Cosby Resets Pole Vault School Record in Season Opener
DE PERE, Wis. -- The Michigan Tech track & field squads opened the season with 11 individual winners, a relay and sophomore pole vaulter Landon Cosby reset his school record at the St. Norbert's Twilight on Thursday afternoon.
"We had a nice day on the track and in the field today with multiple athletes showing some really nice form despite cool, breezy conditions," head coach Robert Young said. "This team has put in some great work through the winter and we are already starting to see the fruits of those labors. It was great to see Landon crush his school record with a provisional mark we knew he was capable of producing. Hopefully, he can keep this growth going to make the National meet.
"We had several freshmen show us that our future is incredibly bright. Hailee Zimpel winning the 400m was a surprise to even her being so fresh off the Nordic season. As that's not likely her best event, there may be more big things coming. Connor Stefanovsky's win in the 800 showed he is quickly developing into a force for us there. While Sophia took a nice step forward in her 5k win. Colman Lenci's 5k effort was also quite the career-starter, being so close to the coveted 15:00 barrier. Hannah K's huge 63s steeple PR was so much fun to watch. She's put some serious effort into developing her hurdle form and strength and it was evident right from the gun."
Landon Cosby bettered his school record mark of 15-9 set last season in the pole vault with a vault of 16-1.25. The Charlotte, Michigan, native cleared the height on his first attempt and had his sights set on clearing 16-4.75 after passing on clearing 16-3.25 but bowed out with a new personal-best after missing on three attempts at a new school record mark.
Hannah Kilpatrick took runner-up honors in the 3,000m steeplechase in a new personal-best time of 11:53.65.
Kyle Samluk was the first event winner for the Black & Gold in the 3,000m steeplechase with his time of 9:47.53 leading a trio of Huskies. Callen Carrier (9:58.86) and first-year Zeb Swager (10:14.45) took second and third, respectively.
Sam Lange claimed the win in the men's metric mile, being the lone runner in the field to break 4:00 with his time of 3:57.71. A quintet of Huskies followed Lange, with Nik Thomas taking second in 4:02.11. Luke Pravecek and Luke Morrison made their outdoor debut, taking third and fifth, respectively. Naseem Dhaouadi, who won the 5,000m at the MTU Ice Melter Open, took fourth in 4:10.40. Henry Snider made his track debut taking sixth in the race.
Mady VanWieren was victorious in the women's 1,500m in a time of 4:56.58. Ingrid Seagren placed second clocking a time of 5:01.10.
Freshman Hailee Zimpel won the 400m dash in 61.19, with Ashley Plum close behind in 61.36. Plum returned later in the day to take third in the 200m, clocking 26.86.
Ryan Schwiderson dropped a notable 50.38 in his first race of the outdoor season. Jon Wildey took second two seconds behind Schwiderson (52.34).
"Schwiderson continues to impress. His debut 400m was a convincing win over the field, and I'm sure there are big things in his future," Graduate assistant Luke Moore said. "Overall I am happy to see our sprints crew perform well in the adverse conditions. I know we have some great things ahead."
The men's 800m had a similar result to the 1,500m, with the Huskies taking the first five spots. First-year Connor Stefanovsky had his first collegiate win, running 1:57.54 from the second heat to claim victory by over two seconds. Sophomore Lucas Seng and junior John Paul Norland broke 2:00 with times of 1:59.60 and 1:59.80, respectively.
Reilly Lovercheck set two personal-bests with her second-place finish in the 100m dash (13.18) and a win in the 400m hurdles, clocking a time of 1:08.95.
"Reilly had a great day today," Moore added. "She shaved some time off of her 400m hurdles PR and took a convincing win over the field. She also raced in the 100m with a 2nd place finish, which was impressive in her first time running that event."
Freshman Broderick Stewart made his outdoor debut for the Huskies, taking fourth place in the 200m with a time of 23.25.
Sophia Rhein paced a field of six Huskies in the women's 5,000m, taking the win in a new personal-best time just shy of breaking 18:00, running 18:01.4. Cedar Gordon also hit a new personal-best to take second in 18:17.22. Ingrid Halverson (18:53.94), Amyla Eberhart (19:15.55), Alisa Teige (19:28.72) and Synne Herheim (19:58.91) rounded out the group.
Colman Lenci was the top-finisher in the men's 5,000m with his time of 15:09.56 good for third in the race. Kenny Abraham took fourth and neared a personal-best with a time of 15:16.34.
The men also got a chance to see the quarter mile speed of eight Huskies with two 4x400m relays, which took first and second, respectively. The "A" relay of Ben Conlin, Brandon Latta, Ryan Schwiderson and Jon Wildey clocked a time of 3:32.56.
Cosby took the win in the men's pole vault as Toby Bonner and Jesse Henderson each cleared 13-11.75. Bonner took second in the javelin with a throw of 150-1. Anna Schueller was victorious in the women's pole vault, clearing 11-00.25.
"I thought we competed well today. It's incredible to see a national provisional mark and another school record this early in the season," mentioned graduate assistant Dylan Gaines. "We'll look to elevate that even further to solidify a qualifying spot as we move into the rest of our season."
Jamie Hendrickson won the women's high jump with a leap of 5-3. Mya Ghazale had the second-best throw of her career in the discus with a throw of 95-11, taking fourth overall. She also took sixth in the javelin with a throw of 78-2. Allie Moffit had a runner-up finish with a heave of 89-10 in the javelin.
Up Next
The Huskies will return to competition next month, dividing and conquering between two the Mustang Distance Carnival and Open in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Apr. 12 & 13, while a small group will travel to the west coast for the Bryan Clay Invitational Apr. 11-13.