St. Cloud State Track & Field Ready for First Midweek Meet of the Season

Wednesday, May 1

St. Paul, Minn.

Noon CT (Field) | 3:00 P.M. CT (Running)

St. Cloud State

Joe Sweeney Invitational

Makaylin Christenson @ CSB/SJU Invitational 4-20

Makaylin Christenson at the CSB/SJU Invitational on April 20

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Track & Field Ready for First Midweek Meet of the Season

4/30/2024 10:31:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Huskies make short trip to St. Paul on Wednesday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field will compete in its first midweek meet of the season on Wednesday at the Joe Sweeney Invitational in St. Paul after the University of Minnesota Invite was canceled two weeks ago. The meet will begin at noon with field events with running events to follow at 3 p.m. The meet will take place at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on the campus of St. Thomas.

Meet Information / Schedule of Events

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Live results will be provided by Fast Finish Results and the meet will be streamed on the Summit League Network ($). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Track & Field Schedule Page.

TEAMS AT THE MEET
Augsburg, Bemidji State, Bethel, Carleton, Concordia-St. Paul, Hamline, Macalester, Minnesota Duluth, North Central, Northwestern, South Dakota State, St. Benedict, St. Catherine, St. Cloud State, St. Olaf, St. Scholastica, St. Thomas

HUSKIES IN THE MEET
100 meters (6:20 p.m.) – Katie Lavato, Viola Okey-Ezealah, Olivia Witt
200 meters (8:05 p.m.) – Viola Okey-Ezealah, Myesha Thompson, Addi Scribner, Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina, Olivia Witt
400 meters (5:55 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Makaylin Christenson, Audrey Rabitz, Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina, Addi Scribner
800 meters (6:50 p.m.) – Lauren Sertich
100 hurdles (5:30 p.m.) – Trinity Wallendal
400 hurdles (7:45 p.m.) – Trinity Wallendal
4x100 relay (4:25 p.m.) – Shelby Romig, Jenna Marxhausen, Viola Okey-Ezealah, Katie Lavato
4x400 relay (9:25 p.m.) – Katie Lavato, Jenna Marxhausen, Audrey Rabitz, Mariana Guerra-Reese
Pole vault – Olivia Witt
Triple jump (6:00 p.m.) – Elena Martinez-Rodriguez
Long jump (3:30 p.m.) – Myesha Thompson, Shelby Romig
Shot put (2:35 p.m.) – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen
Discus throw (4:20 p.m.) – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen

*Note – listed times are estimates

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Track & Field recorded 14 new personal bests at the Drake Alternative on April 27 at the Gustie Track Complex in St. Peter. The Huskies posted 11 top-five finishes, six season-bests and two event wins. No team scores were kept.

The Huskies started the meet as well as they could've, taking the top three spots in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Freshman distance runner Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa) took the win in a new personal best time of 12:01.83, cutting over 20 seconds off her previous best time. Senior distance runner Erica Conrad (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) was second, missing out on a new personal best by just over two seconds and freshman distance runner Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.) ran a new personal best time of 12:16.41 to place third. Donahue cut over 30 seconds off her previous best time.

Graduate jumper Paola Breña (Queretero, Mexico) was the other Husky to win an event after clearing 1.60m (5-3) in the high jump, tying her best mark this outdoor season. Freshman sprinter/jumper Myesha Thompson (Mount Horeb, Wis.) placed second in the long jump with a mark of 5.35m (17-6.75).

Junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farms, Wis.) finished the 400 hurdles in a new season best time of 1:08.31, placing second. Freshman sprinter/hurdler Trinity Wallendal (Fon du Lac, Wis.) ran over a half second personal record in the 100 hurdles and placed fifth in the 400 hurdles.

Freshman thrower Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.) set new personal bests in the shot put and discus throw. She improved on her shot put mark by 0.35m (1-1.75) to place third and improved her discus mark by 1.16m (3-10). Fellow freshman thrower Alicia Jennissen (Sauk Centre, Minn.) recorded a new outdoor season best in the shot put by 0.55m.

Senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) was second in the 200 after running a new 0.76 second personal best time (25.18) and finished fourth in the 100, missing out on a personal best by 0.04 seconds. Freshman sprinter Viola Okey-Ezealah (Port-Harcourt, Nigeria) also ran a new personal best in the 200 along with fifth year sprinter Addi Scribner (Woodbury, Minn.) and junior sprinter Kendall Gonzalez (Waukesha, Wis.). Okey-Ezealah improved her time by 0.74 seconds, Scribner by 1.66 seconds and Gonzalez by 1.21 seconds. Scribner tied her personal best in the 100 that she set last weekend, and freshman sprinter Olivia Witt (Delano, Minn.) recorded a new personal best in the event as well.

Junior distance runner Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) was fifth in the 5,000 meters in a new season-best time of 18:44.44. She cut just over four seconds off her previous outdoor best mark set last week. Junior distance runner Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) ran a personal best time in the 5,000 for the second week in a row, placing sixth in 18:44.73. This weeks' time was almost 10 seconds faster than the time she ran a week ago.

Fifth-year distance runner Mariana Guerra-Reese (White Bear Lake, Minn.) placed sixth the 800 after running a new season-best time of 2:20.81, cutting exactly four seconds off her time from last week. Freshman middle distance runner Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) finished in a new personal-best time (2:26.99) for the second week in a row and junior distance runner Lauren Sertich (Cloquet, Minn.) ran a new season best time (2:28.02) for the second consecutive week.

Freshman distance runner Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.) finished the 1,500 in a new four-second personal best time of 5:24.39.

PR SPOTLIGHT
Paige Beason (3,000 steeplechase) - 12:22.41 --> 12:01.83
Hannah Bruskiewicz (shot put) - 11.81m (38-9) --> 12.16m (39-10.75)
Hannah Bruskiewicz (discus throw) - 32.67m (107-2) --> 33.83m (111-0)
Alena Donahue (3,000 steeplechase) - 12:49.44 --> 12:16.41
Kendall Gonzalez (200 meters) - 30.34 --> 29.13
Cambrie Kowal (5,000 meters) - 18:54.15 --> 18:44.73
Katie Lavato (200 meters) - 25.94 --> 25.18
Tegan Michalak (1,500 meters) 5:28.16 --> 5:24.39
Viola Okey-Ezealah (200 meters) 27.60 --> 26.86
Audrey Rabitz (800 meters) - 2:27.22 --> 2:26.99
Addi Scribner (100 meters) - 13.47 (tie)
Addi Scribner (200 meters) - 29.19 --> 27.53
Trinity Wallendal (100 hurdles) - 17.82 --> 16.69
Olivia Witt (100 meters) - 15.21 --> 15.14

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.