Two program records fall, double-digit personal bests set as Huskies take second at NSIC & Friends Outdoor Classic

Saturday, May 1

Mankato, MN

St. Cloud State

NSIC Outdoor Challenge

Photo by: Thomas Breach

Two program records fall, double-digit personal bests set as Huskies take second at NSIC & Friends Outdoor Classic

5/1/2021 8:55:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Two program records were broken and a whopping 14 new personal bests were established as St. Cloud State Women's Track & Field placed second among nine schools at the NSIC & Friends Outdoor Challenge held in Mankato, Minnesota on Saturday.

"Great meet overall!" commented head coach Sam Kettenhofen, "It was easily the hottest weather we have had for a meet all year, and with that I was hoping for some big performances. We got that and more. Very happy with the team's accomplishments today."

Seniors Emelia Burris and Faith Lubner set new SCSU program records in the Long Jump and 100 Meter Hurdles respectively. Burris' mark of 5.92m breaks Becky Anderson's 1992 record of 5.91m, while Lubner's 14.15s finish breaks Heather Miller's time of 14.19s established in 2010.

"Several of the events offered Conference Championship-esque fields," Kettenhofen continued, "And that experience is so valuable as we get closer to that meet. We are only a few weeks out now, and it's important to take the excellent performances of today and build on them over these next few weeks. If we do that, I think the conference meet could be pretty fun!"

Field Events

Dominique Buechel continued her incredible throws season, starting out the day by placing third in the Discus with a 48.97m mark. She PR'd in the Hammer Throw, tossing a massive 50.11m heave to place fifth in a loaded field. Emma Gauert and Gracie Elsenpeter occupied the four-five finishes in the Pole Vault, each covering 3.30m. Victoria Czech placed top-ten in the Javelin with a career-best 25.82m throw.

Burris' new program record set the tone for an unbelievable team performance in the Long Jump, as Lubner (5.79m), Parker Buske (5.63m) and Czech (5.05m) all established new personal bests to go with Burris' 5.92m program record mark. Burris and Lubner finished two-three in the event, while Buske placed fifth. Claire Shea tied for third in the High Jump by clearing 1.61m, joined in the top-ten by Jocelyn Johnson and Shantelle Des Marais with Julia Rowles tying for eleventh. Buske wrapped up the Field Events by winning the Triple Jump for the fourth time in as many meets she has competed in with an 11.73m leap followed by Maya Taylor, who placed fourth at 11.30m.

Track Events

Lubner (14.29s) and Elsenpeter (14.86s) began the Track Events by qualifying for the 100 Meter Hurdle Finals with excellent preliminaries showings. Lubner's preliminary mark became a short-lived personal best, as she ran the Finals in a program record 14.15s to place fourth. Elsenpeter PR'd in the finals as well with a 14.69s finish. Burris qualified for the 100 Meter Dash with a 12.09s time, then set a new personal best with a 12.01s second-place Finals finish. Katie Lavato ran the 100 Meter Dash preliminaries in a career-low 13.28s time.

In the 3000 Meter Steeplechase, Clara Welhouse took second at 12:18.99 and was joined by Isabella Kraft in the top four. Cheresa Bouley finished second with a 4:49.03 time while Katherine Todd placed sixth with a 4:58.34 finish in the 1500 Meter. Leighten Fischer kept the Huskies' personal best run going by taking fifth in the 800 Meter Run at 2:20.36.

Makayla Rice added to SCSU's career best marks with a 1:03.53 fourth-place finish in the 400 Meter Hurdles, joined in the top 10 by Karla Encarnacion. Cassidy Lackovic ran the 200 Meter in a personal best 25.79 seconds, then the Huskies' 4x400 Meter Relay featuring Lackovic, Rice, Fischer and Kaylee Gessay finished second with a season-low 4:00.53 time.

Up Next

The Huskies return to Mankato on Friday, May 7 for the Maverick Classic, their final scheduled regular season meet before the 2021 NSIC Outdoor Championships held in Duluth, Minnesota over May 13-15.

NSIC & Friends Outdoor Challenge Team Scores

1. Minnesota State-Mankato (262)
2. ST. CLOUD STATE (113)
3. Winona State (76)
4. Gustavus Adolphus (73)
T-5. Augustana (53)
T-5. Concordia-St. Paul (53)
7. Minnesota-Duluth (35)
8. Southwest Minnesota State (30)
9. Sioux Falls (9)