The St. Olaf men’s and women’s outdoor track and field season began last weekend, April 7, at the Hamline Invite at Klas Field.
Stand out performances from Elliott Cassidy ’22, Christopher Brenk ’20 and Benjamin Scott ’20 set the men’s team up well for the upcoming conference meet in late May.
In a race featuring two Division I runners from UMN and one Division II runner from UMD, Sean Lonergan ’19, who recently placed sixth the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships, placed in 1:56.71 for the 800m, only behind the runner from the University of Minnesota.
St. Olaf was also boosted by Scott’s performance, running a 57.51 for the 400m hurdles. Later in the meet, Scott was part of the 4×400 meter relay team that placed third.
The senior decathletes Eli Knutson ’19 and Chris Frick ’19 also had running start to their outdoor season. Each entered a few events to build a solid foundation for their last decathlon in May. Knutson had a great meet with a fourth place finish and gained a PR in the Javelin at 151 feet.
A transfer student from Boise Idaho, Nick Edwards ’21, finished fifth place in High Jump with a leap of 1.80m.
For the women’s team, strong performances from the runners in all class years displayed the team’s depth.
Mackenzie Schoustra ’20, NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field National Championship qualifier put up a time of 16:08 in the 100m hurdles to earn a sixth place finish. Paige Woldt ’21 was close behind her with a time of 16:92 for eighth.
Bryony Hawgood ’20 ran just .14 seconds out of her seed time in the 5k with 18:23.14 for a seventh place finish.
The lone freshman on the women’s team, Ellen Mickelson ’22 ran a 4:55 1500m for seventh place, proving her talent will only continue to improve in the coming years.
On the short distance side of things, the two sport athlete Johanna Glaaser ’20 ran to seventh place in a competitive 100m dash, with a time of 13.47. With her hockey stride slowly going away, it appears she will be back to the national outdoors meet following her successful indoor season.
All around, it looks like both the men and women’s outdoor track and field teams will continue to have a great season after a successful first meet.
