This week
Augustana will visit Minnesota State this Saturday to take part in the Ted Nelson Classic in Mankato, Minn.
Ted Nelson Classic
The field events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the running events at noon.
Last time out
Augustana recorded seven top finishes, including three provisional national qualifying performances, last Saturday at the Minnesota State Open. Vikings who had provisional performances included Aaron Jung, who took second in the shot put (52 feet, 2 inches) and first-place finishers Henrik Hansson and Kayla Mescher in the 800-meter run (1:54.09) and in the 400-meter dash (57.51), respectively. Other first-place finishers included 60-meter hurdler Gathin Veldhuizen (8:38) and 5,000-meter runner Paul Yak (14:57.64). Leah Hansen won the women's 3,000-meter run (10.04.69). Katie Guse tied for first in the high jump with a leap of five feet, five inches and Travis Beniak received the top finish in the one mile with a time of 4:18.37.
Lucky number seven
Augustana holds the top mark in the conference in seven events. High jumper Katie Guse (5 feet, 7.75 inches), 3,000-meter runner Paul Yak (8:37.29), one-miler Henrik Hansson (4:17.30), 1,000-meter (2:27.46) and 800-meter (1:51.89) runner Aduo Omot, 3,000-meter runner Kayla Mescher (57.51) and the women's 4X400-meter relay team (10:24.94) all have the top times in the NSIC.
Top-10
Two Vikings earned top-10 national rankings Tuesday from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association. Aduo Omot is ranked fourth nationally for the second week in a row in the men's 800-meter run (1:51.89). Katie Guse moved to ninth in the high jump (five feet, 7.75 inches). To view the complete individual national rankings, click
here.
Land of 10,000 lakes
When Augustana travels to Minnesota Saturday, it will be its fourth time this season. The Vikings opened their season in December at the Minnesota Preseason Open in Mankato, Minn., and traveled to Minneapolis twice in January. By the end of the season, Augustana will have competed in the Land of 10,000 lakes eight times.
Weekly NSIC honors
The NSIC announced Tuesday Augustana's Henrik Hansson has been named its track athlete of the week for his performance at last Saturday's Minnesota State Open in Mankato, Minn. Hansson, a redshirt freshman from Stromstad, Sweeden, was one of three Vikings to provisionally qualify for the national meet at the MSU Open. He turned in a top time of 1:54.09 to win the men's 800-meter run. This marks the second weekly conference award Augustana has earned this season. Henrick Holmberg received the honor on Dec. 6.
|
Date |
Athlete |
W/M |
|
Dec. 3 |
Henrick Holmberg |
M |
|
Jan. 31 |
Henrik Hansson |
M |
2012 Provisional Qualifiers
Seven 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 |
4X400m Relay |
3:55.80 |
|
Aduo Omot |
Jack Johnson Invite |
800m |
1:51.89 |
|
Kayla Mescher |
Minnesota State Open |
3,000m |
57.51 |
|
Aaron Jung |
Minnesota State Open |
Shot Put |
52' 2" |
|
Henrik Hansson |
Minnesota State Open |
800m |
1:54.09 |
National rankings
The Augustana women's indoor track and field team dropped three spots to No. 19 in the national rankings released Tuesday by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The men have not been nationally ranked this season. Click
here to view the complete rankings.
Regional rankings
In the Central Region rankings, the Viking women dropped one place and the men stayed the same for both teams to check in at No. 7. 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
Next weekend, the Vikings travel to Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Classic.
