COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris track & field team sent a small contingent of athletes to the Saint John's University Triangular on Saturday. Though the Cougars ended in last place in the meet (third for the men and fourth for the women), the team had far fewer representatives than the other competing schools.
Of those who did compete, there were a number of highlights, particularly from the throwers. On the men's side,
Alex Boyd and
Justin Robinson had a 1-2 finish in the shot put with Boyd registering the third-best distance in school history in the event at 47-11.00 (14.60 meters). Robinson tied for the fourth-best throw in school history at 46-0.50 (14.03 meters).
Robinson also won the hammer with the third-best throw in school history of 151-0 (46.03 meters).
Luke Petersen was fifth in the event at 139-1 (42.40 meters), the ninth-best throw in school history. Boyd finished sixth at 136-10 (41.70 meters). Robinson was also the top male finisher for the Cougars in the discus (fifth at 114-08) and javelin (sixth at 124-8).
The Cougar men had two other top-three finishes on the day.
Camden Talley cleared the bar at 5-8.75 (1.75 meters) in the high jump to end as the runner-up and
Grant Strukel clocked a 2:07.35 in the 800 Meters to take third.
On the women's side, throwers Jessica Bliese and Hailey Gill were busy throughout the day. Bliese had the third-best throw in school history in the shot put at 40-5.50 (12.33 meters) to win the event. Gill was third at 38-1.25 (11.61 meters), putting her name in the record books with the ninth-best throw in school history.
Bliese also won the hammer throw with a best effort of 141-3 (43.05 meters), with Gill taking fifth at 106-9 (32.55 meters). Gill was also fifth in the discus at 88-5 (26.94 meters).
Other noteworthy performances from the Cougar women included Jasmine Terry clearing a height of 4-9.75 (1.47 meters) in the high jump for the 10th-best mark in school history. That was good enough for third place in the event on Saturday. On the track, Taylor Prieve was second in the 800 Meters with a time of 3:00.11. McKenna Langerud finished in fourth place in the 1,500 Meter Run in 5:21.25.
The Cougars will host their first home meet of the season on April 3. The Cougar Classic is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m.
