DES MOINES, Iowa – Augustana track and field have finished strong in the opening days of the coveted Drake Relays. Multiple Vikings have put together impressive times and scores going into the final day of competition. 

Director of Track and Field Tracy Hellman was honored Thursday afternoon as a 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee of the Drake Relays.

Drake Relays
On Wednesday afternoon, Augustana kicked off the invitational with two strong scores in the women's heptathlon. Kylee Sallee put together a score of 4,753 for a sixth-place finish while Maria Pedroso placed seventh with a score of 4,691. Salle placed in the top 10 in five different combinations. Pedroso garnered a top-five finish in two different categories. 

On Thursday night, Ryan Hartman soared to a second-place finish in the men's 1500m with an impressive time of 3:44.27. Colton Brand finished just outside the top 10 with a time of 3:49.85. 

Caroline Sudbeck pulled together a 12th-place finish in the women's 800m with a time of 2:12.55.

Late Thursday night Brady Hogan competed in the men's 10,000m and crossed the finish line in 14th with a time of 30:54.45.

Moving on to Friday morning, the 4x100 group of Jennifer Noutsougan, Nyanas Kur, Lily Juhnke, and Sallee hit a qualifying time of 47.54 and will compete in the finals on Saturday. On the men's side of the event, Luke Berends, Melik Davis, Trent Decook and Andrew Martens ran for a time of 42.64.

Juhnke, Ella Heinitz, Maia Peterson and Sudbeck placed second in the women's sprint medley with an outstanding time of 4:01.16. 

Noa Marteau ran early Friday afternoon in the women's 400m hurdles and finished with a time of 1:04.58. On the men's side, Martens continued his time on the track with a time of 56.03.

Martens locked in a third-place finish for Saturday's finals with a time of 13.97 in the men's 110m hurdles.

Tyler Sellin, Matthew Schoessow, Ethan Boyens and Jed Dooyema finished with a time of 3:23.70 in the men's 4x400m relay.

In the field, Kaja Salemonsen landed a mark of 11.36 in the women's triple jump. 

Luke Berends, Cole Berends, Ricker and Sellin garnered a top-10 finish in the men's sprint medley. 

Kip Janvrin Open
Another group of Vikings made their way to Iowa to compete in the Kip Janvrin Open held by Simpson College on Thursday and Friday. Augustana's showed out with multiple athletes finding their way into top-five finishes. 

Tyson Ricker dashed his way to a second-place finish in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:55.20. Nick Bachelor found himself in 20th with a time of 4:01.46. On the women's side of the event, Ashley Overgaauw garnered a fifth-place finish with a time of 4:40.19. Eleni Lovgren landed just outside the top 10 with a time of 4:44.72. 

In the women's 5000m, Laura Thompson propelled herself to a third-place finish with a time of 17:21.02. Taylor Melton finished just outside the top 15 with a time of 17:53.36.

Kaidin Groen finished 12th in the men's 5000m with a time of 14:53.19. Isaac Fink and Parker Fitzgerald crossed the line with strong times as well. 

Kasey Van Zee hurdled her way into a top 10 finish in the women's 400m hurdles with a time of 1:08.61. Anna Langseth finished behind Van Zee with a time of 1:08.73. Kaye Paschka rounded out the Viking finishers with a time of 1:09.74. 

Paschka also finished in fifth in the women's 100m hurdles final with a time of 15.07. 

Gary Wilson Invitational
Three Vikings made the trip to St. Paul, Minnesota for a one-day invitational. All three runners put up impressive times with Ella Bakken placing first in her event. 

Bakken dashed across the finish line in the women's 5000m run with a time of 16:54.98.

Dawson Strom and Jesse Kaas finished just outside the top-10 in the men's 5000m run. Storm finished in 12th with a time of 14:31.72 and Kass placed 15th with a time of 14:37.04. 

Up Next
Augustana continues its time on the track Saturday as it closes out the Drake Relays.