ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s track & field competed at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic Friday on the campus of Macalester College, posting several top finishes on each side.
Teams competing among the Gusties included Augsburg University, Bethel University, Macalester College, and St. Catherine University.
MEN
The Gustie men claimed seven first place finishes, headlined by two each from Taylor Rooney (Fy., Andover, Minn.) and Michael Hensch (Jr., North Branch, Minn.).
After impressing during his collegiate debut a week ago, Rooney, the reigning MIAC Track Athlete of the Week continued to perform well, winning the 60-meter hurdle at 8.37 and the high jump with a leap of 6-5.5. Rooney’s high jump ties a school record set by Jared Hokenson in 2006.
Hensch led the Gustie throwers, winning the shot put and the weight throw. Hensch’s shot put finished more than eight feet further than the runner-up at 52-8.25. His weight throw came in at 54-3.25.
Additionally, Ben Madian (Jr., Kohler, Wis.), Ryley Sandberg (Sr., Polk City, Iowa), and Andrew Stumbo (Fy., Boone, Iowa) turned in first place times.
Madigan won the 800-meter run, coming in at 2:00.69 and finished second behind Sandberg in the mile at 4:30.90. Sandberg was a second ahead at 4:29.47.
Stumbo led a trio of Gusties that finished in the top-three in the 3,000-meter run. Stumbo crossed the finish line at 9:05.41, while Alex Wischnack (Jr., Norwood Young America, Minn.) followed at 9:12.99, and Nick Kerbeshian (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.) at 9:17.98.
WOMEN
The Gustie women’s squad finished with six top times.
Lily Anderson (So., Waterville, Minn.), Megan Hill (So., Denver, Colo.), and Rachael Follestad (Fy., Monticello, Minn.) turned in the top three finishes in the 400-meter dash, coming in at 1:02.23, 1:04.28, and 1:07.68, respectively.
Lydia Hayes (Sr., Decorah, Iowa) won the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:08.95, followed by Lily Anderson at 3:12.59. In addition, the duo of Olivia Rosenow (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) and Sarah Anderson (So., Roseville, Minn.) came in first and second in the 3,000-meter run at 11:02.96 and 11:06.93.
Sadie Klug (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) also won the mile with a time of 5:15.01 while the Gustie throwers of Bailey Van Den Heuvel (Jr., Mondovi, Wis.) and Katie Keelin (So., Burnsville, Minn.) each earned top crowns. Van Den Heuvel’s 34-8.5 shot put was good for first place, while Keelin’s 46-11.5 weight throw was the best among participants.
Next up, the Gusties head to Northfield, Minn. a week from today to compete in the St. Olaf College Quad.