COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's and women's track & field teams each finished in fourth place on Saturday at the Saint John's Invitational. The women's team totaled 82 points on the day, while the men ended with 64 points.
A number of performances made their way into the record books on Saturday, most from throwers. Two performances that came on the track were from Gregory Peterson and Grant Strukel. Peterson and Strukel finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 5,000 Meter Run with the ninth- and 10th-fastest times in school history. Peterson finished in 16:25.79, while Strukel ran a 16:29.73.
In throwing events for the men, Cody Nye finished fourth in the shot put with the fourth-best throw in school history (47-6.50, 14.49 meters). The hammer throw was another strength for the Cougars as Justin Robinson ended as the runner-up at a distance of 152-0 (46.32 meters). Alex Boyd set a big PR in the hammer throw, finishing third in the event at 150-2 (45.78 meters). Luke Petersen also had a PR at 144-8 (44.09 meters). Those throws rank fourth and ninth in school history.
For the women's team,
Jessica Bliese turned in another remarkable day, winning the hammer throw at 147-8 (45.00 meters). On top of that, she approached the school record in the shot put with a throw of 42-1.25 (13.20 meters), ranking second in school history. She also set a PR in the discus with a distance of 128-10 (39.26 meters) in the event. That ranks third in school history as she finished third in the event.
Jenica Moes now ranks fourth all-time for the Cougars in the discus after adding a throw of 124-3 (37.87 meters).
Other noteworthy performances from the women's team came from
Jasmine Terry,
Kaitlyn Ladwig, and
McKenna Langerud. Terry tied her PR in the high jump by clearing 4-11.00 (1.50 meters), good enough for second place on the day. Ladwig ended as the runner-up in the 800 Meters (2:30.26) and Langerud was fifth in the 5,000 Meters (19:59.04).
The track & field teams are back in action on Thursday, April 15 with the Dragon Twilight Meet, hosted by Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
