MEN'S DMR | WOMEN'S STEEPLE | WOMEN'S 4X800 | MEN'S STEEPLE | KIP JANVRIN OPEN
DES MOINES, Iowa - Augustana's men's distance medley relay ran away with a title at the Drake Relays for the third-straight year, finishing in a school record 9 minutes, 50.44 seconds Saturday morning. Kyle Blakeslee also put on a show, winning the Vikings' first women's individual title at the Drake Relays in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Henrik Hansson opened the relay for the Vikings and ran 3:02 in the 1,200 meters and Khor Kong followed him up with a time of 47.91 in the 400 meters. Aduo Omot ran the third leg, clocking in at 1:50.76 in the 800 meters. Tom Karbo finished with the 1,600 meters and recorded a time of 4:08.45.
The previous school record, set in 2011 by Travis Beniak, Taylor Olson, Omot and Karbo, was 9:53.62.
"Winning two relay titles and one individual Drake Relay's title is always a special thing for our program," head coach
Tracy Hellman said. "It is a tremendous accomplishment to come home with two relay titles from the weekend. The athletes were prepared to go today and it showed in their performance."
Blakeslee topped her South Dakota state and school record set last weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays to finish first in 10:18.71. She remains third in the nation with a time three seconds faster than the one she recorded last weekend. Blakeslee clocked in five seconds faster than the second-place finisher from Eastern Illinois.
Hellman said, "Kyle's performance was truly remarkable. She looked controlled the whole time and ran very relaxed early. When she took the lead with 600 meters to go, there was no doubt that she would win. It is a great victory for Kyle and our program."
With the win from Blakeslee, the Vikings have earned eight titles at Drake Relays in the past three years. Blakeslee had a standout weekend for Augustana, also winning a title in the women's DMR. As the anchor in the relay squad, Blakeslee brought the team from fourth to first.
Travis Beniak ran unattached in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase and had the second fastest time in the event at 8:54.02. He now holds the seventh fastest time in the nation.
Meanwhile, Augustana's women's 4x800 was less than a second behind St. Thomas (Minn.) to place fourth in 9:12.57. LeAnn Severson, Molly Kokesh, Kelly Kougl and Kristin Brondbo ran splits of 2:17, 2:18, 2:18 and 2:16, respectively.
Part of Vikings' squad also competed at the Kip Janvrin Open, hosted by Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, over the weekend.
Maddy Jourgensen finished second in the 5,000 meters in 18:07.42. She came in three seconds shy of her time that is currently sixth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Megan Brown finished in 18:12.83, while Shane McCallum ran the event on the men's side in 15:19.45. Both Brown and McCallum finished fifth. McCallum's time is ninth in the league.
Jordan Slusser was seventh in the men's 1,500 meters in 4:02.77. It's the 11th fastest time in the conference.
Two Vikings turned in fourth-place finishes. Phil Rein checked in at 21 feet, 6.25 inches in the long jump, and Matt Winder ran the 400-meter hurdles in 56.20.
Augustana travels to Aberdeen, S.D., tomorrow for the two-day NSIC Multi-Event Championships.
