FINAL RESULTS
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana's Travis Beniak won the men's 1,500-meter run and Andrea Whitney won the high jump at the sixth annual Vance Butler Invitational on Saturday at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Beniak won with a time of 3 minutes, 53.96 seconds--less than a second off the provisional qualifying time. He also ran a time of 1:56.56 to take third in the men's 800-meter run.
Whitney cleared 5 feet, 7 inches and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship. Teammate Katie Guse was second with an identical leap.
Augustana distance ran strong at the invite. In the women's 1500-meter run, Molly Kokesh (4:42.52) took second, and Kyle Blakeslee was sixth (4:44.12).
Kokesh took second again in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.65.
Leah Hansen ran 17:52.61 in the women's 5000-meter run to earn runner-up honors
Freshman Anne Parsley placed fourth in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 64.31 seconds. It was her first time running the event.
Karmen Nyberg was also fourth in the women's 100-meter run (12.87 seconds), and Paul Mallory checked in at No. 3 in the men's 110-meter hurdles (15.44 seconds).
Augustana's women's and men's 400-meter relay teams were seventh with times of 49.80 and 44.03 seconds, respectively.
Karissa Pepin jumped 5-feet, 1 inch to take fourth place in the women's high jump, while Cory Sugden tied for sixth in the men's event, leaping 6 feet, 3 inches.
Hollie Bloom was eighth in the women's pole vault after clearing 10 feet, 9 inches.
Aaron Jung and Noel Bentele both took fifth in their throwing events: Jung (50 feet, 4.75 inches) in the men's shot put and Bentele (163 feet, 6 inches) in the women's hammer throw.
In the women's javelin, Meagan Grandgenett (92 feet, 8 inches) and Mary Hitchcock (92 feet, 6 inches) were sixth and seventh, respectively. Dylan Buehler was fourth in the men's event with a toss of 172 feet.
The Vikings return to action on March 15 at 16 when they travel to the Sioux City Relays.
