The Gustavus women’s indoor track and field team looks to finish near the top of the team standings at the 2009 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships after earning second place at the 2008 Championships. The meet begins with the heptathlon competition on Thursday and runs through Saturday afternoon. Concordia will serve as the hosts with the event taking place at the Olson Forum on the Concordia campus.
The Gusties will be led by junior Kaelene Lundstrum (Bird Island, Minn.), the reigning conference champion in the high jump and the pentathlon. One of the top all-around athletes in the MIAC, she is currently ranked in the top five of three events including second in the shot put (42-4 3/4), fourth in the 55-meter hurdles (9.05), and fourth in the high jump at 5-3 1/4.
Gustavus hopes to utilize its depth in the field events to grab several points for the team standings. The Gusties hold three of the top five marks in the league in the shot put as all-conference athlete senior Lisa Brown (Lake Crystal, Minn.) is first at 43-1 followed by Lundstrum in second and sophomore Sam Broderius (Hector, Minn.) in fifth at 39-8 1/2. Two Gusties are also currently seeded in the top five of the weight throw as juniors Anna Bauer (Hastings, Minn.) and Diana Scott (Bristol, Conn.) are second (49-11) and fifth (46-8), respectively. In the long jump, sophomore Janey Helland (Mapleton, Minn.) is currently seeded second with a distance of 16-11 1/2.
Other athletes ranked in the top eight on the MIAC Performance list are returning all-conference pole vaulter junior Meredith Halling (Rochester, Minn.), who is ranked sixth at a height of 10 feet, sophomore Megan Lundgren (Mankato, Minn.), who is sixth in the 600 meters (1:39.96), and junior Becca Bryson (Alden, Minn.) is eighth in the long jump (16-3 3/4).
Gustavus will enter a pair of strong relay teams to the conference meet as the 4×200 relay team of Dani Serbus (So., Franklin, Minn.), Julia Thompson (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.), Sam Frings (Fy., Coleraine, Minn.), and Megan Lundgren is seeded second at 1:50.73, while the 4×400 relay team is seeded fourth at 4:10.27. This group consists of Frings, Abby Karl (So., St. Cloud, Minn.), Janey Helland, and Lundgren.