St. Cloud State Track & Field Closes Regular Season with Maverick Open #2

Saturday, May 4

Mankato, Minn.

Noon CT (Field) | 1:30 P.M. CT (Running)

St. Cloud State

Maverick Open #2

Trinity Wallendal @ Joe Sweeney Invitational 5-1

Trinity Wallendal finishes the 100 hurdles at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on May 1, 2024

Photo by: St. Thomas Athletics

St. Cloud State Track & Field Closes Regular Season with Maverick Open #2

5/3/2024 3:54:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Huskies travel to Mankato on Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field closes out its regular season schedule on Saturday at the Maverick Open #2 in Mankato. The meet kicks off at noon with field events and running events will follow at 1:30 p.m. The meet will take place at the Mark Shuck Outdoor Track & Field Complex on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Schedule of Events

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Live results will be provided by Hero's Timing. Admission fees are as follows: Adults (18 and older) $10, youth (ages 10-18) $5. Anyone under the age of 10 will be free of charge. Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Track & Field Schedule Page.

TEAMS AT THE MEET
Gustavus, Adolphus, Minnesota State, Sioux Falls, St. Cloud State, Viterbo, Winona State

HUSKIES IN THE MEET
100 meters (prelims – 2:17 p.m. | finals – 3:02 p.m.) – Viola Okey-Ezealah, Shelby Romig, Olivia Witt
200 meters (3:56 p.m.) – Viola Okey-Ezealah, Myesha Thompson, Addi Scribner, Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina, Olivia Witt
400 meters (2:37 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Makaylin Christenson, Katie Lavato, Audrey Rabitz, Addi Scribner, Kendall Gonzalez, Jaileen Medina
800 meters (3:32 p.m.) – Mariana Guerra-Reese, Audrey Rabitz, Lauren Sertich
1,500 meters (4:10 p.m.) – Tegan Michalak
100 hurdles (prelims – 1:30 p.m. | finals – 3:10 p.m.) – Trinity Wallendal
400 hurdles (3:40 p.m.) – Makaylin Christenson, Trinity Wallendal
3,000 steeplechase (2:31 p.m.) – Erica Conrad, Alena Donahue
4x100 relay
High jump – Paola Breña, Makaylin Christenson, Elena Martinez-Rodriguez
Pole vault – Olivia Witt
Long jump – Myesha Thompson, Shelby Romig
Shot put – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen
Discus throw – Hannah Bruskiewicz, Alicia Jennissen
Javelin throw – Trinity Wallendal

*Note – listed times are estimates

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Track & Field posted seven new personal bests, six top-10 finishes and three season bests at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on Wednesday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on the campus of St. Thomas in St. Paul. No team scores were kept.

The Huskies efforts were highlighted by senior sprinter Katie Lavato (Buffalo, Minn.) who won the 100 meters in a new personal record time of 12.24. Freshman sprinter Olivia Witt (Delano, Minn.) recorded a new personal best in the 100 for the third week in a row.

Freshman distance runner Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.) raced to a third-place finish in the 5,000 meters, running a new personal best time of 19:44.88. She has set a new personal best in each of the last three 5k's she has run during the outdoor season.

Fifth-year middle distance runner Mariana Guerra-Reese (White Bear Lake, Minn.) finished seventh in and ran a new season best time in the 400 (59.74) while junior jumper/middle distance runner Makaylin Christenson (Prairie Farms, Wis.) and freshman middle distance runner Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) each recorded new personal best marks in the event.

Freshman sprinter/jumper Myesha Thompson (Mount Horeb, Wis.) and sophomore middle distance runner Jaileen Medina (Wheaton, Ill.) ran personal best marks in the 200, senior jumper Elena Martinez-Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) finished second in the triple jump, leaping 10.61m (34-9.75) and junior jumper/hurdler/sprinter Shelby Romig (Ankeny, Iowa) leaped 4.91m (16-1.5) in the long jump, a new season best mark.

The quartet of Lavato, freshman sprinter Jenna Marxhausen (Two Harbors, Minn.), Rabitz and Guerra-Reese placed seventh in the 4x400 relay in a new season best time for the Huskies, 4:05.22

PR SPOTLIGHT
Makaylin Christenson (400 meters) 1:00.76 --> 1:00.53
Katie Lavato (100 meters) - 12.36 -->12.24
Jaileen Medina (200 meters) - 30.60 --> 30.50
Tegan Michalak (5,000 meters) 19:46.05 --> 19:44.88
Audrey Rabitz (400 meters) - 1:02.42 --> 1:00.96
Myesha Thompson (200 meters) - 27.48 --> 27.31
Olivia Witt (100 meters) - 15.14 --> 15.13

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.