The Gustavus men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams opened their seasons Thursday night by hosting athletes from Martin Luther, Minnesota State Mankato and Trinity Bible College in the 2006 Gustie Open. Senior Blythe Bittman (Fairmont, Minn.) picked up a pair of wins and a runner-up finish individually to lead the Gusties.
Bittman won the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.10 seconds and the long jump with a leap of 16-feet-1.5. The versatile senior also finished second with a 4-feet-8.25 leap in the high jump.
John Retka (Fr., Shoreview, Minn.) picked up a pair of wins in the long jump with a jump of 20-1 1/2 and the triple jump with a leap of 40-2 3/4.
Juniors Jered Hokenson (Watertown, Minn.) and Andy Klaers (Delano, Minn.) each picked up a win and a runner-up finish for the Gusties. Hokenson scored a win in the high jump with a leap of 6-3 1/2 and a second in the pole vault with a jump of 11-1, while Klaers finished first in the weight throw with a distance of 50-10 1/4 and a second in the shot put with a distance of 36-1 1/4.
Junior Tanner Miest (New London, Minn.) added a win in the 55-meter hurdles with a 7.8 second clocking. Miest finished second (6.50) in the 55-meter dash behind teammate senior Jack Henkemeyer (Plymouth, Minn.), who posted a time of 6.70 seconds.
Senior Kourtney Joyce (Wadena, Minn.) picked up the win in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:25.90, more than a minute better than the second-place competitor.