Seniors Eva Laun-Smith and Aminah Crawford combined to tally five first place finishes to lead the Buccaneer track and field program in the final day of the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Ripon College hosted this spring's championship that was split into north and south divisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Laun-Smith was named Field Performer of the Meet to make it a career sweep of the honor while Crawford was named the Track Performer of the Meet.

Full Results | Team Scores

Laun-Smith captured three individual golds Saturday to bring her career medal count at the outdoor championships to 12. She secured a top finish in arguably her best event, the triple jump, with a leap of 11.77 meters. That mark catapults her into the top ten nationally in the event. Teammates Sydney Crockett and Lena Ramsey finished in fourth and fifth in the event to add points to the team total. Laun-Smith was also tops in the 100-meter hurdles registering a season best time of 14.97 to win the event for the second time in her career (2018). In a (possible) suprise win, Laun-Smith's third gold of the day came in the javelin. Improving her approach in the meet leading up the championships, Laun-Smith recorded a toss of 35.05 meters to win the event Saturday. 

Crawford, one of the nation's top sprinters, didn't disappoint in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. She was clocked in 12.12 in the 100 and 25.81 in the 200 winning both events by over four-tenths of a second. Crawford currently holds a national top ten mark in the 100 (12.05) from a previous meet. Jordyn McDonald added points to the team total crossing the line in 12.98 for fifth in the 100. 

Also medaling Saturday, Hannah Welte recorded a season best in the 400-meter hurdles, 1:10.17, to bring home bronze. 

Welte and McDonald joined Montana McMahon and Alayna Furch in the 4x400 to post a fourth-place time of 4:14.32. More team points came in the 3000-meter steeplechase when Lexy Olson shaved 20 seconds off her season best time (13:24.66) to finish fifth. McMahon grabbed sixth-place points in the 400 registering a time of 1:02.36 to wrap up the individual scorers on the women's side. 

Brandon Joly had a fantastic meet to lead the Beloit men. Joly captured bronze in the 200 with a time of 23.06 while teammate Ajani Joseph added a fifth-place finish in the event with a clocking of 23.43. Joly tallied another bronze as part of the Bucs' 4x400 relay team. He was joined by Alexandre Atou, Travis Price and Mauricio Penn for a time of 3:38.46. Joly was also fourth in the triple jump posting a distance of 12.49. 

Joseph and Atou each added fourth-place points to the team total as Joseph was clocked in 11.30 in the 100 and Atou posted a pace of 53.42 in the 400. Genesis Solomon secured more team points in two events. He crossed the line in 1:08.86 in the 400-meter hurdles after placing sixth in the high jump with a height of 1.53 meters. 

Also representing Beloit Saturday: Ramsey (7th), Darcel Royster (10th) and Duke Ding (11th) in the 100; Emma Newsham (7th) in the 3000 steeplechase; Furch (7th), Zach Cranna (8th), Penn (9th) and Rose Loos-Austin (10th) in the 400; Gabe Cabrera (7th) and Owen Clexton (8th) in the hammer throw; Cabrera (8th) in the discus; Fiona Cismesia (9th) and Madeleine Holicky (10th) in the 5000; Aaron Holzmueller (9th), Marianna Carus (10th) and Aspen Valentine (11th) in the 800; Alekzandria Taylor (10th) and Joyce Janvier (12th) in the javelin; Cristian Martinez-Zendejas (11th), Loos-Austin (11th) and Courtnie Thomas (12th) in the 200; Kiara Davis (11th) and Janvier (12th) in the shot put. 

The Buccaneer women finished third for the third consecutive championship meet while the Beloit men were fourth. 

Team Scores - Women: St. Norbert 240, Ripon 202, Beloit 92, Lawrence 56, Lake Forest 19
Team Scores - Men: St. Norbert 324, Ripon 156, Lawrence 95, Beloit 37, Lake Forest 3

Day One Recap
Day one of the Midwest Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships saw Buccaneers on the top of the podium in two events Friday afternoon. Eva Laun-Smith captured her third straight gold in the long jump before joining teammates Lena Ramsey, Jordyn McDonald and Aminah Crawford for an impressive win in the 4x100. 

Day One Results

The 2021 MWC Championship has been split into north and south divisional meets due to COVID-19 for the safety of student-athletes, coaches and campus communities. The north division meet is hosted by Ripon College and features the host, St. Norbert, Lawrence, Lake Forest and Beloit. With fewer teams at each divisional meet, the top six places are scored adding points to team totals. 

The first day of the conference meet typically features about half of the field events along with the majority of distance events before ending the day with the always exciting 4x100 relay. The word exciting may not do Beloit's 4x100 performance Friday justice. As the top seed in the event, the Bucs had the inside lane and could see the distance they needed to make up from the stagger. Ramsey came off the blocks handing to Laun-Smith who bolted down the straightaway for the transition to McDonald who rounded the corner for Crawford. One of the top sprinters in the nation, Crawford was in third, a few meters back of Ripon in the lead when she took the baton. It looked like the Red Hawks may literally runaway with it when Crawford hit full speed, and then seemed to almost hit another gear entirely about halfway down the home stretch catching Ripon and just out-leaning the competition at the finish line. The Bucs registered a time of 48.75 to win the event by .02 in a phenomenal race. Ramsey and Crawford finally get to stand atop the podium after finishing third in the event in 2018 and as the runner-up in 2019. 

Laun-Smith secured the first medal for the Bucs at this year's championship meet with her third straight gold in the long jump. She led a four-Buc contingent in the event recording a leap of 5.36 meters. With two medals Friday, Laun-Smith brings her career outdoor total to nine. Sydney Crockett added points to the team total with a sixth-place finish posting a distance of 4.59 meters. 

The Buc men were highlighted by Leeland Crum individually and Beloit's 4x100 relay team. Crum posted a height of 3.50 meters in the pole vault to add fifth place points to the team total. In the final track event of the day, Beloit's 4x100 combination of Desire Mukucha, Desmond Turner, Brandon Joly and Ajani Joseph shaved nearly a full second off their season best time for a clocking of 44.14 to finish third. 

Also competing Friday: Fiona Cismesia (9th), Aspen Valentine (10th), Madeleine Holicky (13th) in the 1500; Maggie Baugh (9th) in the 10,000; Alekzandria Taylor (7th), Kiara Davis (8th), Joyce Janvier (9th) in the hammer throw; Taylor (10th), Janvier (11th in the discus; Diontia Charles (7th), Carson McDonald (11th), Brandon Washburd (12th), Josh Schilling (13th) in the javelin; Genesis Solomon (7th), Turner (8th), Deo Edwards (9th) in the long jump; Gabe Cabrera (7th), Owen Clexton (8th) in the shot put. 

Full Meet Schedule/Live Results/Live Video 
Midwest Conference Championship Central