Sarah Baker recorded two top-three finishes at the Falcon Invite.
Facing a stiff competition of Division I, II, and III schools, the Gustavus women’s outdoor track and field team compiled 69 points to finish sixth out of 18 teams at the Falcon Invitational held in River Falls, Wis. over the weekend. The University of Minnesota-Duluth won the meet with 119 points, while the University of Minnesota (96 pts) and St. Thomas (90.50) rounded out the top three in second and third, respectively.
Janney Helland had an outstanding meet, taking first place in two events and adding an 11th place finish in another. Helland took top honors in both the 400-meter hurdles and long jump, crossing the finish line in 65.78 in the 400 and clearing 18’ 4.50” in the long jump. She came in 11th place in the 100-meter hurdles (16.59).
Sarah Baker earned the Gusties 14 points in the field events, making the podium twice with two top-three marks. Baker finished runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 18’ 3.75” and third in the high jump after clearing 5’ 1”.
Brooke Beskau registered Gustavus’ only other top-five finish on the track, taking fourth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 18:39.78. Other top performers on the track included Abby Karl, Laura Secor, Andrea Eglinton, and Kim Rostvold. Karl placed ninth in the 400-meter dash (60.21), Secor finished ninth in the 400-meter hurdles (69.71), Eglinton took ninth in the 5000-meter run (20:04.65), and Rostvold came in 10th in the 5000 (20:10.55) behind Eglinton.
Janey Helland won both the 400-meter hurdles and long jump at the Falcon Invite.
Along with Baker’s two top-three marks, the Gusties added seven top-10 finishes in the field events. Sam Broderius led Gustavus in the throws, taking third in the shot put with a toss of 42’ 10.75” and fifth in the discus with a toss of 141’ 8”. Megan Endresen recorded a throw of 39’ 3” to finish ninth in the shot.
Laura Rothschiller, Anna McDevitt, and Nevada Wendlandt all placed in the top-10 in the jumps. Rothschiller (6th, 34’ 3.50”) and McDevitt (7th, 34’ 0.75”) finished back-to-back in the triple jump, while Wendlandt placed 10th in the high jump (4’11”). Allyson Voss cleared 10’ 11.75” to take eighth in the pole vault.
The Gustavus track and field team will be in action next on its home track Saturday, April 16 when it hosts the Lee Krough Invitational. The meet is set to begin at 10:30 a.m
Sarah Baker is a credit to Gustavus. The Gusties are fortunate to have such an outstanding student, athlete and role model on their campus.