The Gustavus women’s track and field team won seven individual events as it compiled 173 points, which is the highest point total in program history, to finish second at the MIAC Championships hosted by Carleton College. Sophomore Sam Broderius (Hector, Minn.) captured multiple event titles with NCAA provisional marks in the shot put with a distance of 44 feet, 8 3/4 inches and the discus with a distance of 148 feet, 3 inches. St. Thomas took first place with a team score of 207 points, while Saint Benedict was third at 84 points.
The Gusties’ depth accounted for the strong finish at the conference meet as the team posted seven first place finishes, three second place finishes, five third place finishes, two fourth place finishes, and three fifth place finishes. Fourteen of those finishes were in field events and six were in running events.
Gustavus claimed event championships in five field events and two track events. Sam Broderius won titles in the shot put and discus, while senior Lisa Brown (Lake Crystal, Minn.) claimed her fourth consecutive outdoor title in the javelin with a NCAA automatic distance of 157 feet, 10 inches. Brown also added a third place finish in the shot put (41-2 1/4) and a fourth place finish in the discus (129-3). Janey Helland (So., Mapleton, Minn.) broke a ten-year old school record in the long jump by 1/4 inch with a NCAA provisional leap of 18 feet, 2 1/2 inches to take first place in the event. Senior Aryn Bell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) won the 100-meter hurdles with a NCAA provisional time of 14.94 to better the school record she set one week prior. Laura Secor (So., Stillwater, Minn.) captured top honors in the 400-meter hurdles as she crossed the finish line with a time of 1:04.04. Kaelene Lundstrum (Jr., Bird Island, Minn.) won the heptathlon with 4,550 points on May 8.
Other top finishers in field events included Meredith Halling (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) finishing third in the pole vault (10-10 3/4), Kaelene Lundstrum taking fourth in the shot put (40-6 1/4), Becca Bryson (Jr., Alden, Minn.) placing third in the triple jump (35-1 1/4) and seventh in the javelin (110-3), Anna Bauer (Jr., Hastings, Minn.) finishing fifth in the discus (124-5) and sixth in the hammer throw (143-1), and Laura Lynch (Sr., Waunakee, Wis.) placing fifth in the triple jump (34-11 3/4).
In addition to Bell winning the 100-meter hurdles, Kaelene Lundstrum and Laura Sjoberg (Fy., Eagan, Minn.) placed sixth (15.69) and seventh (15.82), respectively. Brooke Beskau (So., Hastings, Minn.) posted a pair of top eight as she placed seventh in the 5,000 meters (18:18.36) and eighth in the 10,000 meters (37:56.52). Janey Helland also finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 66.44.
Other top finishes in the running events included Elizabeth Pringle (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) finishing fifth in the 400 meters (59.10), Linda Kanne (Sr., Franklin, Minn.) placing sixth in the 100 meters (13.02), Megan Lundgren (So., Mankato, Minn.) finishing sixth in the 800 meters (2:22.95), and Danielle Burgmeier (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.).
The Gusties also performed well in the relays posting two second place finishes. The 4×400 relay consisting of Danielle Burgmeier, Abby Karl (So., St. Cloud, Minn.), Elizabeth Pringle, and Kaelene Lundstrum recorded a NCAA provisional time of 3:53.16 and the 4×800 relay consisting of Laura Secor, Danielle Burgmeier, Abby Karl, and Megan Lundgren recorded a time of 9:30.57.
Several Gustavus tracksters will now wait to see if their NCAA provisional qualifying times are good enough to get them into the NCAA Outdoor Championships which will take place at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio on May 21-23.