Marit Sonnesyn broke the Gustavus record in the 10,000 meter run this past Friday. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Mohr)
Release courtesy of Matt Higgins, MIAC Assistant Executive Director
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s track and field team traveled to La Crosse, Wis., for UW-La Crosse’s Phil Esten Challenge last week, and Marit Sonnesyn’s (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) performance alone made the trip more than worthwhile for the Gusties. The senior runner broke the Gustavus school record in the 10,000-meter run by more than 30 seconds, while also recording a first-place finish in the race. For her performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Sonnesyn Wednesday with the MIAC Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week award.
Sonnesyn completed her victorious 10k run in 36:10.38, which not only gave her the win, but broke the Gusties’ 11-year-old school record of 36:48.62, set in 2005 by Nichole Peterson. Sonnesyn was consistently outstanding throughout the race, as each of her two 5k splits (18:10 and 18:00) were both 5k personal bests for the senior as well. Her 10k time is the fastest in the MIAC this season by more than 34 seconds, and it’s the eighth-fastest time in all of Division III this season. Her two 5k splits would both rank fifth in the MIAC this season in that event as well.
The Gusties and Sonnesyn will hope to keep the low times coming with a pair of meets right in their backyard over the next week. Gustavus will host the Drake Alternative meet Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter, Minn. Then, on May 4, the team will head to nearby Mankato for the Minnesota State-Mankato Twilight Meet, which will begin that day at 3 p.m.
Honestly I’ve never seen so many Gusties out cheering for a 10k. Amazing. And being willing to do it at the expense of getting back at 3am? That’s the definition of #Gustieswillshine