Huskies overcome wind at St. Norbert Twilight
DE PERE, Wis. - Michigan Tech dominated middle distance and the duo of Noah Koball and Ryan Beatley set a pair of personal records in shotput. Teams were up against a stiff sustained breeze all afternoon at the St. Norbert Twilight Invitational Thursday at Donald J. Schneider Stadium. Koball (14.23m) and Beatley (13.18m) took first and second place for MTU. In the men's 1500 meters, the Huskies slotted in each of the top six positions, including race winner Sam Lange (4:01.97).
Following Lange was Nick Niemi, Tucker Ringhand, Logan Lukonic, Kenny Abraham, and Drew Kolodge.
"The theme for today was to have solidly competitive efforts in adverse conditions," said head coach Kristina Owen. "Times on the track were largely muted due to the significant wind factor. We consider our performance as a team today a success because we accomplished our goals for the meet. We traveled as a full team to give everyone a chance to earn a spot for championship racing, practiced racing strategically, and pushed hard."
Jesse Jacobusse paced the women's 1500 meters with a winning time of 4:53.30. Theresa Passe and Jenna Brewer took second and third respectively.
"It was so thrilling to watch our men, who finished one through six race together. They look like a pack of huskies pulling together to devour ground. I thought the women were similarly dominant. Jesse (Jacobusse) took the win and showcased her closing speed once again."
Tech competed against student-athletes from Ripon, St. Norbert, and Northern Michigan, sending a full roster of track and field competitors.
Ryan Schwiderson sprinted to a first place time of 10.89 seconds in the 100 meter dash while Laura Lyons placed second in the women's 400 meters with a time of 1:01.93. The Huskies had a pair of first place runs in the 400 hurdles, including Derek Flory (57.82 seconds) and Karina Madigan (1:11.19).
With a full slate of men's steeplechase runners, Kyle Samluk won with a time of 9:48.21. Teammates Stephen Loparo, Ben Passolt, and Stanley Elder rounded out the top-4 in the eight-man field. Sam Kurkowski won the women's steeplechase with a time of 11:41.29 and Katelyn Feldpausch was second.
"I was very impressed with our steeplechase crew," said Owen. "Coach Young, as an All-American steeplechaser himself, has taken this event under his wing, and they are looking very technically solid. Combine that with our speed in longer events and we've become a force."
Pole vault and high jump events were held indoors. Cody Tuftee cleared 4.50 meters for third place and Danny Martin was fifth at 3.90 meters. Jamie Hendrickson posted a respectable 1.48 meters for third place in high jump.
Michigan Tech sent several teams to the starting line in the 4x400 meter relays.
The Huskies have a pair of meets next week, including the Elaine Leigh Invitational (April 22), hosted by Oakland University and the Drake Relays (April 27) hosted by Drake University.
