St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s track and field team turned in a solid day at the Drake Alternative held at the Gustavus Outdoor Track and Field comples on Saturday. Although there were no team scores kept at the meet, the Gusties hosted 21 regional teams that spanned Divisions I, II and III.
Leading the way for the Gustie men was Isaac Tapp (So., Stewartville, Minn.) and Ryan Ness (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.). Tapp cleared 6-feet 6-inches to win the high jump, and Ness recorded a throw of 176-feet 5-inches to win the javelin.
Also in the field events, Brody Ziegler (Fr., Mankato, Minn.) placed fourth in the high jump with a height of 6-feet 4-inches, and Naga Rumicho (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) finished behind him in 10th with a height of 6-feet 2-inches.
Ryan Obele (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) led the Gustie throwers with eighth place finishes in both the discus (147’ 6”) and hammer throw (160’ 5”). Cameron Clause (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) rounded out the field competitors in eighth after a toss of 145-feet 2-inches in the javelin.
Blair Riegel (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) turned in a sixth place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.18 and also registered a leap of 21-feet 4-inches in the long jump to finish fourth.
Phillip Butler finished one place ahead of Riegel in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 11.16.
Sam Fransen (Jr., Jackson, Minn.) placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:21.19. Preston Tomlinson (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) came across behind Fransen in sixth (10:27.36), while Dakota Darkstar (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) finished eighth in 10:54.36.
Matt Flotterud (Jr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) was Gustavus’s final top 10 performer on the track, taking ninth with a time of 16.01.
The Gustavus track and field team will be in action next on Wednesday, May 1 when it takes part in the Mankato Twilight Meet in Mankato, Minn.