SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana outdoor track & field squads claimed its fifth-straight women's distance medley relay title at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition, the women's sprint medley relay broke the Augustana school record.
"The Drake Relays are always a special meet for our program each year," said Augustana Director of Track & Field, Tracy Hellman. "We have a tradition of excellence and we are proud to continue that record."
Augustana claimed the women's distance medley relay title for the fifth-consecutive year. This streak owns the Drake Relays record and is the Vikings 22nd title including its 17th title in the last 10 seasons. The DMR was won by Mia Salas, Ella Heinitz, Caroline Sudbeck and Patty Jo English. The quartet clocked in a time of 11:42.58 to claim the third fastest mark in Augustana school history.
"Our women's DMR title was the highlight of the weekend and it was great to bring home another Drake Relays victory back to Augustana," Hellman added. "The women's DMR victory was our fifth-straight DMR title at Drake and it was a testament to the resilience of our ladies as we had a tough battle but came away with a victory."
The Vikings found strong strides in the women's sprint medley through breaking the Augustana school record. The team of Lily Juhnke, Nyanas Kur, Maia Peterson and Caroline Sudbeck clinched the runner up finish with a time of 4:00.46 to break the program record by 1.2 seconds.
On the final day of the relays, the men's distance medley quartet of Colten Brand, Gavin Fischer, Ryan Hartman and Jonah Breuer placed third with a time of 9:51.13. The time is the second best in program history and was just .69 of a second short from the school record.
Opening Friday action for Augustana was the women's 4x100m relays first round. The quartet of Lauren Merkley, Ella Heinitz, Lily Juhnke and Nyanas Kur claimed a seventh place finish in the relay clocking in a time of 47.39 to advance to the finals on Saturday. During the finals, the Vikings claimed a fourth place finish with a time of 47.59 to claim the seventh fastest mark in program history.
The men's 4x400 relay clinched a spot in the finals of the event following a fourth place finish on Friday. The quartet of Colter Johnson, Andrew Martens, Jed Dooyema and Gavin Fischer clocked in a time of 3:18.36 in the first round. During the finals, the Vikings claimed a sixth place finish clocking in a time of 3:18.91.
Drake Relays
Distance Carnival
Patty Jo English opened the distance races for Augustana in Des Moines. She claimed a 10th place finish in the 1,500m with a time of 4:26.52
Colten Brand won the men's 1,500m clocking in a personal best time of 3:46.18. Brand opened the race with a fifth place spot and fell behind by as much as eighth place by the 1,100m stretch. Brand made a miraculous comeback in the final 400m as he advanced up seven slots to claim first place beating the runner up by an entire second. The time shattered his previous mark by 3.41 seconds, garnering Brand a third place spot in the Augustana top-10 list and collected a provisional qualifying mark.
Matt Steiger garnered a sixth place finish in the unseeded 5,000m run, crossing the finish line in a time of 14:13.94. Steiger claimed a personal best in the race demolishing his previous mark by 5.44 seconds. His time grants him a fourth place slot in the program top-10 list while garnering a provisional qualifying mark. Ryan Hartman and Jesse Kaas also raced in the 5,000m with Kaas joining Steiger in the unseeded race. Hartman clocked in a time of 14:28.37 in the final race, while Kaas ran in a time of 14.49.86.
Ella Bakken and Megan Means finished out the first day of racing for Augustana in the 10,000m run. Bakken claimed 11th place in her 10,000m debut with a time of 36:18.31 to claim a provisional qualifying mark. Means collected a 16th place finish with a time of 36:53.79 to wrap up day two action for the Vikings.
Sprint Series
Nyanas Kur took the track in the 100m clocking in a time of 12.20 to garner a 17th place finish in the preliminary round.
Elizabeth Schaefer collected a personal best and an additional provisional qualifying mark in the 400m hurdles clinching a time of 1:01.25. Schaefer's time beats her previous best mark by .68 of a second and improves her time in the 3rd place slot of the Augustana top-10 list.
Friday night action was finished off with the men's sprint medley. The Vikings claimed an 11th place finish with a time of 3:35.71 through the squad of Andrew Martens, Trent DeCook, Jed Dooyema and Ethan Boyens.
Pentathlon
Kylee Sallee took seventh place in the heptathlon totaling a personal best, and provisional qualifying mark, with 4,786 points. Sallee surpassed her previous score by 218 points while claiming a personal best in the javelin throw with a distance of 31.61m. She also collected a personal best in the 800m dash through clocking in a time of 2:29.23, beating her previous time by .94 of a second. Sallee's score moves her up to the third place spot in the Augustana top-10 list.
Triple Jump
Kaja Salemonsen represented Augustana in the triple jump with a distance of 38'8.25" to clinch an 11th place slot. The distance was just .5 short of her personal best that is second best in program history. Connor Clayton also claimed 11th place in the triple jump for the men. Clayton's best jump of the day was a distance of 44'8".
"All in all, it was a great weekend for Augustana Track at the prestigious Drake Relays!" Hellman added.
Kip Janvrin Invite
In the men's 400m Colter Johnson recorded a personal best with a time of 49.98, surpassing his previous bestmark by .12. Joining Johnson in the men's 400m was Ethan Boyens who also collected a personal best in the event advancing his time from 51.31 to 50.19.
Mia Salas continued her success from Des Moines through Indianola by clinching a third place finish in the 1,500 meter run. Salas garnered a time of 4:36.32 while defeating Division I competition. Iris Velting also raced in the 1,500 meter run clocking in a time of 4:38.28 to claim a personal best.
Augustana continued to run the distance at Simpson College, seeing a fourth place finish in the 5,000 meter run through Taylor Melton. Melton garnered the finish in a time of 17:30.17 while garnering a personal best. Closely behind Melton was Ana McCabe, who collected an eighth place finish in a time of 17:35.45, shaving a near eight seconds off her previous best.
In the women's 100m hurdles, Kaye Paschka and Jayda Becker recorded a sixth and seventh place finish with Paschka clocking a time of 15.34 and Becker in her event debut with a time of 15.60.
In the women's 100m dash, Lily Juhnke clinched a fourth place finish with a time of 12.49. Close behind Juhnke was Ella Heinitz, who recorded a time of 12.85.
Noa Marteau made her mark in the 400m hurdles on Friday. Marteau clocked in a personal best time of 1:01.80, being the first division II finisher while beating her previous mark by .26. In her 400m hurdle debut, Becker collected a seventh place finish with a time of 1:08.54. In the men's 400m hurdles, Tyler Sellin joined in on the personal best frenzy, collecting a pb with a time of 56.72.
Up Next
The Vikings have one more weekend of the regular season before the NSIC Outdoor Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, May 11-13. A part of the squad will travel to the Portland Twilight on May 6 in Portland, Oregon, while the other will travel to the Minnesota State Open in Mankato, Minnesota, May 3 and 6.
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