TRACK AND FIELD POCKETS FIVE EVENT TITLES IN CEDAR RAPIDS, MULTITUDE OF TOP-5 FINISHES

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Looking to keep pace midway through the outdoor season, the Dakota Wesleyan University track and field program snagged a handful of event titles and a multitude of top-5 performances at the 2022 Rittgers Invitational hosted by Coe University on Friday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Distance duo Wyatt Baldauf and Caleb Sayler crossed the finish line for individual victories in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meters while Adaya Plastow, Cale Strong and Katlyn Briggs finished atop the leaderboards in their respective events.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Baldauf, the junior distance specialist from Seneca, Ill., shaved off a resounding 16 seconds for a collegiate best in the running of the men's steeplechase and registered the individual title with a time of 10:35.82 minutes. Continuing his strong freshman campaign meanwhile, Sayler distanced himself with a personal best of 16:06 in the 5,000 meters as the Lennox, S.D., native clocked a time of 16:06.99, nearly five seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Elsewhere in the distance events, Annika Vermeulen completed the 800m race in sixth, and Justin Sorensen logged a finish of 2:04.09 in the men's 800 race.

Dakota Wesleyan freshman Adaya Plastow also had a solid outing with a first-place performance in the 400m High Hurdles with a split of 1:08.43. Plastow, the Mitchell High product rounded out the day with a season-best of 16.23 in the 100 meter hurdles good enough for fourth. Strong concluded the DWU individual titles in the competition with yet another Tiger season best after a leap of 13.23m on his first attempt of the day.

Lia Guigui and Avany Long went back-to-back in the women's long jump field with third and fourth place performances as Guigui also placed in third in the 100 meter dash at 13.11. Ashtyn Evans notched a distance of 10.01m in the triple jump while Lila Gronseth and Abbigail Magnuson highlighted the action in the shot put competition. Gronseth, who maintains an NAIA 'A' standard in the shot, dialed a throw of 13.39m, and Magnuson ended the day in fifth with a distance of 12.37m.

In the men's shot put competition, Caden Milmine worked a runner-up performance despite a season-best mark of 15.83m on his final attempt of the event finals. Chris Zanotto, who finished third in the hammer, dialed a distance of 46.36m on his final throw. 

Sticking in the throwing ring and rounding out the meet, Katlyn Briggs prolonged her strong sophomore campaign with the event title in the hammer and a second-place status in the discus throw. Overall, the lady Tigers positioned four throwers in the top-8 as Briggs collected the win with a mark of 47.09m followed by DWU senior Morgan Taft in third (41.94m) and Darby Deffenbaugh in fifth (41.15m). In the discuss throw, Briggs, the sophomore throws specialist logged a throw of 39.58m followed by Gronseth and Deffenbaugh in fourth and fifth in the final standings. 

UP NEXT

The Tigers keep pace next at the Dewey Donat Classic on Friday and Saturday from Al Sahli Track on the campus of Northern Sate University in Aberdeen, S.D.

Full DWU Women's Results

100m

3^rd – Lia Guigui – 13.11

800m

6^th – Annika Vermeulen – 2:44.59  

100m HH

4^th – Adaya Plastow – 16.23  

10^th – Avany Long – 17.77

400m HH

1^st – Adaya Plastow – 1:08.43  

4x100m Relay
4^th – Ashtyn Evans, Avany Long, Lia Guigui, Adaya Plastow – 53.23

4x400m Relay
4^th – Ashtyn Evans, Annika Vermeulen, Avany Long, Adaya Plastow – 4:33.85

Triple Jump

5^th – Ashtyn Evans – 10.01m  

High Jump

Lia Guigui – NH  

Long Jump

3^rd – Lia Guigui – 5.11m

4th – Avany Long – 5.01m

Discus Throw

2nd - Katlyn Briggs – 39.58m 

4th – Lila Gronseth – 37.61m

5th – Darby Deffenbaugh – 35.90m 

7th – Abbigail Magnuson – 34.31m

14th – Morgan Taft – 27.82m  

Hammer Throw 

1^st - Katlyn Briggs – 47.09m 

3rd – Morgan Taft – 41.94m

5th – Darby Deffenbaugh – 41.15m 

7th – Lila Gronseth – 40.32m 

Shot Put

3^rd – Lila Gronseth – 13.39m

5^th – Abbigail Magnuson – 12.37m   

10^th – Katlyn Briggs – 10.78m 

11^th  – Morgan Taft – 10.69m   

 Full DWU Men's Results

800m

5^th – Justin Sorensen – 2:04.09

3,000m steeplechase  
1^st – Wyatt Baldauf – 10:35.82

5,000m

1^st – Caleb Sayler – 16:06.99

7^th – Layne Lewis – 16:55.09   
Triple Jump  

1^st – Cale Strong – 13.23m  

Pole Vault

3^rd – Cale Strong – 3.35m

Hammer Throw 

3rd – Chris Zanotto – 46.36m

Javelin

15^th – D.J. Rediger – 27.67m  

Discus Throw

17th – Caden Milmine – 31.88m 

Shot Put  

2^nd – Caden Milmine – 15.83m   

11^th – Chris Zanotto – 12.58m