ORANGE CITY, Iowa – A pair of third-place finishes were the highlight for College of Saint Mary at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday.

Mira Fosmer's third-place finish in the 800m and Claire Caspersen's third-place finish in the shot put helped the Flames take ninth place in team competition at the two-day event.

Concordia University won the meet with 209.5 points, while Doane University was second with 204.5. In other team scores: Dordt University 118.5; Hastings College 77.5; Northwestern University 53; Morningside University 50; Midland University 39; Mount Marty University 39; CSM 25; University of Jamestown 21; Dakota Wesleyan University 15 and Briar Cliff University 6.

In the 800, Fosmer ran a fast but smart first lap and came through in sixth place. With 300m to go she found another gear and started making her way up the field and ultimately moved into third place on the final homestretch. Her time of 2:17.73 is a new school record and is the highest finish for a track athlete at the GPAC meet in program history.

"Mira had an outstanding two days starting her best relay leg last night and then with her race today," CSM Coach Jerrid Johansen said. "She has been race-ready all year long, but I think she needed to gain a little confidence to know that she could compete at this level. Last night was big for her confidence and that newfound confidence was on display today. Mira is just scratching the surface of what she is capable of and it's exciting to think about her future as Flame."

In the shot put, Caspersen hit a new personal-best for the outdoor season by throwing 14.20m. 

"Claire had an up-and-down week of practice, but was able to compete at the highest level, once again," Johansen said. "The great thing about her performance today was that she was able to work through some 'ok' early rounds and her best throw came in the fifth round. That's the kind of performance she will need when she heads to the national meet at the end of the month.

CSM's other scorer on the day was Brooke Wigdahl in the 3,000m steeplechase. Wigdahl ran 12:17.48 to finish in seventh place and earn all-conference honors for the second year in a row. 

"Brooke found a home in the steeplechase the last two years and really made it her event," Johansen said. "Even though she wasn't at her very best today, she was determined enough to earn her second consecutive medal."

Other top performances on the day:

• Allison Isaacson set a new school record in the triple jump with a mark of 10.50m. She finished 13^th after being seeded 24^th coming into the meet.
• Corinne Mead competed very well in the 1500m.  She ran 5:14.42 to finish 11^th.
• Chloe Inhelder made her return to the 5,000m after a couple week hiatus.  She ran a season-best time of 19:43.44 to finish in 12^th place.

"It was a good two days for our track and field program and shows the progress we have made over the last year," Johansen said. "Twenty five points is the most we have ever scored at a conference meet, and we might have missed out on a couple of opportunities to add to that total. Some of those points were certainly expected, but we had some younger athletes like Mira and Kellesse Heard step up and perform at a very high level.  Out coaching staff challenged our athletes to 'simply compete' this weekend and they did.

"As always, it's a bittersweet day. Great things happened, but it also marks the end for this group of athletes. Claire will continue on at nationals in a couple of weeks, and we will likely have a couple of athletes compete at a 'last-chance meet' on Friday, but collectively, this marks the end of the 2023-2024 season. I want to thank all of our athletes for the time and effort they have invested into making this season a success.  From a head coach's perspective, it was a very rewarding season and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to work with this group of athletes and coaches. I want to say a special thank you to our seniors, Chloe Inhelder, Madeline Krause, Lorena Ramirez, and Brooke Wigdahl. The level of commitment necessary to be a successful student-athlete for one season is incredible.  To do that repeatedly for four or more years is not natural, but it is certainly to be celebrated. The program is trending in the right direction, and these four individuals have played a significant role in making that happen."