DAY ONE RESULTS | DAY TWO HEAT SHEETS
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana men's and women's track and field teams each sit in second place after day one of the NSIC Track and Field Championships hosted by Augustana. The women tallied 48 points, just two behind the leader and the men recorded 37.5 points, 8.5 behind the top men's team
Head coach
Tracy Hellman was pleased, maybe even caught off guard by his team's day one performances. “Our scores were higher than I thought they were going to be after the first day.” Hellman said. “We are set up real well and I am happy with our men's and women's position. Hopefully we can finish it up tomorrow.”
Hellman put it best by saying the Vikings “started the day off with a bang,” when the Vikings swept the men's and women's 10,000-meter runs to open the outdoor championships.
Kristin Brondbo flirted with a few records in winning the women's 10,000-meter run. Brondbo clocked a 35:39.22 as she and Runa Falch lapped the field to finish 1-2 in the opening race. Annie Pfeifle added two more points with a seventh-place finish to give Augustana's women's squad 20 points after one event. Falch also qualified for the women's 1,500-meter run just a few hours later.
Travis Beniak completed the sweep with a dominating performance in the men's 10K to win the event - Beniak finished his 25 laps in 31:04.88. Adam Braun came in fourth and Keegan Carda finished eighth giving the Viking men 17 points one event into the meet.
Adding to the men's total, Henrik Holmberg turned in 13.5 points in two events. “Holmberg had a great day in the long jump and high,” Hellman said describing the multi-event athlete who placed also second in the men's decathlon on week ago, bringing his contribution to 21.5 points for the men.
In the men's long jump, Holmberg' 7.15-meter (23' 5.5”) leap earned him second after entering the finals as the top qualifier. The Vik, Norway native then tied for third in the high jump, clearing 2.05 meters (6' 8.75”).
A trio of high-jumping women scored 17 more points for the women on day one. Kelsey Kaufmann and Katie Guse tied for second with a 1.65-meter (5' 3”) leap. Andrea Whitney finished fifth bowing out one attempt earlier.
Kristi Porter and Mary Hitchcock added 10 points to the women's score for their finishes in the women's javelin throw. Porter placed third with a best throw of 38.06 meters (124' 10”) and Hitchcock came in fifth.
Noting some surprising performances, Hellman described Karmen Nyberg's performance as “the meet of her lifetime.” Nyberg qualified for the finals in two events, including a heat win the women's 200-meter dash.
Five Viking women qualified for the finals on day two led by Kayla Mescher's top-qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles, running the event for just her second time, and Nyberg earning a pair of day-two invites in the 200- and 400-meter dashes.
The women look to score big in the 1,500-meter run with three runners making the 12-athlete cutoff - Falch, Kaitlyn Yoerg, and Molly Kokesh all earned a spot in the finals.
Six men secured a spot in the finals on day two in four different events. Henrik Hansson won his 800-meter heat and recorded a sixth-best time in the 1,500-meter run. Hansson is joined in the 800-meter run by Clint Freiheit and will be paired with John Klecker in the 1,500-meter run.
Khor Kong racked up a heat win in the men's 400-meter dash and will be joined by Skyler Kuil in the finals tomorrow. Ryan Heuer and Jason Greenway logged the fourth- and fifth-best times in the men's 400-meter hurdles to have a chance to win the event on day two.
The 2013 NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will conclude tomorrow with the field events scheduled for an 11 a.m. start and the track events slotted to begin at 1 p.m.
