MANKATO, Minn. -- The Augustana men's and women's track and field teams started off the new year with strong performances at the Minnesota State Invitational in Mankato, Minn. Both programs finished with several season and personal bests. 

Starting in the field events, sophomore Kendra Ludeman won the women's high jump with a personal-best jump of five feet five inches (1.65m). Junior Olivia Montez Brown placed in the top-five in three different events, fifth in high jump four feet 12 inches (1.52m), third in the long jump 17 feet 2.3 inches (5.24m) and second in the 60m hurdles (8.87).

Senior Coley Stoller placed second in the triple jump 36 feet 1/4 inches (10.98m), while freshman Kaly Banks placed fifth with a jump of 33 feet 9.5 inches (10.30m) for the Vikings. Banks also placed 10th in the long jump with a jump of 15 feet 8.19 inches (4.78m). 

Switching to the speedsters on the track, NSIC preseason track athlete to watch sophomore Callie DeWitt placed fourth in the 60m finals with a time of 7.83. She also took fourth in the long jump with a jump of 17 feet 0.33 inches (5.19m). 

Sophomore Selin Dikmen placed third in the 200m dash with a time of 26.45 as well as placing fifth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.47 and sophomore Mariah Beckius also placed in the 200m dash with a time of 27.36 for 11th place.

In the 400m the Vikings placed three in the top-five with sophomore Sydney Mudgett placing second (1:00.72), freshman Kaitlyn Mulder in third (1:02.09) and senior Ashley Solano in fourth (1:02.40).

Senior Brooke DeVos placed fifth in the 600m with a time of 1:48.15 while sophomore Kali Ryan won the 800m run with a season-best time of 2:19.97. 

Finishing out the day's events on the track the women's 4x400 team comprised of DeVos, Solano, Ryan, and Anne Kennedy placed fifth with a time of 4:15.55. 

Overall, the women placed second with 104.50 points while the host team Minnesota State won with 257 points. 

On the men's side, they had several top finishers in Mankato as well - headlined by sophomore Ryan Sully's first-place finish in the 400m with a time of 52.23. Junior Alex Woods crossed the finish line just behind Sully in second with a finishing time of 52.54. 

Over in the 600m, freshman Noah Melton had a strong second place finish with a personal best time of 1:24.44. Senior Paul Meloche had two top-10 finishes, he placed 10th in the 200m dash with a season-best time of 23.41 and second in the 60m hurdles with a season-best 8.38.

The field events had three top-three finishes with junior Matt Pohlmann bringing in two of them. The junior placed third in both the pole vault with a mark of 14 feet 0.5 inches (4.28m) and had a personal best long jump of 21 feet 2.72 inches (6.47m). In the high jump, freshman Tyl Woelber placed second with a mark of six feet 4.38 inches (1.94m). 

The Augustana men finished with 84 points for third place. Minnesota State won the event with 271.50 points. 

UP NEXT: 

Both teams travel up north to Brookings to compete in the SDSU DII Invitational on Jan. 18th. The field events on Friday start at 1:30 p.m. with the women's weight throw and the track events start at 2 p.m. with men and women's 60m hurdles.