Track and Field conference championship: V-hawks end season strong
The Viterbo track and field team capped off the season with a strong showing in all competitions. On the men’s side, the day began with the field events. Justin Moore took first place and Gregory Jenkins finishing fifth in the long jump, with Moore obtaining a conference record and qualification to the NAIA national championship. Moore and Jenkins also finished second and third, respectively, in the high jump, with Moore clearing the national qualifying height. Jenkins finished in third place in the triple jump, setting a new program record of 13.49 meters. In the throws, Aaryn Jones and Damian Boberg scored points for the V-Hawks by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Boberg threw a career-best of 14.64 meters, good enough for fifth place. Nicholas Vollmar also achieved a personal best of 3.30 meters and a fifth-place finish in the pole vault.
On the track, the day started with a second-place finish and a program record from the 4x8 team made up of Drake Ingold, Isaiah Sample, Ian Schickel, and Sam Larson. Ingold and Sample had another an impressive showing, finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the mile run, with Ingold notching a personal best. Jalen Anderson locked in a third-place finish in the 60 meters hurdles and finished in fifth place in the 200 meters. Savage took second place in the 60 meters dash, and the men’s 4x4 team finished fourth.
The women’s team also performed well in the field events, with Ruth Konzen capturing a first-place finish and a personal best of 1.55 meters in the high jump. Payton Dryden also competed in the high jump, finishing fifth overall. In the long jump, Grace Peyron took fifth place, and Lindsey Martin took sixth. Martin and Konzen also competed in the triple jump, finishing second and fourth, respectively. In the pole vault competition, Hannah Coleman, Bailey Nuutinen, and Tess Durscher added to the V-hawks’ point total by finishing third, fourth, and sixth, respectively. Maren Gullingsurd threw a personal record of 12.67 meters in the weight throw, good for a sixth-place finish, and Rebecca Warren threw a personal record of 10.44 meters in the shot put, finishing sixth.
On the track, the 4x8 team made up of Lauren Herzog, Madelyn Adam, Sophie Leinfelder, and Brenna McDonough set a program record and finished in second place. Ashley Caswell finished first in three events and ran national qualifying times in the 60 meters and the 200 meters. Gabriella Czech took second place in the 400 meters right behind Caswell. Brenna Ihde finished sixth in both the 60 meters and the 200 meters, running a personal best in the 200 meters. Adam finished fourth in the mile run, while Leinfelder ran a personal best to take third in the 3,000 meters. The day ended with a fourth-place finish by the 4x4 team made up by Madison Davis, Czech, Ihde, and Payton.