Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams opened their season at the three-team St. Olaf Invitational on Friday night at the Tostrud Center. Along with Gustavus and St. Olaf, UW-River Falls took part in the meet. No team scores were kept.
Top performers for the Gustie women included Rebecca Hare, Ally Voss, and Hayley Solheim – all of which recorded a first place finish at the meet. Hare recorded Gustavus’ sole victory on the track by winning the 5000-meter run with a time of 18:27.20. In the field, Voss cleared 3.48 meters to win the pole vault, and Solheim, who was competing in her first collegiate meet, took the shot put competition after a throw of 12.26 meters.
Gustavus recorded four more second place finishes in the field events. Kelsey Harms finished behind Voss in the pole vault with a mark of 3.03 meters, while Lauren Rothschiller came in second in the long jump after a leap of 4.54 meters. In the throws, Rachel Colter finished second in the shot put with a toss of 12.12 meters, and Elizabeth Weiers came in runner-up in the weight throw after a 13.81 toss.
Third place finishers included Hana Fischer in the 60-meter dash (8.40), Kaitlin Bembenek in the 200-meter dash (27.43), Jenny Hendricks in the 800-meter run (2:34.49), and Kelly O’Neill in the high jump (1.40 meters).
The 4×400-meter relay team comprised of Haley Kemper, Bembenek, Sara Lundgren, and Courtney Branch came across in second with a time of 4:15.68.
On the men’s side, five different individuals recorded wins for the Gusties. Blair Riegel led the way with a first place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.59 meters and a second place mark in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.04.
On the track, Eric Jorgenson ran to a first place finish in the 600-meter dash after crossing the finish line in 1:24.66. Joseph Renier also took the top spot on the podium after running a 16:14.39 in the 5000-meter run.
Leading the way in the field events for the men was Josh Owens and Jeffrey Dubose. Owens cleared 4.75 meters to win the pole vault, while Dubose cleared 1.80 meters to take the high jump.
Cameron Clause registered two top three finishes, placing second in the long jump (6.11 meters) and third in the pole vault (4.30 meters). Jesse Scheiterlein placed third in the shot put (12.98 meters), and Phillip Butler rounded out Gustavus’ top competitors with a third place finish in the 600-meter dash (7.18).
The Gustavus indoor track and field teams will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 2 when they head to Mankato, Minn. to take part in the Ted Nelson Classic.