Despite the blanket of snow that covered much of Minnesota earlier in the week, the Gustavus men’s and women’s track and field teams were busy on Saturday. While half squad was competing in Northfield, Minn. at the Carleton Relays, the other half was busy at the Central College Open being held in Pella, Iowa. Although the Central Open was not a team scored meet, the Carleton Relays were. The Gustavus men and women both placed seventh with the men registering 38.5 points and the women scoring 32.5 points.
Leading the charge in Pella was junior Blair Riegel (Lakeville, Minn.). Riegel won the triple jump after a leap of 44-feet 7-inches and added a pair of second place finishes on the track in the 100 and 200-meter. He crossed the finish line in 11.16 in the 100-meter dash and 22.58 in the 200.
Ryan Ness (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) recorded Gustavus’s other win of the afternoon by taking the javelin competition after a toss of 182-feet 7-inches.
Also in the field events, Naga Rumicho (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) registered two fourth place finishes – clearing the bar at six feet in the high jump and posting a triple jump of 38-feet 7.75-inches.
Ryan Obele (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) rounded out the top male competitors with a third place performance in the discus (148-4) and a sixth place showing in the hammer throw (154-05).
On the women’s side, Amanda Iverson (Sr., Waconia, Minn.) was the top Gustie runner of the day. Iverson ran a 2:22.75 in the 800-meter run to finish second. Haley Kemper (So., Prior Lake, Minn.) also provided a top five finish by placing fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01.67.
Iverson and Kemper along with Kaitlin Bembenek (So., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Jenny Hendricks (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) teamed up to come in third in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:07.74.
Lauren Rothschiller (Sr., Chaska, Minn.) and Leah Brossoit (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) led the way off the track. Rothschiller finished runner-up in the triple jump with a mark of 32-feet 9-inches, and Brossoit came in behind her in third with a jump of 32-feet 4.25 inches.
At the Carleton Relays in Northfield, Joseph Renier (Jr., Cambridge, Minn.), Dillon Emo (So., Brookings, S.D.), and Leighton Becher (So., Woodbury, Minn.) turned in top 10 finishes in the 5000-meter run. Renier finished fifth in the with a time of 15:26.20, Emo crossed behind him in sixth with a time of 15:41.11, and Becher rounded out the group in ninth with a time of 16:39.215.
Sam Fransen (Jr., Jackson, Minn.) and Matt Flotterud (Jr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) rounded out the men’s team’s top performers on the track. Fransen took ninth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:53.02, and Flotterud placed seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a 16.37. Flotterud also added an eighth place finish in the high jump after clearing six feet.
Gustavus’s top finish in Northfield was a first place showing in the high jump by rookie Brody Ziegler (Mankato, Minn.). Zeigler cleared the bar at 6-feet 4-inches to win the event alongside Mark Gross of Concordia.
Also in the field events, Cameron Clause (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) and Carl Neumann (Fr., Stacy, Minn.) both finished fourth in the pole vault after going over the bar at 13-feet 11.25-inches. Jesse Scheiterlein (So., Sartell, Minn.) rounded out the men’s team with a fifth place throw of 41-feet 1.75-inches in the shot put.
The Gustie women were led by Caitlin Fermoyle (So., Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Erica Hett (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.). Fermoyle ran a 4:48.87 in the 1,500-meter run to finish third, while Hare crossed the line in 11:59.73 to place third in the steeplechase. Rebecca Hare (So., Albany, Minn.) also recorded a top 10 finish on the track by taking sixth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:32.60.
Ally Voss (Sr., Wausau, Wis.) provided the Gusties a fourth place finish in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 10-feet 11.75-inches.
The Gustavus men’s and women’s track and field teams will be in action next weekend when they host the Drake Alternative on Saturday, April 27 in St. Peter.