MANKATO, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s track & field team’s performance was highlighted by strong finishes from Michael Hensch (Jr., North Branch, Minn.) and Taylor Rooney (Fy., Andover, Minn.) Friday at the Minnesota State University Twilight meet.
Hensch led the Gustie throwers finishing first in the javelin and second in each the shot put and hammer throw. His performance was headlined by a personal best hammer throw of 189 feet, breaking his previous career outdoor best of 185-3 set last week at the Drake Alternative.
Rooney won the 110-meter hurdles, setting a personal best time of 14.63 to improve upon his previous best time of 14.82.
“We had some distance guys do some pacing and a think we were a little tired, but we definitely had some strong individual performances today,” said Head Coach Dale Bahr.
Another first place finish came from Jeremy Gilbertson (Fy., Maple Grove, Minn.) in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:17.71.
The Gusties also had strong showings in separate distance events. In the 800-meter run, a trio of Gusties finished second-fourth. Brennan Gustafson (Fy., Kasson, Minn.) was second at 2:01.13, followed by Ryley Sandberg (Sr., Polk City, Iowa) at 2:01.57, and Bridger Pavelka (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) at 2:03.35.
Andrew Stumbo (Fy., Boone, Iowa) and Tyler Stordahl (Jr., Cary, Ill.) also collected runner-up finishes. Stumbo finished the 5,000-meter run at 16:54.55, while Stordahl was clocked at 10:33.43 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
“We are looking forward to next week. It has kind of been a tough season and it’s fun to get some good weather and now we will see how will stack up against the rest of the conference next week,” Bahr commented.
Next up, Gustavus prepares to compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships next weekend in Northfield, Minn.