SAINT PAUL, Minn. – A small contingent of the Gustavus men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at the St. Thomas Tommie Twilight on Wednesday.
The men’s 4×100 relay of Dylan Gast (Jr., Dellwood), Taylor Rooney (Sr., Andover), Xander DuMoulin (Jr., Shorewood), and Wyatt Quiring (Jr., Fairmont) took second in 42.22. Rooney won the 100-meter with a time of 11.05 and placed second in the 200-meter, crossing the line in 22.36. Quiring was fourth in the 200 at 22.74.
Noah Johnson (Jr., Stillwater) took ninth in the 800-meter at 1:58.89. Seth Zeitchick (So., St. Paul) placed fourth in the 400-meter at 51.12. Jeremy Gilbertson (Sr., Maple Plain) led the Gusties in the 5,000-meter in fourth place at 15:14.71.
Elizabeth Whitcomb (Sr., St. Paul) took 10th in the women’s 1500-meter with a time of 4:59.76. In the men’s 1500, Josh Wilson (Jr., Farmington) placed 17th in 4:16.68.
“It is the time of year when it is very important to put your best performance together at the right time and tonight Josh, Lizzy and Noah did that and I’m incredibly excited for the MIAC Championships next week,” Assistant Coach Becki Staley said. “Josh ran a new personal best In the men’s 1500. Lizzy had a huge breakthrough going sub 5:00 in the women’s 1500. Noah Johnson’s 1:58 comes at the right time going into MIAC.”
Birgen Nelson (So., Edina) crossed the 400-meter line second in 58.88; Ally Rakow (Fy., Bloomington) took eighth in 1:04.11, Ellen Hofstede (So., St. Paul) took 10th in 1:05.05, and Emilia Helms-Leslie (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) took 11th in 1:05.48. Helms-Leslie also took 15th in the 200-meter with a time of 29.31.
The lone field competitor was Halley Brocker (Jr., Ankeny, Iowa) and she won the high jump with a clearance of 5-1.
“Halley went into the high jump today with her team, her family and the end of her athletic career in mind,” Assistant Coach Nathan Harder said. “One of the many things we’ve been practicing as a squad this season has been mental fortitude; a concept that applies uniquely to vertical jumpers in track and field; where success or failure depends on movements completed during a fraction of a second. In high jump, you can have the best jump of your life and still have the bar fall. While Halley just missed the mark we wanted for today, a victory is always nice. As we move to the finale of our season, it will be well worth the time to keep an eye on her and all of our lady jumpers as we swiftly approach our conference championships.”