St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s track and field teams took part in their final regular season warmup meet before the MIAC Championships this weekend at the Hamline University Meet of the UnSaintly held at the Klas Track and Field Complex. No team scores were kept at the meet.
Leading the Gusties with a first place finish in the javelin was Ande Gustafson (Grand Rapids, Minn.). Gustafson out-threw a field made up of Division II and III opponents with a toss of 110-feet 2-inches.
Turning in Gustavus’s top finish on the track was Thomas Knobbe (So., Decorah, Iowa) who placed runner-up in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:23.27.
On the men’s side, Scott Williams (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) finished third in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.78, and Leighton Becher (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:57.43.
On the women’s side, Courtney Branch (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) and Megan Eckberg (Fy., Gaylord, Minn.) added podium finishes on the track. Branch crossed the finish line in 4:54.65 to place third in the 1,500-meter run, while Eckberg went 15.85 to place third in the 100-meter hurdles. Eckberg also added a fifth place showing in the long jump with a leap of 16-feet 3.75-inches.
Lydia Hayes (Fy., Decorah, Iowa) crossed behind Branch in fourth in the 1,500-meter run (4:56.30), and Rachel Gunderson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) came in behind Eckberg in fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.93). Caitlin Fermoyle (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) rounded out the squad’s top performers with a fifth place run in the steeplechase (11:43.67).
The Gustavus track and field teams will now gear up for the 2015 MIAC Championships set to be held on the campus of Macalester College on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9.