LINCOLN, Neb. – Augustana men's and women's track and field participated in the 2024 Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational held by the University of Nebraska on Friday and Saturday. Both programs competed amongst strong NCAA Division I programs as the Vikings put up strong numbers.

The Vikings competed in many events throughout the two-day meet as Jesse Kaas pulled away with a seventh-place finish in the men's 3000m with a season team-best time of 8:22.29. Kaas' time puts him 44th in the nation in the event. 

The women's 4x400m relay team exploded off the line for a season-best time of 3:52.46. The relay team made up of Ella Heinitz, Maia Peterson, Caroline Sudbeck and Nyanas Kur has continued to improve each meet. 

Kaja Salemonsen recorded a leap of 11.74m in the women's triple jump and finished eighth and beat out athletes from Division I schools in Kansas, the University of South Dakota and Baylor. 

Caroline Sudbeck finished in the top eight in the women's 800m as she ran to a time of 2:14.49 and earned a spot in the top 30 in the NCAA rankings. Sudbeck's time is a season team-best for the Vikings. 

Kur sported a team season-best time of 25.05 in the women's 200m as she dashed past athletes from Washington, Utah and Witchita State. 

Heinitz ran to a time of 58.02 in the women's 400m and put herself into the NCAA Division II rankings at 85th.  Sydnee Serck joined Heinitz in strong finishes as she placed 11th in the women's 600m with a time of 1:38.54.

Ashley Overgaauw ran a personal best time of 5:02.90 in the women's 1 mile and finished within the top 15. 

Maria Pedroso and Kylee Sallee took part in the women's indoor pentathlon as the two Vikings finished in the top 6, Pedroso scored fourth with a score of 3,446 and Sallee placed sixth with a score of 3,308. 

Pedroso finished in the top four in two events as she scored a mark of 1.61m in the high jump and ran to a time of 2:28.99 in the 800m. Sallee scored a fifth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.44m. 

Up Next
Augustana track and field keeps the train rolling with a two-day meet in Brookings, South Dakota as it takes part in the SDSU Indoor Classic. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10.