Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s indoor track and field team kicked off their 2015 season with a fifth place finish with a score of 92.50 at the St. Olaf College Invitational held on Friday at the Tostrud Center. The University of St. Thomas won the meet with a score of 171, St. Olaf finished second with a 107, Central College took third with a 105.50, and Bethel rounded out the field in fourth with a 93.
Gustavus’s top performance of the season-opening meet came in the shot put where Sarah Swanson (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) took gold with a toss of 40-feet 5.5-inches. The Gusties had a strong showing in the shot put as Hayley Solheim (Jr., Crookston, Minn.) finished runner-up with a throw of 39-feet 10.75-inches, and Kara Helgeson (Jr., Ortonville, Minn.) placed fourth with a throw of 37-feet 1-inch.
Elizabeth Weiers (Sr., Le Center, Minn.) rounded out the Gusties’ top throwers of the day with a second place effort in the weight throw with a toss of 50-feet 6.75-inches.
Leading the way on the track with a runner-up finish in the 200-meter run with a time of 27.14 was Katilin Bembenek (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.).
Kelsey Harms (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) rounded out the squad’s top performances by clearing 9-feet 7-inches to place second in the pole vault.
The Gustavus indoor track and field team will be in action next weekend with it travels to the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato to take part in the Ted Nelson Classic on Saturday, Feb. 7.