This weekend the USF track & field team took part in the 88th Annual Howard Woods Relay in Sioux Falls. The women's team entered the meet ranked #22 in the USTFCCCA Division II Track & Field rankings. The Cougars came away from the meet with two individual titles and four school records.
The Cougars had another successful showing in the men's pole vault, taking three of the top five spots in the field. Freshman Jagger Gran finished in second place with his vault of 16-00 (4.88m). He was followed by teammate Scott Greenman who finished in third place with his vault of 15-05.75 (4.72m). These vaults give Gran and Greenman the third and fourth highest vaults respectively in the NSIC this season and are both NCAA provisional qualifying vaults.
“It's exciting to see our athletes competing well right before the conference meet,” said Director of Track & Field Reid Ehrisman. “Having some great performances like this can really help boost our athletes confidence, and we are looking forward to some great performances in the pole vault next week.”
In the women's pole vault, USF took four of the top six spots in the field. Brigitte Gross led the way, breaking the school record with her NCAA automatic qualifying vault of 13-5.75 (4.11m) which placed her second overall. Kristin Majerus also met a NCAA automatic qualifying mark with her vault of 12-11.75 (3.96m). USF enters the conference meet with the top three marks in the NSIC and three NCAA automatic qualifying vaults.
“As we enter the championship portion of the season, having these women vault well is huge for their confidence,” said Ehrisman. “To see the school record go down is exciting and I wouldn't be surprised to see it get broken again by the end of the year.“
Colin Koth took first place in the men's 400m dash with his time of 48.56, which is the third fastest time run in the NSIC this season. Later in the day, Koth came back in the 200m Dash and finished second overall with his time of 21.91.
When asked about Colin's performances, Ehrisman said, “This was Colin's outdoor debut this year, and he had a great meet. We are excited to see what he can do over the next couple of weeks.”
In the men's 5000m Run, Billy Brockmueller outkicked the competition on his way to a first place finish with his time of 14:52.77. This time is a school record, and gives Bobby the third fastest time in the 5000m run entering the conference meet.
Bobby Brockmueller ran a 3:53.33 on his way to a third place finish in the 1500m run. This time broke the previous school record, and is the second fastest 1500m time in the NSIC this season.
“It was inspiring to see Billy win the 5k on Friday night,” said Ehrisman. “The effort by both of the Brockmuellers was outstanding, and we hope they can continue this level of competition at the NSIC Championships.”
Jordan Bents broke the school record in the hammer throw for the second week in a row with his throw of 168-04 (51.30m). This throw gave Bents a third place finish in the meet, and is the third farthest hammer throw in the NSIC this year. Bents also finished third overall in the shot put with his throw of 51-11.75 (15.84m).
When asked about Bents school record throw, Reid Ehrisman said, “To set the school record two weeks in a row is exciting and Jordan is capable of setting it even higher at the conference meet next week.”
In the women's 400m Dash, Kendra Knight ran a 56.59 finishing in second place overall. Knight will enter the NSIC conference meet with the second fastest 400m time run this season.
Kirsten Townley competed in the 100m Hurdles for USF and came away with a second place finish after running a 15.03.
In the Long Jump, USF's Lindsey Elston took second place with her leap of 17-2.75 (5.25m). She was followed by teammate Nicole Josephsen who jumped 16-08.75 (5.10m) on her way to a third place finish.
In the women's 4x100m Relay, USF's Dani Moyer, Katlyn Sawtelle, DeAndrea Richardson, and Brigitte Gross teamed up for a third place finish with their time of 47.9.
USF will compete next at the 2013 NSIC Championships on May 10-11 at Howard Wood Track- hosted by Augustana College. At the indoor conference meet, the women finished in third place overall and the men finished in fourth place.
