St. Cloud State Track & Field Heads to St. Peter for Drake Alternative

Saturday, April 27

St. Peter, Minn.

10:30 A.M. CT (Field) | 11:00 A.M. CT (Running)

St. Cloud State

Drake Alternative

Elena Martinez-Rodriguez @ CSB/SJU Invitational 4-20

Elena Martinez-Rodriguez at the CSB/SJU Invitational on April 20

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Track & Field Heads to St. Peter for Drake Alternative

4/26/2024 5:49:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Huskies compete at Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field will continue its stretch of in-state competition on Saturday at the Drake Alternative in St. Peter. The meet will begin at 10:30 a.m. with field events and running events will start at 11 a.m. The meet will take place at the Gustie Track Complex on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College.

Meet Information
Schedule of Events

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Live results will be provided by Wayzata Results. The meet will be streamed for free on the MIAC Sports Network. Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Track & Field Schedule Page.

TEAMS AT THE MEET
Bethany Lutheran, Gustavus Adolphus, Martin Luther, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, St. Scholastica

HUSKIES IN THE MEET
100 meters (1:04 p.m.) – Katie Lavato, Viola Okey-Ezealah, Myesha Thompson, Addi Scribner, Olivia Witt, Shelby Romig
200 meters (2:19 p.m.) – Katie Lavato, Myesha Thompson, Viola Okey-Ezealah, Addi Scribner, Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina, Shelby Romig
400 meters (12:40 p.m.) – Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina
800 meters (1:36 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Audrey Rabitz, Lauren Sertich
1,500 meters (11:57 a.m.) – Paige Beason, Erica Conrad Tegan Michalak, Greta Freed, Cambrie Kowal
5,000 meters (3:19 p.m.) – Greta Freed, Cambrie Kowal, Tegan Michalak, Alena Donahue
100 hurdles (12:26 p.m.) – Trinity Wallendal
400 hurdles (2:07 p.m.) – Makaylin Christenson, Trinity Wallendal
3,000 steeplechase (11:00 a.m.) – Erica Conrad, Paige Beason, Alena Donahue
High jump (10:30 a.m.) – Paola Breña, Makaylin Christenson
Long jump (10:30 a.m.) – Myesha Thompson, Shelby Romig
Shot put (10:30 a.m.) – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen
Discus throw (3:25 p.m.) – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen

*Note – listed times are estimates

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Track & Field won five events at the CSB/SJU Invitational on April 20 at the Miles Track/Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. The Huskies recorded 16 top-five finishes, 10 personal bests and four season-bests.

Junior distance runner Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) won the 5,000 meters in a new season-best time of 18:48.46. She cut nearly 52 seconds off her previous season best mark from last week. Junior distance runner Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) finished second in the race after running a new personal best time of 18:54.15. She cut almost a minute off her old season-best time from last week and over four seconds off her old personal best that she ran at the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in late February. Freshman distance runner Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.) also ran a new personal best time (19:46.05) and finished fourth. She broke 20 minutes for the first time while improving her personal best by nearly 30 seconds.

Fifth-year distance runner Mariana Guerra-Reese (White Bear Lake, Minn.) won the 800 in a new season-best time of 2:24.81, cutting just over seven seconds off her time from last week. Freshman middle distance runner Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) was fourth in a new personal-best time 2:27.22. Her previous best was 2:33.30. Junior distance runner Lauren Sertich (Cloquet, Minn.) ran a new season best time (2:29.76) and finished fifth.

Senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) won the 100 in 12.38, just 0.02 slower than her personal best that she set two weeks ago in Iowa. Fifth year sprinter Addi Scribner (Woodbury, Minn.) set a new personal best in the 100 for the second week in a row (13.47), besting her time from a week ago by 0.05 seconds to place ninth. Freshman Olivia Witt (Delano, Minn.) competed in her first race as a Husky, running the 100.

Graduate jumper Paola Breña (Queretero, Mexico) took the top spot in the high jump after clearing 1.60m (5-3). Junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farms, Wis.) placed second in the event, jumping a new season best of 1.55m (5-1). Christenson also placed fourth in the 400 meters, clocking a new personal best time of 1:00.76.

The quartet of freshman sprinter Jenna Marxhausen (Two Harbors, Minn.), junior jumper/hurdler/middle distance runner Shelby Romig (Ankeny, Iowa), freshman sprinter/hurdler Trinity Wallendal (Fon du Lac, Wis.) and Scribner won the 4x100 relay in 53.54. Romig also place fifth in the long jump.

Marxhausen placed fourth in the 200 meters after running a new personal best time of 26.95. It was the first time she broke 27 seconds, and she improved her time by 0.40 seconds. Freshman sprinter Viola Okey-Ezealah (Port-Harcourt, Nigeria) and senior jumper Elena Martinez-Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) also ran personal best times in the 200.

Freshman thrower Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.) was fourth in the shot put, freshman distance runner Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa) ran a new personal best in the 1,500, placing seventh and freshman thrower Alicia Jennissen (Sauk Centre, Minn.) recorded a new personal best in the discus throw (32.13m / 105-5) by nearly four meters / 13 feet.

The quartet of Guerra-Reese, Okey-Ezealah, Rabitz and Lavato ran the 4x400 relay in 4:12.91, finishing second. The team of Christenson, Marxhausen, sophomore distance runner Jaileen Medina (Wheaton, Ill.) and Beason placed fifth in the relay after running 4:30.42

PR SPOTLIGHT
Paige Beason (1,500 meters) - 5:12.52 --> 5:12.29
Makaylin Christenson (400 meters) - 1:00.97 --> 1:00.76
Alicia Jennissen (discus throw) - 28.27m (92-9) --> 32.13m (105-5)
Cambrie Kowal (5,000 meters) - 18:58.88 --> 18:54.15
Elena Martinez-Rodriguez (200 meters) - 28.59 --> 28.45
Jenna Marxhausen (200 meters) - 27.28 --> 26.95
Tegan Michalak (5,000 meters) - 20:14.53 --> 19:46.05
Viola Okey-Ezealah (200 meters) - 27.64 --> 27.60
Audrey Rabitz (800 meters) - 2:33.30 --> 2:27.22
Addi Scribner (100 meters) - 13.52 --> 13.47

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.