The Waynesburg indoor track and field teams returned to action this weekend at the YSU College Mid-Major meet hosted by Youngstown State University.

The Yellow Jackets competed against teams through each level of the NCAA’s three divisions in the two-day competition. Waynesburg head coach Chris Hardie believes there is something for his teams to gain from facing athletes of a different caliber.

“I think it’s good for division three athletes to elevate their game a little bit. The best way to do that is to find out some of the good talent that’s around you at different levels.” Hardie said. “I think [the team] may have seen some talent that they’ve never seen in their lives, which is always good.”

Despite the meet being the third on the schedule for the team, it was the first time that most of the team has competed together this season.

“It felt good [having the team together]. I think that they really enjoyed each other’s company yesterday,” Hardie said. “As we continue to grow as a team, which is really important, we need to get everyone back and healthy. [This meet] was a step in the right direction.”

One member that wasn’t back with the team was Aubrey Wingeart.

She competed on her own at the South Carolina Invitational. Wingeart ended up winning her event in the 5,000-meter race and finished 27th in the mile.

The sprinter squad was one of the many areas that heavily impressed Hardie from the meet.

“The sprint core really stood out to me,” Hardie said. “They all really stepped up.”

Waynesburg’s sprinters were led by a trio of sophomores in Michaela Rose, Kai Herbert, and Isaiah Matthews.

Rose capitalized off of her week in which she won Presidents’ Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week with a strong finish in the 60 and 200-meter dash. Rose bested all her division three peers in the 200-meter dash.

In the same events as Rose, Matthews had a very solid showing as he finished in the top third of runners.

Herbert finished second out of all division three athletes in the 60-meter hurdles. He finished 20th out of 36 hurdlers.

Kat Henderson made school history by becoming the highest finisher in the indoor pentathlon.

There were no team scores at the meet. Waynesburg will compete this upcoming weekend at Mount Union in the Jim Wuske Invitational.

“We’re going to continue to get healthier and stronger as the season goes on,” Hardie said.