Track and Field teams shine at spring invitationals
The men’s and women’s outdoor track teams had athletes competing around the country in invitational meets last week. While most of the team went to Mankato, Minnesota, for the Maverick Invitational on April 18, some athletes took a trip to Azusa, California, to compete against the top runners in the country at the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Pacific Coast Invitational from April 16–18.
According to coach Scott Tanis, the athletes who were sent to the California meets were more set on getting national-qualifying marks, while the athletes who went to the Maverick Invitational were focusing on solidifying their spots at the conference championship.
Seniors Nyanas Kur, Andrew Martens and Ryan Hartman competed in the California invitationals.
At the Pacific Coast Invitational, Kur placed fifth in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 55.71 seconds. That same day, Martens ran a season-best 14.11 in the men's 110-meter hurdles. This time put him at No. 11 in Division II for the event.
Later that night, at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Hartman showed the country what he is capable of: a blazing 13:39.57 in the men’s 5000-meter, which set his new personal best and a new school record in the process. This mark also qualified Hartman for the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships. Hartman then earned another new personal best in the men’s 1500-meter with a time of 3:47.78.
“Ryan had a spectacular trip,” Tanis said. “Andrew and Nanyas still had very good trips as well.”
The Vikings at the Maverick Invitational continued the trend of success.
At the Mankato Invitational, the women’s team placed third out of 14 teams while the men placed fifth out of 13.
The women’s team had two first-place individual finishes. Junior Bryn Greenwaldt placed first in the high jump with a 1.72-meter jump, and senior Kylee Sallee placed first in the women’s long jump with a 5.74-meter jump, followed by senior Jayda Becker who placed fourth with a 5.61-meter jump.
“Placing first in the long jump was the perfect confidence boost for the rest of the season,” Sallee said. “Having a season-best performance at this meet excites me for what is to come at the rest of the meets.”
There were a number of other great performances from the women’s team. Freshman Ashton Massey and seniors Maria Pedroso and Becker dominated the 400-meter hurdles as they placed second, third and fourth, respectively.
In the women’s 100-meter dash, junior Lily Juhnke placed third with a time of 12.06 seconds and sophomore Jennifer Noutsougan placed fifth with a time of 12.29. In the 1500, four Vikings finished in the top six, led by junior Tenley Nelson with a time of 4:47.36 — a second-place overall finish and a new personal record.
The men’s team also saw some success, starting with an outstanding performance in the 100-meter dash by freshman Layton Johnson. He ran a time of 10.86 seconds, securing him a second-place finish.
Johnson said that he likes the stage of major invitational meets.
“My favorite thing about going to bigger meets is the level of competition I get to face,” Johnson said. “It really helps when I have others that are pushing me to run my hardest.”
Some other notable performances from the men include a third-place finish by freshman Liam Schick in the men’s 200-meter with a time of 21.71 and a second-place finish from freshman Alex Schumacher in the men's 1500-meter with a time of 4:00.50, followed by freshman Kieran Weigelt in fourth with a time of 4:03.89.
Overall, the men’s and women’s track teams had some very successful meets on the weekend of April 16–18. Now, the teams look forward to the Gary Wilson Invitational at the University of Minnesota and the Drake Relays at Drake University starting April 23.
