St. Cloud State Track & Field Travels Across Town for CSB/SJU Invitational

Saturday, April 20

Collegeville, Minn.

10:00 A.M. CT (Running) | 10:30 A.M. CT (Field)

St. Cloud State

CSB/SJU Invitational

Lauren Sertich and Audrey Rabitz @ Wartburg 4-6

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Track & Field Travels Across Town for CSB/SJU Invitational

4/19/2024 2:54:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Heat Sheets

Huskies compete in Collegeville on Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field will compete in its second consecutive in-state meet of the outdoor season on Saturday at the CSB/SJU Invitational in Collegeville. The meet will begin with running events at 10 a.m. with the women's 10,000 meters and field events will follow at 10:30 with women's discus. The meet will take place on the Miles Track at Clemens Stadium on the campus of St. John's University.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
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
Bethel, Concordia Moorhead, Gustavus Adolphus, Macalaster, Martin Luther, Minnesota Duluth, Saint Benedict, St. Cloud State, St. Scholastica, Southwest Minnesota State

HUSKIES IN THE MEET
100 meters (1:30 p.m.) – Katie Lavato, Addi Scribner, Olivia Witt
200 meters (2:55 p.m.) – Viola Okey-Ezealah, Jenna Marxhausen, Elena Martinez-Rodriguez, Myesha Thompson, Kendall Gonzalez
400 meters (1:10 p.m.) – Kendall Gonzalez, Makaylin Christenson, Jaileen Medina
800 meters (1:52 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Lauren Sertich, Audrey Rabitz
1,500 meters (12:10 p.m.) – Paige Beason, Lauren Sertich, Erica Conrad
5,000 meters (3:30 p.m.) – Greta Freed, Cambrie Kowal, Alena Donahue, Tegan Michalak
100 hurdles (12:45 p.m.) – Trinity Wallendal
3,000 steeplechase (11:15 a.m.) – Alena Donahue
4x100 relay (11:40 a.m.) – Jenna Marxhausen/Shelby Romig/Trinity Wallendal/Addi Scribner
4x400 relay (4:02 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese/Viola Okey-Ezealah/Audrey Rabitz/Katie Lavato, Makaylin Christenson/Jenna Marxhausen/Jaileen Medina/Paige Beason
High jump (11:00 a.m.) – Viola Okey-Ezealah, Paola Breña, Makaylin Christenson
Long jump – Shelby Romig, Myesha Thompson
Triple jump – Elena Martinez-Rodriguez
Shot put – Alicia Jennissen, Hannah Bruskiewicz
Discus throw (10:30 a.m.) – Alicia Jennissen, Hannah Bruskiewicz

*Note – listed times are estimates

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Track & Field finished seventh place in the team standings at the Minnesota State Open on April 13 in Mankato. The Huskies recorded six top-five finishes, two new personal bests and one season-best marks set.

Fifth year sprinter Addi Scribner (Woodbury, Minn.) set a new personal best in the 100 meters (13.52), besting her time from a week ago by 0.04 seconds. Freshman sprinter Viola Okey-Ezealah (Lagos, Nigera) and freshman sprinter/hurdler Trinity Wallendal (Fon du Lac, Wis.) each made their collegiate debut in the 100 meters.

Senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) placed sixth in the 200 meters after running to a new personal best time of 25.94, 0.11 seconds faster than her previous best that she ran at the 2023 NSIC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farms, Wis.) ran a 0.60 second season-best time (1:08.67) in the 400 hurdles en route to a fourth-place finish.

Junior distance runners Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) and Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) both ran to top-five finishes in the 5,000 meters. Freed was fourth in 19:40.61 and Kowal was fifth in 19:55.17. It was their first 5,000 race of the outdoor season. Freshman distance runner Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa) and senior distance runner Erica Conrad (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) each placed top-five in the 3,000 steeplechase. Beason finished third and was just under two seconds away from her personal best in the event from last week's meet while Conrad raced to a fifth-place finish.

Graduate jumper Paola Breña (Queretero, Mexico) was sixth in the high jump, missing out on tying her season-best mark by 0.01 meters.

Three Huskies finished in the top-10 of the 800 meters while one was top-10 in the 400. Fifth-year distance runner Mariana Guerra-Reese (White Bear Lake, Minn.) was fifth in the 800 in 2:31.84, freshman middle distance runner Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) was eighth in 2:36.19 and junior distance runner Lauren Sertich (Cloquet, Minn.) was 10^th in 2:37.34. Freshman sprinter Jenna Marxhausen (Two Harbors, Minn.) was 10^th in the 400 in 1:05.43.

Freshman distance runner Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.) made her collegiate debut in the 1,500 meters.

PR SPOTLIGHT
Katie Lavato (200 meters) - 26.05 ---> 25:94
Addi Scribner (100 meters) 13.56 ---> 13.52

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.

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.