This week
The Augustana indoor track and field team heads to the Minnesota State Open in Mankato, Minn., on Saturday.
Last time out
The Vikings had provisional qualifying performances from their women's 4X400-meter relay team and Aduo Omot last Saturday at the University of Minnesota's Jack Johnson Invite. The relay team, made up of Kayla Mescher, Colleen Everson, Katie Tonner and Anne Parsley, finished in 3:55.80 to take seventh place. Omot logged a time of 1:51.89 in the 800-meter run to place third.
Top-10
The Vikings had three athletes receive top-10 national rankings Tuesday from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association. Aduo Omot checked in at No. 4 in the men's 800-meter run (1:51.89). Katie Guse is No. 7 in the women's high jump (5 feet, 7.75 inches) and Henrik Holmberg is ranked ninth in the men's heptathlon (4784 points). To view the complete individual national rankings, click
here.
Land of 10,000 lakes
When Augustana travels to Minnesota Saturday, it will be its third time this season and the Vikings' second time in January. The Vikings opened their season in December at the Minnesota Preseason Open in Mankato, Minn., and traveled to Minneapolis last weekend. By the end of the season, Augustana will have competed in the Land of 10,000 lakes eight times.
Weekly NSIC honors
Henrick Holmberg is the first Viking of the season to pick up a weekly conference award. He was named men's field athlete of the week by the NSIC on Dec. 3.
|
Date |
Athlete |
W/M |
|
Dec. 3 |
Henrick Holmberg |
M |
2012 Provisional Qualifiers
Four Vikings and a relay team have provisionally qualified to compete at the national championships.
|
Athlete |
Meet |
Event |
Time/Mark |
|
Hollie Bloom |
Minnesota State Preseason Open |
Pole Vault |
11' 6.5" |
|
Katie Guse |
Minnesota State Preseason Open |
High Jump |
5' 7.75'' |
|
Henrick Holmberg |
WSC Preseason Open |
Heptathlon |
4784 points |
|
Mescher, Everson, Tonner, Parsley |
Jack Johnson Invite |
4X400-Meter Relay |
3:55.80 |
|
Aduo Omot |
Jack Johnson Invite |
800-Meter Run |
1:51.89 |
National rankings
The Augustana women dropped three spots and are No. 16 in the first national rankings of the season released Tuesday by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Vikings were 13th in the preseason rankings. Grand Valley State is the No. 1 team in the nation on the women's side, while Lincoln (Mo.) is first for the men. Click
here to view the complete rankings.
Regional rankings
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association also announced Tuesday the Viking women are No. 6 and the men are seventh in the first Central Region Rankings. Nebraska-Kearney is the top team in the Central Region for both the women and the men. To view the complete regional rankings, click
here.
According to the coaches
The Augustana women received top billing and the men are third in the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Viking women received eight first-place votes and 98 points, while the men earned one first-place vote and a total of 53 points.
|
Women's Preseason Poll |
|
1 |
Augustana (8) |
98 |
|
2 |
U-Mary (3) |
93 |
|
3 |
Winona State |
81 |
|
4 |
Minnesota State |
69 |
|
5 |
Wayne State |
62 |
|
6 |
Minnesota Duluth |
55 |
|
7 |
St. Cloud State |
48 |
|
8 |
MSU Moorhead |
34 |
|
9 |
Bemidji State |
28 |
|
10 |
Northern State |
26 |
|
11 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
11 |
|
Men's Preseason Poll
|
|
|
1 |
MSU Moorhead (7) |
63 |
|
2 |
Minnesota State (1) |
55 |
|
3 |
Augustana (1) |
53 |
|
4 |
U-Mary |
36 |
|
5 |
Wayne State |
31 |
|
6 |
Northern State |
29 |
|
7 |
St. Cloud State |
22 |
|
8 |
Minnesota Duluth |
19 |
|
9 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
16 |
Preseason picks
Augustana distance specialist Runa Falch was named the women's conference preseason track athlete of the year. Falch was voted the NSIC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year last season after scoring 28 points at the championships, which was tied with U-Mary's Melissa Walker for highest at the national event. At the NSIC Championships she won two races--the 3,000- (9:42.33) and 5,000- (15:42.25) meter runs to set the new conference and school records. Vikings tabbed as “athletes to watch” in 2012 include Aduo Omot, Aaron Jung and Katie Guse. Omot is a returning conference champion in the men's 1,000-meter run (2:32.94) and he was also the 800-meter (1:51.20) national champion last season. Jung will compete in the throws. A defensive lineman with the Viking football team, he played in all 11 games in 2011 and registered 23 tackles, including three for loss. Guse posted a winning height of 5-feet, 6 inches at the Minnesota State Preseason competition a year ago and registered a season's best of 5 feet, 7 inches outdoors.
A look back
A pair of runner-up conference finishes was a great post-season start for the 2011 Augustana men's and women's indoor track and field teams who went on to achieve program-best finishes at the national indoor meet. The men ran their way to 11th-place honors, while the women placed 22nd.
Coaches' corner
Tracy Hellman enters his eighth season as head coach of the Viking track and field program. He's won two conference titles and guided 14 All-America performers. A multiple recipient of NSIC Coach of the Year awards, Hellman is assisted by Jim Vahrenkamp, Chris Parno, Kelsey Maloney and Amber Beman.
Next up
Augustana returns to Mankato, Minn., next weekend for the Ted Nelson Classic.
