The Viking track team had an impressive showing on the first day of the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. All five Vikings participating on Thursday finished in the top 16 of his or her event.
The top performance of the day was
Tom Karbo, who finished second in the 3000 meter steeplechase against a predominantly Div. I field. His time of 8:54.79 blasted the Augustana school record of 9:00.2 held by Luke Baltrusch in 2005 and is an NCAA automatic qualifier.
By placing second he also is the highest finisher that Augustana has ever had at the Drake Relays.
"Tom ran a remarkable race today at the prestigious Drake Relays," said head coach
Tracy Hellman. "To finish runner-up in this stellar field in a great accomplishment."
Karbo is now ranked fourth nationally in NCAA Div. II times this year.
In the men's 10K,
Matt Heesch finished 13th with a time of 32:46.66 while teammate
Matt Braithwaite was 16th in a time of 33:08.38.
Starting the day off was
Runa Falch, who took 10th place in the women's 10K with a time of 37:49.39.
Molly Clark finished 14th in the 3000 meter steeplechase. She completed the event in 11:01.40.
The meet will take place again on Friday and Saturday with many more Augustana competitors participating.
