St. Cloud State Track & Field Ready to Open Outdoor Campaign in Iowa Friday

Friday, March 29

Waverly, Iowa

11:30 A.M. CT (Field) | 12:30 P.M. CT (Track)

St. Cloud State

Good Friday Challenge

Team at 2023-24 NSIC Indoor Champs | 3-28 preview

St. Cloud State Track & Field Ready to Open Outdoor Campaign in Iowa Friday

3/28/2024 2:54:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Huskies set to compete at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field will begin its outdoor season Friday at the Good Friday Challenge in Waverly, Iowa at the Walston-Hoover Stadium on the campus of Wartburg College. Field events start the day off at 11:30 a.m. followed by running events at 12:30 p.m.

Meet Information

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The meet (running events) will be streamed live for free on Knight Vision. Live results will be provided by Wayzata Timing. Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Track & Field Schedule Page.

TEAMS AT THE MEET
Buena Vista (Iowa), Drake (Iowa), Hawkeye Community College (Iowa), Northern Iowa Area Community College, Northern Iowa, St. Cloud State, Winona State, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Stout, Wartburg (Iowa)

HUSKIES IN THE MEET
100m dash – Myesha Thompson, Olivia Witt
200m dash – Myesha Thompson, Addi Scribner, Jenna Marxhausen
400m dash – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Katie Lavato, Jaileen Medina, Kendall Gonzalez, Audrey Rabitz
1,500m run – Paige Beason
5,000m run – Alena Donahue, Tegan Michalak
10,000m run – Greta Freed, Cambrie Kowal
400m hurdles – Makaylin Christenson
3,000m steeplechase – Erica Conrad
High jump – Paola Breña, Makaylin Christenson, Viola Okey-Ezealah
Long jump – Myesha Thompson, Ava Wilmanns
Triple jump – Elena Martinez-Rodriguez
Shot put – Alicia Jennissen, Hannah Bruskiewicz
Discus throw – Savannah Reinke, Alicia Jennissen, Hannah Bruskiewicz
Javelin – Ava Wilmanns, Savannah Reinke

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Track & Field closed out its indoor season at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Indoor Championships at the Myers Field House in Mankato on Feb. 23-24.

Freshman sprinter/jumper Myesha Thompson (Mount Horeb, Wis.) set a new personal best in the long jump (18-4.25/5.59m) and placed eighth. In total, the Huskies produced five personal bests and two season bests at the meet.

Thompson needed a career-best jump on her final attempt in order to have a chance to make the finals, and that's exactly what she did, leaping 5.59m (18-4.25). She moved up four spots and had the top mark after the first flight was complete. She was the only jumper to advance to the finals from the first flight. She was in sixth place entering finals and slid back to seventh after scratching on two of her three jumps. She tied for the seventh best jump but lost out on the next-best jump tiebreaker. She was the second highest placing freshman in the event behind Victoriia Ermolaeva who finished second overall. Thompson reset her personal best by an incredible .22m (8.75 inches) and scored after being seeded 15^th coming into the meet.

Junior hurdler Shelby Romig (Ankeny, Iowa) ran a season best time of 9.40 in the 60m hurdles, placing 14^th – one spot better than a year ago.

Senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) ran a career-best 7.77 in the 60m dash, placing 13^th– six spots better than a year ago. She ran her second fastest 400m dash ever (1:01.05) and placed 18^th.

Junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farms, Wis.) set a new personal best in the 600m run (1:39.79) by over three seconds and ran nearly 10 seconds faster than at last week's meet. She missed out on qualifying for the finals by 0.9 seconds. She also tied for 16^th in the high jump (1.54m / 5-0.5). It was the second-best mark of her career.

Junior distance runners Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) and Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) along with freshmen distance runners Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.) and Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.) raced the 5,000m run. Freed placed 16^th, running a season's best time of 18:58.80 while Kowal ran a personal best time of 18:58.88 and placed 17^th. It was the first time Freed had run sub-19 minutes in an indoor meet since the 2023 NSIC Indoor Championships. It was the first time Kowal had run sub-19 minutes every in her career and she finished five spots better than at last year's indoor conference meet (and over 40 seconds faster). Donahue placed 25^th, running 20:03.34 and Michalak set a new personal best time (20:21.53) and placed 26^th.

The distance medley relay team of freshman Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa), Viola Okey-Ezealah (Lagos, Nigeria), sophomore Jaileen Medina (Wheaton, Ill.) and Erica Conrad (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) placed 11^th running a time of 13:47.15.

Beason finished 20^th in the 1,000m run, running 3:19.01.

NEW LEADER OF THE PACK
Gabrielle Brown continues her first season as SCSU's head Track & Field/Cross Country coach. A three-time All-American hurdler at Hamline, Brown joined St. Cloud State after three seasons as an assistant coach at Macalester. She is the first Black female head coach in the history of St. Cloud State Athletics.

PRESEASON POLLING
St. Cloud State Track & Field was selected to finish 14^th in the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Outdoor Preseason Coaches' Poll. SCSU is coming off a 14^th place finish at the NSIC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Last outdoor season, the Huskies finished 12^th at the conference meet.

"I am excited for this group of women to have both individual success and team success," said Brown, "After one indoor season with the team I look forward to refining efforts and techniques towards yielding a competitive and fun filled outdoor season."

