NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s track & field team Saturday took second the Carleton Relays with 165 points, 34 shy of first place Minnesota-Duluth (Division II).
Michael Hensch (Sr., North Branch, Minn.) and Taylor Rooney (So., Andover, Minn.) both had breaking-setting performances. Hensch broke Gustavus Hall of Famer Aaron Smith’s 20-year old hammer throw record (194-8) with a heave of 200-4 for first place. Rooney then broke Tyler Geyen’s 10-year old 110 hurdle record (14.49), crossing the line in 14.29 for first place as well. Other first place finishes came from Andrew Stumbo (So., Boone, Iowa) in the 10K, the 4×100 relay team, Xander DuMoulin (Fy., Shorewood, Minn.) in the triple jump, and Hensch added victories in the discus and javelin.
“We’ve talked with Taylor about not trying to force [the record], but to just have to happen,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said. “It was a nice warm day with a steady, legal, tailwind and that made a big difference. Breaking the record by two-tenths of a second is a sizable margin with that short of a race. Really excited about that and he also showed his maturity by doing more for the team. He ran the open 100-meter and had the fastest time for our team in a few years.
“Mike’s first event of the day was his record-breaker. He’s PR’d in all five of his events in the last two meets. He’s popping big throws consistently and those type of performances help motivate the rest of the team.”
Here are the top Gusties in each event:
100 meters
- Taylor Rooney – 10.96
200 meters
- Matthew Montplaisir – 23.92
400 meters
- Dylan Gast – 51.39
800 meters
- Noah Johnson – 2:01.13
1500 meters
- Bridger Pavelka – 4:07.76
5000 meters
- Jeremy Gilbertson – 15:50.08
10000 meters
- Andrew Stumbo – 32:45.52
110 hurdles
- Rooney – 14.29
400 hurdles
- Booby Verchota – 1:00.91
3000 steeplechase
- Ben Wicklund – 10:02.58
4×100 relay
- Montplaisir, Xander DuMoulin, Wyatt Quirring, Rooney – 42.62
4×400 relay
- Gast, Ben Madigan, Jack Schugel, Johnson – 3:31.09
High jump
- Rooney – 1.87m
Pole vault
- Nelson Finne – 3.90m
Long jump
- DuMoulin – 6.52m
Triple jump
- DuMoulin – 13.19m
Shot put
- Michael Hensch – 15.94m
Discus
- Hensch – 45.91m
Hammer throw
- Hensch – 61.07m
Javelin
- Hensch – 53.64m
Gustavus next competes at Drake on Thursday through Saturday, and hosts the Drake Alternative Saturday.