
“I just started thinking about what coach Sage told me,” Aimable said. “He told me to have myself thinking about winning it. So, I went for it on that jump, and it worked out.”
Aimable beat Schetter by an inch, but the 1,600-meter relay showdown between Wartburg and Wisconsin-La Crosse wasn’t nearly so close. The Knights foursome anchored by junior Hannah Baker won with a time of 3 minutes. 50.1 seconds – five seconds ahead of the eighth-place Eagles.
Marcus Newsom, who also coached Wartburg to an outdoor crown in 2005, credited the win to the entire program – not just the women who scored the points.
“This isn’t just about the group that competed here. This is also about the team back at the college, some of whom drove out here to watch their teammates,” he said following the meet at Rose-Hulman. “That is what is so great about Wartburg track and field. It’s the family aspect.
“Every one of these young ladies contributed to this. It was a great effort.”
