With GPAC Championships on the horizon, Tigers shine at Northern State University Open
Aberdeen, S.D. - The Dakota Wesleyan University men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their strong outdoor seasons ending the weekend with numerous top-10 finishes on Saturday at the Northern State University Open in Aberdeen, S.D.
Aberdeen, S.D. - The Dakota Wesleyan University men's and women's track and field teams continued their strong outdoor seasons ending the weekend with numerous top-10 finishes on Saturday at the Northern State University Open in Aberdeen, S.D.
Sprinter Austin Hughes (Box Elder, S.D.) kicked off the competition for Dakota Wesleyan with a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Hughes crossed the finish line with a time of 11.32 seconds. Also on the track, distance duo Justin Sorensen (Vermillion, S.D.) and Hunter Shanks (Bennington, Neb.) finished in eighth and ninth place in the 1500 meters and 800 meters, respectively. Sorensen clocked a time of 4:16.19 while Shanks registered a time of 2:00.18.
In the triple jump, Cale Strong (Norfolk, Neb.) and Austin Moen (Webster, S.D.) ended the day back-to-back on the leaderboards as Strong tallied an eighth-place performance while Moen came in ninth. Strong recorded a leap of 42-8.75 feet (13.02m) and Moen tallied a mark of 42-6.25 feet (12.96m).
Rounding out the day for the DWU men, were a pair of strong performances by Caden Milmine (Buffalo, Wyo.) and Ryan Kienzle (Gillette, Wyo.) in the throwing ring. Milmine, who finished second in the shot put, dialed a throw of 53-2.75 feet (16.22m). Meanwhile, Kienzle secured an eighth-place finish in the discuss throw with a mark of 140.00 feet (42.67m).
For the Tiger women, Tessa Kilber (Ipswich, S.D.) claimed a fourth-place performance in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:10.37. The Dakota Wesleyan women's 4 x 100-meter relay team, engineered by Lydia Gerber (Canton, S.D.), Ashtyn Evans (Gillette, Wyo.), Lia Guigui (Rapid City, S.D.) and Avany Long (Oacoma, S.D.) edged out Jamestown University at the finish line for a third-place finish with a time of 51.91 seconds.
On the runway, both Gerber and Evans finished in the top-10 in the triple-jump event as the duo ended the day second and 10th, respectively. Gerber notched a mark of 37-6.5 feet (11.44m) while Evans recorded a leap of 32-9.75 feet (10.00m). Long, who competed in both the 100-meter hurdles and the long-jump event as well, secured a pair of 10th-place finishes in both events.
Rounding out the day for Dakota Wesleyan was Katlyn Briggs (Plankinton, S.D.) and Darby Deffenbaugh (Kimball, S.D.). Deffenbaugh moved into second place all-time in program history in the hammer toss with a throw of 139.03 feet (42.44m). In the discus, Briggs tallied a mark of 126-2 feet (38.47m) as she finished 10th.
The DWU men's and women's track and field teams now prepare for the Great Plains Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships which will take place on Friday and Saturday in Seward, Neb. Start times for the championship event have yet to be announced.
