Huskies T&F Show out at Mustang Distance Carnival & Open

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Michigan Tech track & field squad made strides in its second outdoor meet of the season, setting 12 facility/meet records over two days at the Mustang Distance Carnival & Open hosted by Mount Mercy.

Quotable

"Credit to Mount Mercy they did everything they could to put every athlete in the best position they could to compete their best. They can't control the wind but they moved events time-wise to help with that" head coach Robert Young said. "Driving this far south to find warmer weather is a benefit for us because we don't always get that weather in these meets. To get a 77-degree day in early April for us is huge because we weren't worried about the weather as much aside from the weather. The weather did benefit us even if it was a bit windy.

"The men's 800m crew acts a lot like the megapack when we're training that group and in years past we've had some studs up front and some 2 flat runners and this group has taken it upon itself to be better than that and John Paul Norland really put the pieces together today and he really went for it and this was a big step forward.

"We were really happy with our 5,000m races Sophia and Cedar ran two relly nice races and Sophia is coming into her own running consistently and trying to find another gear late and I do think that Cedar is due for a breakthrough real soon. Megapack–the men's 5,000m a whole bunch ran a really nice race and we had two break the 15-minute barrier which was really nice to see and it's cool to see six under 15:20–It makes training and workouts much better because of how tight they are."

"We had a great meet and our distance side really showcased the depth of our squad," Coach Owen mentioned. "Our team has a great culture and the student-athletes really support each other's successes, even when they are racing against each other in direct competition. We had some breakout performances and a lot of new personal records and I am so stoked for them. It was a bit windy, but the warm weather was really ideal for competition. We're coming home with happy hearts, tired legs and quite a few sunburns."

Friday Night

Friday was warm yet breezy, serving as the Distance Carnival portion of the meet with the invite 1,500m section showing a trio of Huskies. Luke Pravecek did a lot of work in the race, finishing just outside of a personal-best taking second in 4:08.84. Luke Morrison was close behind in a personal-best time of 4:08.89 to take third. Brock Lynch also clocked a personal-best time of 4:13.41 in the race to claim sixth.

Hannah Kilpatrick neared a personal-best in the 3,000m steeplechase, leading from the gun and dipping under 12 minutes for the second consecutive meet.

The men's 3,000m steeplechase saw Kyle Samluk run his seasonal-best time of 9:28.64, breaking the meet and facility record. Callen Carrier (9:33.90) and first-year duo Zeb Swager (9:54.35) and Ethan Hoff (10:27.95) set personal-bests.

Max Messina posted a season's-best in the shot put with a heave of 36-01.25. Allie Moffit took seventh in the women's javelin with her throw of 92-3, as Mya Ghazale took 18th with her mark of 84-5.

Despite the breezy conditions, the men's pole vault crew swept the top-3 places with Landon Cosby (15-01), Toby Bonner (14-09) and Jesse Henderson (14-09) breaking the meet and facility records. Cosby cleared 15-01 on his first attempt, while Bonner and Henderson cleared 14-09 on their third attempts.

Senior Mady VanWieren was the first finisher for the Black & Gold in the elite 1,500m section, running a season-best time of 4:49.70.

Sam Lange led six under the meet and facility record in the men's elite 1,500m section, continuing to better his seasonal-best running 3:52.51. Nik Thomas lowered his personal-best with his time of 3:54.49, taking third in the race. 

The Huskies continued to perform as the night progressed, with the 5,000m invite sections delivering multiple personal-bests. First-year Sophia Rhein smashed her personal-best by almost 23 seconds, clocking 17:38.10 to take second in the women's field. Cedar Gordon also ran a personal-best, taking fifth in 18:10.48.

The men's 5,000m served as the nightcap on the track, showcasing six Huskies under 15:20. Sophomore Donavan Mattson (14:51.34) and Kenny Abraham (14:57.70) both dipped under 15 for the first time in their collegiate careers highlighting the race. Mattson's time also broke the meet and facility record, as he placed second in the field. Freshman Colman Lenci (15:04.50) and sophomore Sawyer Fowler (15:05.93) set new personal-bests, placing seventh and 10th, respectively. Henry Snider made his 5,000m debut running 15:15.57 with Naseem Dhaouadi close behind in 15:17.59, claiming 14th and 15th-place, respectively.

Anna Schueller claimed the win in the women's pole vault to conclude day one of competition for the Huskies, clearing 10-8 on her first attempt and 10-11.75 on her first attempt before bowing out at 11-05.75.

Saturday

Day two of the competition brought warmer weather with similar wind conditions. Jamie Hendrickson was the first to compete for the Black & Gold, taking second in the women's high jump, clearing 5-02.5 on her third attempt.

Max Messina had a 10th-place finish in the discus with a season-best throw of 140-07.

Donavan Mattson doubled back from his impressive 5,000m result Friday night to win the open 1,500m by almost nine seconds, running 4:08.26. Ben Gietek took fourth in the race, nearing his personal-best running 4:24.69.

Reilly Lovercheck neared qualifying for the finals for the 100m dash with a 12.81 performance in the preliminary round with a little bit too much wind to be legal, a theme of the afternoon in most of the sprint races. 

Ashley Plum and Ryan Schwiderson put together notable performances in the 200m/400m double. Plum took fourth in the 400m, lowering her season's-best time to 1:00.20 before returning to the track in the women's 200m elite heat, taking fifth in 25.79. In the men's 400m, Schwiderson ran a personal-best time of 49.49 to take runner-up honors. He capped off the weekend, taking fifth in the 200m elite heat, running 21.96, although the wind kept it from being a legal time.

All six Huskies in the men's open 800m ran personal-best times, none more impressive than John Paul Norland, who shaved almost two seconds off his personal-best to win the open 800m in 1:55.13. Connor Stefanovsky (1:56.77), Ben Conlin (1:57.06), Nik Thomas (1:57.34) and Lucas Seng (1:57.84) claimed 2nd through 5th place, while Amos Norland went 1:59.30 to take 10th.

Sophomore Ingrid Seagren (2:25.09) took fifth in the women's elite 800m heat, while Mady VanWieren (2:29.65) took 11th

In the men's elite 800m section, Sam Lange pulled off his second win of the weekend, returning to the oval office following his victory in the metric mile on Friday night, clocking a 1:54.81 to lower his season's-best. Freshman Brandon Latta took fourth in the race, running a personal-best time of 1:56.07.  

Freshman Broderick Stewart led a quartet of Huskies in the men's open 200m with a time of 22.64, Jon Wildey broke 23 seconds clocking 22.95, Kurtis Bronz ran 23.32 and Trae Larson went 25.44–though the persistent breeze made for sizable wind assistance. Wildy set a personal-best in the 400m earlier in the day, taking 10th-place in a time of 51.14

"The sprints crew had a pretty good day and enjoyed the warm weather," graduate assistant coach Moore added. "One of the highlights on the men's side was Ryan's second-place finish in the 400m. Wildey also had an impressive double PR day in the 400m & the 200m, throwing down impressive marks that bettered his seed times. On the women's side, Plum had two season's bests, placing top-5 in the 400m and the elite 200m."

Up Next

The Huskies will conclude the regular season next weekend, traveling to the Phil Esten Challenge hosted by UW Lacrosse.