OUTDOOR ATHLETES TO WATCH
Freshman sprinter Viola Okey-Ezealah (Lagos, Nigeria) was named as the Huskies' Track Athlete to Watch for the 2024 outdoor season. In her first collegiate indoor season, Okey-Ezealah competed in the 60m dash, the 200m dash and high jump individually and the 4x400m and distance medley relays. She ran personal bests in the 60m (8.23) and 200m (27.29) at the St. Thomas Invitational on January 12. She jumped 1.37m (4-6) in her first and only appearance in the high jump. At the NSIC Indoor Championships, she was on a pair of relays that finished 11th – 4x400m relay (4:11.57) and distance medley relay (13:47.15).

"Viola's first collegiate indoor season was one filled with learning and refining at a consistent cadence," said Brown, "Using this indoor season to experiment and learn, I am excited for her to out it all together bit by bit. We look forward to this outdoor season to be filled with positive momentum."

Freshman thrower Savannah Reinke (Malta Bend, Mo.) was recognized as the SCSU Field Athlete to Watch for the 2024 outdoor season. Reinke competed in the shot put and weight throw during her first collegiate indoor season. She posted her personal best in the weight throw (9.65m/31-8) at the Jack Johnson Classic on January 27. She recorded her personal record in the shot put (9.54m/31-3.75) on February 16 at the BSU Twilight.

"Savannah's efforts in the javelin are impressive and fun to watch," said Brown, "Preparation this indoor season for this event specifically has been the motivation. She is excited to string together all the nuggets she has gained for her first outdoor collegiate season in javelin."

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
SCSU Track & Field placed six on the NSIC Winter All-Academic list. Junior distance runner Greta Freed* (Rochester, Minn.), senior distance runner Erica Conrad* (Ashwaubenon, Wis.), junior jumper/hurdler/middle distance runner Shelby Romig (Ankeny, Iowa), senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.), junior distance runner Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) and junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farm, Wis.) were recognized on March 28 by the conference. To be eligible for the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence (noted with a *), a student-athlete must have a 3.60 cumulative GPA or higher, while NSIC All-Academic Team members must have a 3.20 cumulative GPA or higher. Additionally, the student-athlete must be a member of the varsity traveling team and in at least their second year of competition at their current institution (true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at that institution.

Graduate student Paola Breña (Queretero, Mexico – Clinical Exercise Physiology) was bestowed with the prestigious Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction award on Jan. 25. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is given to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate (student-athletes can only earn the award once). Each student-athlete is recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wristwatch.

INDOOR ATHLETES TO WATCH
Senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) was named as the Huskies' Track Athlete to Watch for the 2023-24 indoor season. Lavato set her 60-meter dash personal best last year at the Gopher Classic (7.88), winning the event. She ran a season-best 26.50 in the 200-meter dash at the Maverick Invitational. Lavato finished the 2022-23 indoor season with five top-five event finishes and competed in the 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x400 meter relay at the 2023 NSIC Indoor Championships.

"Katie has been a huge part of the success the Huskies have had historically," said Brown, "Her time, efforts, persistence, and talents will set her up for a great competitive year ahead.

Senior jumper Elena Martinez-Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) was recognized as the SCSU Field Athlete to Watch for the 2023-24 indoor season. Martinez-Rodriguez joins the Huskies this season after transferring from Georgian Court, an NCAA Division II school in Lakewood, N.J. Last indoor season for the Lions, she complied four top-five finishes and scored points in four events at the East Coast Conference (ECC) Indoor Championships. She finished fourth in high jump (1.50m/4-11), sixth in long jump (4.88m/16-0.25) and sixth in triple jump (10.53m/34-6.75). Martinez-Rodriguez finished the indoor season with season-best marks of 1.55m/5-1 in high jump, 5.1m/16-8.75 in long jump and 11.04m/36-2.75 in triple jump.

"Elena has wonderfully shifted the dynamics for the jumps crew," said Brown, "Coming in with prior knowledge and experience she knows what it takes to be successful in her events."

THE SENIORS
Six athletes will compete in their senior campaign in 2023-24 as graduate student Paola Breña (Queretero, Mexico) is joined by fifth-years Mariana Guerra-Reese (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Addi Scribner (Woodbury, Minn.) along with true seniors, Erica Conrad (Ashwaubenon, Wis.), Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) and Elena Martinez-Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain).

THE JUNIORS
Six juniors will compete for St. Cloud State this season, represented by Makaylin Christenson (Praire Farm, Wis.) Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.), Kendall Gonzalez (Waukesham Wis.), Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.), Shelby Romig (Ankeny, Iowa) and Lauren Sertich (Cloquet, Minn.)

THE SOPHOMORES
Three athletes make up this year's sophomore class – Hannah Little (Grimes, Iowa), Jaileen Medina (Wheaton, Ill.) and Ava Wilmanns (Cedarburg, Wis.).

WELCOME TO THE PACK
There are 13 freshmen on the roster: Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa), Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.), Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.), Kyla Hendricks (Bay Port, Wis.), Alicia Jennissen (Sauk Centre, Minn.), Jenna Marxhausen (Two Harbors, Minn.), Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.), Mady Muehr (Greendale, Wis.), Viola Okey-Ezealah (Lagos, Nigeria), Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.), Savannah Reinke (Carrollton, Mo.), Myesha Thompson (Mount Horeb, Wis.) and Trinity Wallendal (Fond du Lac, Wis.).

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Track & Field, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.