Marquette Wins The Big East Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship

Powered by four individual wins, Marquette won the Big East Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday in New York.

Marquette finished with 168.5 points, finishing well clear of St. John's in second place with 150 points.  In fact, Marquette's championship was assured before the final event of the meet - the 4x400 meter relay - even started.

Monique Felix led the way for the Golden Eagles, winning the Field Performer of the Meet honors.  Felix won the pentathalon, as well as finishing second in the triple jump and third in the long jump.  Omo Tseumah (high jump), Gemma Tedeschi (pole vault), and Maya Marion (shot put) rounded out the individual championships for Marquette.

Marquette did their work by stacking the deck in their favor in the field events.  MU went 1-2-4 in the high jump, 2-4-5-7 in the triple jump, 1-3-6-7 in the pole vault, 3-4-8 in the long jump, and 1-7-8 in the shot put.  You don't necessarily need to have the best people in track & field scoring, but you really need to have a lot of really good people.

The men's squad finished second to Villanova, 208-195.  It was really just a two team event for the gentlemen, as DePaul finished in third with 124.5 points.  The title was still in doubt when the final event started, but Nova took second in the 4x400 meter relay, while MU finished third.  Marquette's men's team had three individual champions, with Max Bullard winning the shot put and Joel Swanberg winning pole vault and heptathlon for the second consecutive year.

The heptathalon and the triple jump were big events for Marquette.  Three more Golden Eagles finished in the top five along with Swanberg in the heptathlon, while MU went 2-3-4-6 in the triple jump.  Because I know you're wondering: Butler's Dakota Thompson won the men's high jump, with Nova's Mike Morrow taking second.  He was the only Wildcats to earn points, while Marquette's Killion McGinnis (3rd) and William Wolf (7th) placed.  The meet didn't hinge on Wally Ellenson sitting out the indoor season to focus on basketball, but it will certainly make things interesting when the outdoor Big East championships roll around.

You can head over to the Marquette Track & Field/Cross Country Facebook page to check out videos of all of the championship performances.