Women’s track and field achieves wins, new school records

The women’s track and field team wrapped up its indoor season with the NSIC Indoor Championships on Feb. 23-24 in Mankato, Minnesota, placing third, earning two NSIC titles and breaking school records.

Sophomore Bryn Greenwaldt took the No. 1 spot in the women’s high jump with a length of 1.67 meters, earning an NSIC championship.

Senior Kaja Salemonsen broke a new school record in the women's triple jump with a mark of 12.03 meters. 

“This season we have been working a lot on conditioning and speed, which has helped a lot in our triple jump technique and basically just the jumps itself,” Salemonsen said. “We have also done different kinds of lifts, and I think it has been working so far. It has been fun to switch it up a bit. There have been more technical days where we just focus on very specific things to trip off, so that’s been helping out a lot too.”

The 4x400 meter relay team of junior Ella Heinitz, junior Maia Peterson, senior Caroline Sudbeck and junior Nyanas Kur were named NSIC champions with their first-place time of 3:52.44.

Last season, the women's team earned second overall at the 2023 NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

The team competed in its final regular season indoor meet at the South Dakota State University Last Chance meet on Feb. 16.  

“We are coming together on both teams, but the women, I feel, are starting to show some really good marks,” head coach Tracy Hellman said. “The meet at SDSU was our best meet of the season for the women, and so now taking that momentum into the conferences is what you always want to do.”

Kur claimed a first-place finish in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 24.64 seconds. 

Sophomore Lily Juhnke joined the podium with Kur, earning third place with a time of 25.69 seconds. Juhnke also competed in the 60-meter dash where she made it to finals with a second-place finish time of 7.77 seconds.

“I thought this past SDSU meet went really well,” Juhnke said. “It’s important for people… to tune up for what they want before the conference meet. I thought everybody had the perfect balance of relaxing but also getting their strategy down to run.”

At SDSU, Salemonsen took first place in the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.56. 

As the season for Salemonson unfolds, it marks the final chapter of her track career. While reflecting on her journey throughout the years, she describes this last season of hers as bittersweet, but she cherishes all the memories she has made. 

“This last meet was kind of sad for me. We’ve been to SDSU many times, and it was sad walking out of the facility being like, ‘I’m never coming back,’” Salemonsen said. “But it felt good. It felt like an important step. This is my last season on track, so it was a bit emotional, but I also know that we’re gonna have a great outdoor season and there are a lot of good memories.”

Kur said the women’s team has been very supportive and close throughout the season.

“In terms of the team dynamic, I think we’re all so much closer, tight knit and we understand each other, so there’s more chemistry,” Kur said. “Performance wise, people are more confident in themselves, they trust our coaches’ words and they trust our teammates’ words, and [all] that shows on the track.”

Out of the 15 teams that make up the NSIC, 14 teams currently make up the conference for indoor track and field, excluding only the University of Minnesota Crookston.

“I've always had goals of being in the top three in both the conference and the championship, and I feel very confident we can do that,” Hellman said. “Consistency over time is something that I am really proud of.”

The Vikings will next compete in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 8-9 in Pittsburg, Kansas. 

“I feel like this is the best year so far that we’ve had,” Kur said. “Everybody seems happy, and I just thrive off of seeing everybody else’s happiness.”