The Aurora University women's track and field team hosted the Aurora Grand Prix on Friday, January 19th. The Spartans placed fifth out of 16 teams in a field that consisting of Division I, Division II, and NAIA teams. AU was the second highest scoring Division III team. 

Deedee Colon Maldonado had a strong race in the 3000 meter run, breaking the school record. She placed sixth with a time of 9:57.71. The banked track conversion is a 10:02.85, which betters the previous Aurora record by 11 seconds. This performance ranks her eighth in the nation. She also ran a personal record in the mile with a time of 4:56.64, placing third. This ranks her third in the nation.

Lauren Bliefernicht, Mary Dietz, Skylar Gibbs, and Ari Mack ran an impressive 4x200 relay to secure the win in 1:48.78. The banked track conversion is a 1:50.03, which is second in school history. 

Freshman Grace Beilfuss placed second in the high jump with a height of 1.55m. This height ties for eighth in school history. 

Scorers of the meet:

• 4x200 meter relay (Bliefernicht, Dietz, Gibbs, and Mack) - 1st - 1:48.78
• Bielfuss - High Jump - 2nd - 1.55m
• Colon Maldonado - Mile - 3rd - 4:56.64
• Faustyna Karpiesiuk - Triple Jump - 4th - 10.20m
• Paige Chapin - Shot Put - 5th - 10.42m
• Colon Maldonado - 3000 - 6th - 9:57.71
• Gibbs - 60m Hurdles - 6th - 9.71
• Dietz - 60m Hurdles - 8th - 9.81
• 4x400 meter relay (Gibbs, Madison Etheridge, Mika Fields, Savannah Vasquez) - 6th - 4.23.5
• Alayna Koehler - High Jump - 8th - 1.50m

Complete results can be found here. 

Up next, the Spartans compete at the Blue Demon Alumni Classic hosted by DePaul University. Competition begins on Friday, January 26th.