The Augustana Track & Field teams had an incredibly successful night last night, competing in two "Last Chance" meets with the goal of qualifying more athletes for the NCAA Div. II National Championships. The Vikings were able to do just that.
Adou Omot had a breakout performance in the men's 800 meter run at the UW-Lacrosse Eagle Open. He won the race in a time of 1:49.42, which smashes his personal best by over three seconds and is an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Div. II Championships. With his time, he is currently ranked No. 2 nationally.
In addition, his time also qualifies him for the USA Junior Track and Field Championships, held this June in Des Moines, Iowa.. His time is the third-fastest in Augustana history, behind national champion Ossie Mdzino and All-American Tommy Dow.
Other Vikings also performed well.
Brian Werner placed 4th in the 800 with a new personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:51.88. Also, Jordan Slusser won the men's 5k with a personal best of 15:27.65.
Not to be outdone, the Viking women had a great day of their own.
Cecilie Udstuen won the women's 800 with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:13.15 and
Kyle Blakeslee won the women's 3000 steeplechase with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 10:48.88
Linn Nilsson placed second in the women's 1500 with a season-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:33.29. Right behind her was #Caitlin Polgreen placed 3rd in the women's 1500 with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:34.58
Noel Bentele placed 3rd in the women's hammer throw with a new school record and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 52.37 (171-10 ft) and Rachel Christensen placed 6th in discus with a throw of 42.07 m (138-00 ft).
The Vikings also had athletes competing at the North Central Invite in Naperville, Ill, where
Travis Beniak and
Daniel Black both set personal bests and breakout performances.
Beniak won the 3000 meeter steeplechase with a personal best and NCAA Automatic qualifying mark of 9:04.97 This makes the fifth Augustana track athlete to automatically qualify for nationals this spring.
Black set a personal best and NCAA provisional mark of 9:09.04. His time just missed the NCAA automatic mark of 9:06.00 He placed 8th overall.
"This was a very special night for Augustana track and field," head coach
Tracy Hellman said. "One school record, two NCAA automatic qualifiers, seven NCAA provisional qualifiers, and five individual champions was a tremendous accomplishment by our track and field athletes. This success is a great result of the time and energy the athletes put into the season and we fully took advantage of this last chance opportunity."
Those who qualified will next head to the NCAA Div. II Track & Field Championships held in Charlotte, N.C. on May 27-29.
