Track and field splits to compete at two meets

Saturday, February 15

Collegeville, MN

St. Cloud State

CSB/SJU Invitational

Photo by: Concordia-St. Paul Athletics

2/16/2020 11:08:00 AM | Women's Track & Field

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University track and field team had a busy Saturday this past weekend. The team split, competing in two separate meets at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota and Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota.

At the CSB/SJU Invitational in Collegeville, Minnesota the Huskies saw several individuals record top-8 finishes and saw three student-athletes win their respective events. One of those student-athletes was Gracie Elsenpeter (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake), who, after running the second fastest time in prelims, shaved over 15 seconds off her time to win the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.16. The first year also was victorious in pole vault, as she won the event behind a season-best mark of 3.20 meters.

Claire Shea (Excelsior, Minn. / Chanhassen) was another Husky to earn an individual win in Collegeville on Saturday, as she won high jump thanks to a season-best jump of 1.60 meters. Then, in triple jump, Maya Taylor (Oswego, Ill. / Oswesgo East) took first behind a jump of 11.14 meters. The junior also finished second in long jump thanks to her mark of 5.23 meters.

St. Cloud State saw several other individuals record top-8 finishes. In the 60m hurdles, Elsenpeter was joined in the top-5 Victoria Czech (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / Chippewa Falls) and Karla Encarnacion (Caguas, Puerto Rico / American Military Academy), who finished in third and fourth place with times of 9.56 and 9.75 respectively. Alexis Fallow (Prairie Du Sac, Wis. / Sauk Prairie) also had a huge day for the Huskies, as she carded fourth and fifth place finishes in the 60m and 200m dash. In the 60, Fallow finished in fifth behind a time of 8.40, but her best performance came in the 200m dash, as she finished fourth with a time of 28.19.

The Huskies saw two individuals finish in the top-8 in the 400 dash. Makayla Rice (Racine, Wis. / Horlick) finished second in the event with a time of 59.52, while Kaylee Gessay (Waukesha, Wis. / South) finished in eighth behind a time of 1:02.65.

St. Cloud State also had success in the field events, as the team saw top-8 finishers in several events. In addition to Shea, both Czech and Shantelle Des Marais (Pipestone, Minn. / Pipestone) finished in the top-5, as Czech finished in third behind a jump of 1.50m while Des Marais finished in fifth with a jump of 1.45m.

Gabby Herfindahl (Eagle River, Wis. / Northland Pines) recorded a third place finish in the pole vault thanks to a mark of 2.72 meters, while two Huskies joined Taylor in the top-8 of long jump. Parker Buske (Madison, Wis. / West) finished fourth behind a jump of 5.05 meters, while Mauria Oldham (Chicago, Ill. / Lincoln Park) finished in seventh with a mark of 4.86 meters.

Buske also put together a strong performance in triple jump, finishing second behind a jump of 10.94 meters, while Gabby Johnson (Stevens Point, Wis. / Stevens Point Area) took seventh in the event with a. jump of 9.80 meters.

In shot put and weight throw, St. Cloud State saw three student-athletes record top-8 finishes. Dominique Buechel (Chilton, Wis. / Chilton) finished fifth in shot put with a throw of 12.14 meters, while Dacoda Zimmerman (Racine, Wis. / Horlick) and Annie Falardreau finished top-8 in both events. Zimmer finished sixth in shot put and fifth in weight throw, while Farlardreau carded eighth place finishes in both events.

The Huskies distance runners found plenty of success at the NSIC Indoor Challenge in Mankato, Minnesota. Both Clara Welhouse (Green Bay, Wis. / Southwest) and Chrissy Lofgren (Stewartville, Minn. / Stewartville) carded second place finishes in their respective events. Welhouse finished second in the 1000 meter run with a time of 3:04.9, while Lofgren finished second in the mile behind a time of 5:04.15.

Joining Welhouse in the top-8 was senior Autum Shurbert-Hetzel (Stevens Point, Wis. / Stevens Point Area), who finished seventh with a time of 3:10.71.

St. Cloud State will compete in one final meet before the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships next weekend, when the team heads to Minneapolis, Minnesota to compete at the Minnesota Cold Classic.