CSM track & field competes in big meet
LINCOLN, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary track & field team was happy to be competing again after a long break for a lot of the athletes.
The Flames competed in the Prairie Wolf Invitational Friday, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University.
"After last week's meet was canceled, today felt like we were hitting the reset button on the season and starting the season over," CSM Coach Jerrid Johansen said. "Many of our athletes hadn't competed since early December and our distance athletes hadn't competed since early November. And we had eight athletes competing in their first collegiate track & field meet. So, we had a lot of unknowns heading into the meet today."
The meet held at the Devaney Sports Center featured teams from different levels of collegiate track & field.
"It was a different meet for us in terms of facility and competition," Johansen said. "We're really thankful for Nebraska Wesleyan giving us the opportunity to compete in their meet and compete in the Husker facility. We got to compete against a whole range of different teams including several D1 schools like Colorado State, Sacramento State, Wichita State and when you throw in some other outstanding programs like Nebraska Wesleyan and Central College – we were facing some really outstanding competition today. It was good for our athletes to be challenged like they were today."
Chloe Inhelder had CSM's best finish with a second-place finish in the 5,000m in 20:00.56.
In other running events: Kellesse Heard was 10th in the 60m dash in 8.04, Taylor Hrabik was 22nd in 8.51 and Ava Hilger took 25th in 8.69; Mira Fosmer was sixth in the 800m in 2:30.46, Brooke Wigdahl was eighth in 2:39.83 and Autumn Simons placed 11th in 2:48.57; Lorena Ramirez took 11th in the 1,000m in 3:27.74, while Peyton Bell was 15th in 3:41.92; Heard was 17th in the 200m in 27.60; Ella Miller placed fourth in the 3,000m in 12:28.62 and the 4x400 relay team of Fosmer, Natalie Briggs, Wigdahl and Simons was sixth in 4:40.37.
The Flames also had eight runners compete in the mile. Ramirez was 16th in 5:45.05, Corinne Mead placed 18th in 5:50.65, Jocelyn Farhar took 23rd in 5:57.34, Madeline Krause was 25th in 5:58.78, Kiley Craft finished 27th in 6:11.45, Yenifer Juan Jesus placed 30th in 6:23.49, Kaitlyn Thalman took 32nd in 6:35.91 and Emma Lee was 33rd in 7:49.64.
"As a group, I was really pleased with the milers," Johansen said. "They ran smart races and showed a lot of competitiveness after a long break. Lorena, Corinne and Madeline ran indoor personal bests and they now hold the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 7 spots on our all-time Top 10 list. Yenifer and Kaitlyn competed well in their debuts.
"Lorena had our best individual day as she ran a nice race in the mile and then came back to later run the 1,000m for the first time. Even after short rest, she ran strong and now has the second-fastest mark in that event as well. Lorena has been putting in the miles and doing the little things to stay healthy and fresh and she had an outstanding day.
"Kellesse had our next best performance as she ran a nice race in the 60m dash. Her 8.04 is a new personal best and she finished 10th in a field loaded with Division 1 athletes. She held her own and has a lot to be proud of her performance."
In field events, Claire Caspersen took fourth in the shot put with 10.97 to lead a group of four CSM athletes in the event. Teammates Tavia Williams took 11th in 11.27, Clare Ullery was 14th in 10.97 and Georgia Carroll was 24th in 10.10. In the weight throw, Ullery was 18th in 12.75, Williams took 25th in 10.91 and Madalynn Rhodes placed 27th in 9.76.
CSM's Olivia Joyce was 10th in the triple jump with 9.78 and then 28th in the long jump with 4.46. In the pole vault, Allison Isaacson placed 10th in 2.95 and Hrabik was 13th in 2.80.
"Other personal bests today were achieved by Tavia in the shot put, Clare in the weight throw and Taylor in the pole vault."
The Flames return to competition Jan. 27 in the Concordia Classic.