FARGO, ND – After a trio of Saturday events for the Wayne State College women’s and men’s indoor track and field teams, several individuals made the trek north for a Friday open.
From Fargo, North Dakota, WSC competed in the North Dakota State Bison Open on Friday, February 5.
The women’s division attracted teams from Division I schools North Dakota and North Dakota State, Augustana, Concordia-St. Paul, Minot State, Northern State, University of Mary, MSU Moorhead and Wayne State from the NSIC along with Division III school Concordia-Moorhead.
Freshman Brooke Solomon had the top Wildcat finish in the women’s division by placing second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:26.00. Freshman Megan Hansen claimed a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles finals in 9.29 seconds.
Sophomore thrower Kendra Paasch took third in the shot put (40’ 1 ¼”) and was fifth in the weight throw with a top mark of 48’ 7 ½” with teammate senior Sarah Stang right behind in sixth place at 48’ 2 ¾”.
Other top Wayne State finishers were senior Hanna Lazure seventh in the high jump (5’ 1 ¾”), junior Ali Dykman eighth in the high jump (4’ 11 ¾”) and senior Riana Noelle eighth in the triple jump at 33’ 5 ¾”.
The men’s division saw nine team in action, led by host North Dakota State. NSIC schools Augustana, Concordia-St. Paul, Minot State, MSU Moorhead, University of Mary, Northern State and Wayne State joined Division III Concordia-Moorhead.
Freshman Dylan Kneifl posted a career-best mark of 6’ 8 ¾” to win the high jump, which is also an NCAA provisional mark that puts him tied for 10th in NCAA Division II.
Senior Bailey Peckham also collected an event win for the Wildcats by crossing the line first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:00.59.
Junior Aaron English posted a fourth place finish in the high jump clearing 6’ ¾” while fifth place finishes came from senior Preston Davis in the 60-meter hurdles finals (8.86) and freshman Collin Kotz in the 5,000-meter run at 16:31.77.
Senior Justin Rohloff made the finals of the 60-meter dash and placed sixth in 7.18 seconds with junior Jakob Kemper taking sixth in the 800-meter run at 2:00.62.
Sophomore Grant Fritsch placed sixth in the weight throw at 48’ 10 ¾” with freshman Cody Crosley taking seventh in the long jump at 20’ 11 ¾”.
The Wayne State College women’s and men’s indoor track and field team will next take part in the Washburn Invite this Saturday, February 13 from Topeka, Kansas.