The Gustavus women’s track and field team finished second behind champion St. Thomas at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships which were hosted by Hamline University in St. Paul. Three Gusties claimed individual championships and that group included Lisa Brown (javelin), Shanna Dawson (pole vault), and Kaelene Lundstrum (high jump).
Gustavus totalled 155.5 points and finished 106.5 points behind the champion Tommies at 262.0. Concordia placed third at 83.5.
As it has been all season, depth was a key for the Gusties strong finish at the conference meet as the team posted three first place finishes, four second place finishes, five third place finishes, five fourth place finishes, and five fifth place finishes. Twelve of those finishes were in field events and 10 were in running events.
All three of the Gusties first place finishes were in the field events. Shanna Dawson (Fairmont, Minn.) added a title in the pole vault at a height of 12-0, to the title she claimed indoors at a height of 11-11 3/4. Kaelene Lundstrum (So., Bird Island, Minn,) also completed a double in the high jump as she won the indoor title at a height of 5-3 and she cleared the same height to win the outdoor title. Lisa Brown (Lake Crystal) claimed her third consecutive outdoor title in the javelin with a conference record distance of 158 feet, 5 inches.
The other top finishes in the field events included Sari Lindeman (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) finishing second in the triple jump (37-6 1/2) and fourth in the long jump (17-1 1/4), Sam Broderius (Fy., Hector, Minn.) placing second in the discus (137-9, NCAA Provisional Mark) and third in the shot put (39-2 1/4), Janey Helland finishing second in the long jump 17-5 1/2), Kelly Nelson (Fy., Milaca, Minn.) placing third in the pole vault (10-8 1/4), Anna Bauer (So., Hastings, Minn.) finishing fourth in the hammer throw, Meredith Halling (So., Rochester, Minn.) placing fifth in the pole vault (10-8 1/4), and Sam Nothen (West Bend, Wis.) finishing fifth in the discus (130-2).
Senior Laura Edlund (Forest Lake, Minn.) led the way in the running events as she placed second in the 5,000 meters in a time of 17:57.56. A trio of third place finishes were recorded including Aryn Bell (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) in the 100 hurdles (15.35), Chelsea Craven (So., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) in the 400 meters (59.52), and Megan Lundgren (Fy., Mankato, Minn.) in the 800 (2:19.34).
Other top finishes in the running events included Laura Secor (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) finishing fifth in the 400 hurdles (66.15), Linda Kanne (Jr., Franklin, Minn.) placing fifth in the 100 meters (13.04), and Elizabeth Pringle (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) finishing fifth in the 400 meters (59.67).
The Gusties also performed well in the relays posting three fourth place finishes. The 4×100 relay consisting of Lyntrell Wilson (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.), Danielle Serbus (Fy., FRanklin, Minn.), Sari Lindeman, and Aryn Bell recorded a time of 50.87. the 4×200 relay consisting of Chelsea Craven, Elizabeth Pringle, Abby Karl (St. Cloud, Minn.), and Megan Lundgren recorded a time of 4:01.18 and the 4×800 relay consisting of Laura Secor, Sam Madsen (Jr., Morgan, Minn.), Abby Karl, and Megan Lundgren recorded a time of 9:29.65.
Several Gustavus student athletes will now wait to see if their NCAA provisional qualifying times are good enough to get them into the NCAA Outdoor Championships which will take place at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh on May 22-24.