Michael Hensch led the Gusties with a first place javelin throw.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s track and field team scored 87 points to finish in third place at the 2017 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships on Saturday at Hamline University.
After finishing ninth at the MIAC Indoor Championships, the Gusties jumped up six spots to finish in third of 11 teams at the Outdoor Championships.
The University of St. Thomas finished in first place with 218 points.
“I definitely couldn’t be more proud of the men’s performance,” said Head Coach Dale Bahr. “After taking ninth at Indoors, the guys came back and proved that they are a much better team than that. Our guys showed up to compete and that was fun be a part of and fun to watch.”
Day one was highlighted by All-Conference finishes from Michael Hensch (So., North Branch, Minn.), Evan Jones (Sr., Pella, Iowa), and Thomas Knobbe (Sr., Decorah, Iowa).
Hensch carried his strong performance into day two, claiming another top finish. Hensch posted a career-best and school record javelin throw of 206-08, finishing over 20 feet ahead of the runner-up and 25 feet further then his previous personal best throw. He also scored points with a seventh place shot put throw of 49-7.75.
“He stepped up, unleashed one and it just kept climbing,” Bahr commented on Hensch’s javelin throw. “It was a picture throw and the whole place went crazy. It kind of set the tone for the whole team.”
Two other All-Conference finishes came from Jones and Ed ReMine (Sr., Mantorville, Minn.). Jones finished as the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:28.30, while ReMine was also a runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.35.
Five other Gusties and two relay teams garnered points with top-eight finishes:
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Carston Dammann (Sr., Lake City, Minn.) finished fourth (9:42.81) while Thomas Knobbe (Sr., Decorah, Iowa) finished sixth (9:48.54.).
Alvin Onkware (Fy., Bloomington, Minn.) posted a fifth place finish with a triple jump of 44-9. Kyle Fredrickson (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) also claimed fifth place in the 800-meter run, recording a time of 1:54.13.
Trevor Maxwell (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line at 15.82.
The 4×400-meter relay squad of Sam ReMine (Sr., Mantorville, Minn.), Ben Madigan (So., Kohler, Wis.), Kyle Fredrickson, and Ed ReMine set a season-best time of 3:18.75, finishing fourth.
Additionally, the 4×100-meter relay team of Daniel Trentacoste (Jr., Orland Park, Ill.), Sam ReMine, Sean O’Connell (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.), and Jack Blaney (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.) took sixth at 43.90.
Great job, Gusties! Total team effort and proud of all of you.