The Augustana track and field team competed at the Nebraska Invitational today in Lincoln, Neb. Several Vikings tallied top 15 finishes, and five earned NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying times.
Molly Clark won the 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing in a time of 10:45.90, which was over 30 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Her time was also fast enough to automatically qualify her for the NCAA Championships. Mirim Hovda was fourth, running the race in 11:42.49.
In the 1,500 meter run,
Cecilie Udstuen took third place with a time of 4:37.30.
Caitlin Polgreen was fifth, finishing in 4:37.75. Both of their times earned them an NCAA provisional qualification.
The Vikings had three finishers in the top 15 of the 800 meter run.
Molly Kokesh finished seventh, running the race in 2:20.26.
Allison Henke and
Rachel Biederman were 11th and 12th in the race, respectively. Henke finished in 2:23.04 while Biederman finished in 2:25.76.
Kyle Blakeslee won the women's 5000 in 17:42.68, while
Annie Pfeifle took third in 18:32.52.
In the 400 meter hurdles,
Megan Erspamer finished 11th, finishing in 1:09.94.
In the field events,
Rachel Christiansen took 13th place in the javelin, throwing a best on the day of 107-08. Karissa Hotovy finished 14th in the long jump, jumping 15-08.25.
Karissa Pepin was sixth in the high jump, with a best of 5-1.00.
The Viking men dominated the 3,000 meter steeplechase, with
Tom Karbo winning the event in 9:06.00. Teammate
Travis Beniak was close behind in second, finishing in 9:20.22. Karbo's time is an NCAA automatic qualifier, while Beniak's time is an NCAA provisional qualifier.
Daniel Black finished fourth for the Vikings, completing his race in 9:28.34.
In the 5000 meter run, Beniak again took second in 15:11.76 while
Austin Vande Berg finished third in 15:15.15. Augie took seventh through ninth as Black (15:30.35),
Matt Heesch (15:41.19) and
Matt Braithwaite (15:42.55) finished back-to-back-to-back.
Brian Werner was sixth in the 800 meter, finishing in 1:56.24.
Jordan Slusser was 11th in the 1500 meter, running in 4:06.33 while Adou Omot finished 13th in the 400 meter dash, running it in 49.49.
For the men's field events, #Corey Sugden jumped 6-04.75 in the high jump, earning eighth place.
Aaron Jung took 12th place in the shot put with a mark of 47-06.25.
The Vikings next compete next weekend at the Mount Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the Sioux City Relays in Sioux City, Iowa.
