This week
The Augustana indoor track and field teams travel to its Division I neighbor Saturday for the University of South Dakota Invitational in Vermillion, S.D.
Last time out
Augustana crowned four champions--including a provisional qualifier in high jumper Katie Guse--Dec. 3 at the Minnesota State Preseason Open in Mankato, Minn. Guse cleared 5 feet, 7.75 inches to win the women's event. LeAnn Severson won the women's 800-meter dash in 2 minutes, 22.68 seconds, Justin Cook won the men's 800-meter run in 1:57.61, and Aduo Omot was the men's 1,000-meter run champion after charting a time of 2:27.46.
Back in action
The Vikings get back into the full swing of their season this weekend after taking more than a month off from team competition. Augustana's last competition was at the season-opening Minnesota State Preseason Open.
Up, up and away
Augustana pole vaulter Hollie Bloom placed fourth at the Minnesota State Alumni Open last Saturday afternoon in Mankato, Minn. Bloom was the lone Viking to compete. She cleared 11 feet, 0.25 inches in the event.
Weekly NSIC honors
Henrick Holmberg was named the NSIC's men's field athlete of the week for his performance at the Wayne State Preseason Open in Wayne, Neb., on Dec. 3. Holmberg, a native of Norway, set a school record and provisionally qualified in the heptathlon. The freshman scored 4,784 points, breaking Augustana's previous record of 4,559 points set by Blake Ridgeway last season. Holmberg was the top finisher in the 60-meter dash (7.28 seconds), long jump (20 feet, 10 inches), shot put (39 feet, 10 inches), high jump (6 feet, 4.75 inches) and 60-meter hurdles (8.84 seconds).
|
Date |
Athlete |
W/M |
|
Dec. 3 |
Henrick Holmberg |
M |
2012 Provisional Qualifiers
Augustana has already had three athletes provisionally qualify to compete at the national championships.
|
Athlete |
Meet |
Event |
Time/Mark |
|
Hollie Bloom |
Minnesota State Preseason Open |
Pole Vault |
11' 6.5" |
|
Katie Guse |
Minnesota State Preseason Open |
High Jump |
5' 7.75'' |
|
Henrick Holmberg |
WSC Preseason Open |
Heptathlon |
4784 points |
According to the coaches
The Augustana women received top billing and the men are third in the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Viking women received eight first-place votes and 98 points, while the men earned one first-place vote and a total of 53 points.
|
Women's Preseason Poll |
|
1 |
Augustana (8) |
98 |
|
2 |
U-Mary (3) |
93 |
|
3 |
Winona State |
81 |
|
4 |
Minnesota State |
69 |
|
5 |
Wayne State |
62 |
|
6 |
Minnesota Duluth |
55 |
|
7 |
St. Cloud State |
48 |
|
8 |
MSU Moorhead |
34 |
|
9 |
Bemidji State |
28 |
|
10 |
Northern State |
26 |
|
11 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
11 |
|
Men's Preseason Poll
|
|
|
1 |
MSU Moorhead (7) |
63 |
|
2 |
Minnesota State (1) |
55 |
|
3 |
Augustana (1) |
53 |
|
4 |
U-Mary |
36 |
|
5 |
Wayne State |
31 |
|
6 |
Northern State |
29 |
|
7 |
St. Cloud State |
22 |
|
8 |
Minnesota Duluth |
19 |
|
9 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
16 |
Preseason picks
Augustana distance specialist Runa Falch was named the women's conference preseason track athlete of the year. Falch was voted the NSIC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year last season after scoring 28 points at the championships, which was tied with U-Mary's Melissa Walker for highest at the national event. At the NSIC Championships she won two races--the 3,000- (9:42.33) and 5,000- (15:42.25) meter runs to set the new conference and school records. Vikings tabbed as “athletes to watch” in 2012 include Aduo Omot, Aaron Jung and Katie Guse. Omot is a returning conference champion in the men's 1,000-meter run (2:32.94) and he was also the 800-meter (1:51.20) national champion last season. Jung will compete in the throws. A defensive lineman with the Viking football team, he played in all 11 games in 2011 and registered 23 tackles, including three for loss. Guse posted a winning height of 5-feet, 6 inches at the Minnesota State Preseason competition a year ago and registered a season's best of 5 feet, 7 inches outdoors.
A look back
A pair of runner-up conference finishes was a great post-season start for the 2011 Augustana men's and women's indoor track and field teams who went on to achieve program-best finishes at the national indoor meet. The men ran their way to 11th-place honors, while the women placed 22nd.
Coaches' corner
Tracy Hellman enters his eighth season as head coach of the Viking track and field program. He's won two conference titles and guided 14 All-America performers. A multiple recipient of NSIC Coach of the Year awards, Hellman is assisted by Jim Vahrenkamp, Chris Parno, Kelsey Maloney and Amber Beman.
Next up
Augustana is scheduled to travel to Minneapolis next Saturday for the Jack Johnson Invite.
