SAN ANTONIO – CAROLINE WILDRICK opened St. Edward's women's track and field outdoor season with a win in the 10,000-meter race, giving the Hilltoppers a clean sweep in the men's and women's events. 
 
Wildrick's first-place time of 39:06.28 breaks her school record of 39:40.94 set at last year's Wes Kittley Invitational. MIA SANCHEZ followed two minutes behind in second at 41:06.20 for a new career best, and MAGGIE RITTMEYER placed fourth with a time of 41:37.63. 
 
"I'm thrilled with the way we approached this meet on the women's side. I thought their mindsets were dialed in, and their fitness was there," St. Edward's Head Track & Field Coach Steven Cary says. "We had some awesome performances on Friday in the steeplechase and 10K. That seemed to spill over to Saturday because we had many personal bests and many folks close to their bests. I also think the ladies worked well with each other in their races."
 
MICHAELA FALLON debuted in the discus, recording the first throw in the program's brief history since being reinstated in 2020 with an 18th-place finish of 31.24 meters.
 
St. Edward's placed four in the top 10 in the 5,000 meters, paced by JULIANA MERLO's third-place finish of 18:30.20. JORDAN SANDERS placed seventh at 18:37.91, then MYLA CASTILLO in ninth at 19:17.21 and SYDNEY SMITH at 19:17.56. JENNA SAUNDERS (12th, 19:32.09) and SAMMY SALAZAR (18th, 19:59.37) rounded out the lineup. 
 
The Hilltoppers placed four of the top five in the 1,500 meters. Merlo starred again with a second-place finish at 4:43.16. MIA RIVERA followed in third (4:49.29), then DELANEY LONG in fourth (4:50.41), and SARAH WILLSON in fifth (4:50.53). BRYN PETERS placed 19th at 5:16.18, and TAYLOR LATZA in 29th at 5:28.96. 
 
Willson led St. Edward's in the 800 with a second-place finish of 2:17.88, Rivera in third place at 2:18.75, and Long in sixth place at 2:19.96. VICTORIA HINOJOSA placed 17th with a time of 2:28.49, then TORI PONCE in 22nd at 2:30.36, and Latza in 31st at 2:39.49. 
 
HAILEY RODRIGUEZ broke a minute in the 400 meters with a second-place finish of 58.36, setting a new career mark and just fractions of a second off the program's best. YAMILA CARTWRIGHT finished fourth at a minute even, then AMARI SINGLETON in 16th at 1:03.26. 
 
AUDREY WISTAIN led St. Edward's with a seventh-place finish in the 100 meters with a time of 12.63, setting a new program record, followed by Jasmin Cooke in 10th at 12.75. Cooke also competed in the 200 meters, placing 15th at 26.76. 
 
Wistain placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.48, and ELLIE HOVRE placed third in the 3,000 Steeplechase with 11:45.05. 
 
The Hilltoppers placed third and seventh in the 4x400 Relay. Cartwright, Rodriguez, Willson, and Singleton clocked a time of 4:00.64, and Ponce, Hinojosa, Long, and Rivera finished at 4:13.31. 
 
"Overall, I'm excited about where we're headed. The team is coming together and working together," Cary says. "It's going to be a great spring for these women."
 
St. Edward's will return to action in two weeks at the Texas Southern University Relays in Houston, Texas, on March 16.