MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - In their first meet in 195 days, the men's and women's track and field teams started strong at the MSU Chuck Peterson Open and M City Classic, with
Molly Liston setting a school record in the 5000-meter and multiple top-five finishes against Division I, II, and III opponents at the M City Classic.
Head Coach
Aaron Lund elected to send Liston to the Chuck Peterson Open, hosted by MSU-Mankato, with the goal of setting the school record in the 5000m, fresh off of a cross country season where she finished 41st at the NCAA Championships, just one spot away from All-American honors. It was clear that the heartbreak in Spartansburg, South Carolina fueled Liston, who crushed the previous school record of 17:30.02, set in 2006 by Kourtney Joyce, with a time of 17:11.07. The Richfield native maintained record-setting pace throughout the race, running 1000m times of 3:24.98, 3:25.29, 3:27.42, 3:29.41, and 3:23.97 to break the record.
The other nine women for Gustavus traveled to Minneapolis to compete at the M City Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
Maddox Lee competed in the pentathlon for the Gusties, scoring 2455 to finish 16th, including tying a personal record in the high jump, clearing 1.44m. On the track,
McKenzie Luetmer set her personal record with a time of 8.22 in the 60-meter, as the only person who ran the race for Gustavus. In the 60-meter hurdles, three Gusties advanced to the finals after qualifying in the prelims. In the finals, all three Gustavus women ran faster times than their prelim times, where sophomore
Kayla Kajer set a personal record with a time of 9.64, first-year Sophia Vogel ran a time of 9.72, and sophomore
Emily Podulke finished just a second slower with a time of 9.73 to finish sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Sophomore
Teagan Stark was the only entrant for the Gustie women in the 400-meter, running a time of 1:05.26 to finish third in the event and classmate
Ella Kienitz was the only entrant in the 600-meter, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:47.79. Two Gustavus women ran in the 300-meter, with
Lauren Rocheford finishing in 11th with a time of 45.13 and Podulke with a time of 46.55. Luetmer and Vogel competed in the 200-meter, completing in times of 27.53 and 28.64 respectively. In the field, first-year Kaylee Hawks and Kajer both reached heights of 1.55m, good for second at the M City Classic.
On the men's side, first-year Amos Anderson started the season for the Gusties, running in the 60-meter prelims, placing 36th with a time of 7.71. In the 400-meter, first-year Luke Scheel led the Gustavus contingent with a time of 52.00 to finish 10th place, followed by
Cohen Stursa with a time of 52.67 and
Reese Blondin with a time of 53.77. Stursa was also the only entry in the 200-meter for the Gusties, finishing in a time of 24.17 for 19th. In the field, two Gusties competed in the long jump,
Ben Wynia and
Logan Sandmeyer. Wynia jumped a 6.07m mark, good for ninth place and Sandmeyer leaped to a 5.91m mark, finishing 10th. Three entrants competed in the pole vault, led by first-year Anderson and sophomore
Alex Palmer, both vaulting over heights of 3.90m, with senior
Joe Ream just behind them with a height of 3.75m.
Gustavus track and field takes a few weeks off now, getting back to competition on January 17th, when the team competes at the Ole Opener, hosted by St. Olaf in Northfield.
