MANKATO, Minn. – Augustana College track and field opened the 2015 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/US Bank Indoor Track & Field Championships with 13 Vikings placing in the top-five to close out the first day of competition, followed by 13 qualifying for tomorrow's finals.
After the first day, the women are in first with 47 points, followed by U-Mary checking in second trailing by 10 points. The men are in third with 35.50 points which leaves them in striking distance of first-place Minnesota State (45 points) and second-place MSU-Moorhead (40.50 points).
"It was a great day first day at the NSIC Championships," head coach
Tracy Hellman said. " Both teams had some great efforts and we are set up well for a great finish tomorrow."
CJ Ham once again dominated the weighted throw taking the top mark with a heave of 18.34 meters (60 feet, 2 inches) to put the Vikings on the board with 10 points.
In the women's long jump,
Bree Woelber set a new school record with a clearance of 5.71 meters (18 feet, 9 inches) for a fourth-place finish.
Calliann Brunswig took seventh clearing 5.54 meters (18 feet, 2.25 inches).
Junior's Woebler and
Kelsey Kaufmann both cleared 1.68 meters (5 feet, 6 inches) in the women's high jump placing second and third, respectively.
Anne Parsley took second in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:36.96, while
Emma Schmidt took fifth with a time of 1:37.54 both advancing to the finals.
Mason Ford took sixth in the high jump tying his season-best with a clearance of 1.95 meters (6 feet, 4 inches).
Jason Greenway competed in the men's long jump taking third with a clearance of 7.07 meters (23 feet, 2.5 inches).
In the first track event of the day,
Megan Brown qualified for tomorrow's women's mile final with a personal-best time of 5:18.66. In the men's mile,
Keegan Carda led the way for the Vikings with a time of 4:26.53, followed by
Harald Karbo (4:29.06) and
Nathan Hauge (4:30.08) following closing behind to qualify in the men's mile final.
In the women's 60-meter hurdles,
Irene Almarcha once again broke her own school record provisionally qualifying with a time of 8.64, which ranks 11th in the nation. Woelber (8.92) and Brunswig (9.06) also qualify in the 60-meter finals tomorrow.
Ryan Heuer advances to the men's 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best and provisionally qualified with a time of 8.14 seconds.
Kayla Mescher took second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.76. In the men's 800-meter run,
Zach Tuschen took second with a time of 1:58.96 both qualifying to the finals.
Switching gears to the women's 1000-meter run,
Kaitlyn Yoerg took third with a time of 2:59.72, while
Emma Anderson took fourth clocking a time of 3:02.93. On the men's side,
Paul Yak advances to the finals in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:35.25 for a sixth-place finish.
In the women's 3,000-meter run,
Leah Seivert took third provisionally qualifying with a time of 9:49.54, which ranks 15th in the nation.
Meritxell Delgado clocked a time of 10:05.39 for a fifth-place finish.
Glen Ellingson led the Vikings in the men's 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:30.72 for a fourth-place finish. Karbo took fifth with a time of 8:31.88, while
Adam Braun and Yak took ninth and 10th, respectively.
The women's squad of Anderson, Mescher, Yoerg, and
Valerie Moos clocked a time of 12:16.08 to take third-place in the women's distance medley, earning six points for the Vikings.
The team of Carda,
Jeremy Botzet, Hauge, and
Clint Freiheit took second in the men's distance medley clocked a time of 10:22.96, earning eight points for Augustana.
Field competition at Minnesota State will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. and the track events start at 1 p.m.
