Track Teams Battle Tough Conditions at Viking Olympics

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Michigan Tech track and field teams had a strong showing at the Viking Olympics despite challenging conditions this weekend (April 2-3), highlighted by a school record and numerous first-place finishes.

On the men's side, Nate Hood knocked off a 35-year Tech record by clearing 23-8, beating the previous mark of 23-6 set by Dave Houston in 1981.

Tech dominated the 5,000-meter run, with Grant Brown (15:29.57), Daniel Kulas (15:41.41), Ryan Mattson (16:04.25) and Marcus Shamberg (16:19.57) all placing in the top-five at the event.

Isaac Pringle won the 400-meter with a time of 49.84, finishing just ahead of teammate Jevon Maddox (49.88).

Jason Saliga notched a 9:40.34 in the 3000-meter steeplechase to win the race by nearly 20 seconds.

The javelin duo of Matthew Palo and Casey Buckner finished first and second in the event, respectively. Palo registered a throw of 47.93 meters and Buckner's best toss checked in at 45.34 meters.

Jake Jurkowski earned the highest collegiate mark in the pole vault with a 4.45.

Michigan Tech saw a pair of athletes earn top-three finishes in the decathlon, with Zach Klassen coming in second with 5,761 points while Brett Cousino placed third with 5,680 points.

The Huskies also won the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:34.34.

On the women's side, Jamie Dompier won another 200-meter race with a time of 25.53.

Liz Bloch took home a victory in the 1,500-meter competition by running the race in 4:59.30. Bloch also placed well in the 800-meter, finishing second with a time of 2:25.62.

Ashley Veale earned a win in the 400-meter hurdles by posting a time of 1:06.34.

In the heptathlon, Ashley Berton claimed first place after winning 4-of-7 events for an overall score of 3,890.

Overall, the men's team finished second out of four teams and the women's group placed fourth out of six competing schools.

"There are a lot of positives that we can take out of this weekend," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "I was happy with how we competed and to have a school record fall and see numerous other strong showings is a real credit to the athletes. The conditions were very windy but we battled through it and worked extremely hard. This is another positive step for us as we continue to prepare for some of our big races later in the season" 

Michigan Tech returns to competition on April 9 when it travels to Collegeville, Minn., for the CSB-SJU Invitational.