SEWARD — The Wayne State indoor track and field teams returned to action Friday with some solid marks in the Polar Dog Invitational at Concordia University.
In men’s action, senior Gabe Peitz had first-place finishes in the 600 and 1,000-meter runs, sophomore Keaton Wattier won the 60-meter hurdles and senior Dylan Kneifl cleared an NCAA provisional mark in the high jump to lead the Wildcat men.
Peitz, a graduate of Wakefield, started the day with a win in the 600-meter run at 1:24.22 and followed that with a first-place finish in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:33.78.
Wattier crossed the tape first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.44 seconds while teammate Alex Brandt was sixth at 8.86 seconds.
Dylan Kneifl reached an NCAA provisional mark, clearing 6 feet, 9 1/2 inches to take second in the high jump with freshman Elliott Nottlemann taking fourth at 6-5 1/2.
Daniel Elge earned a second-place finish in the shot put (50-10) and was seventh in the weight throw at 51-11 3/4.
In the long jump, Logan Moeller placed second at 22-4 1/2 with Ty Dingman taking seventh with a top leap of 20-7 1/4. Quentin Dreyer also had a second-place finish in the mile run at 4:19.59.
Other top Wildcat finishers included Abe Schroeder taking fourth in the 5,000-meter run (16:00.18), Wyatt Nissen finishing fifth in the 200-meter dash (22.96), Alex Leuenberger placing sixth in the 400-meter dash (52.15), Andrew Wyllie securing fifth in the 800-meter run (2:03.71).
The Wayne State 1,600-meter quartet of Austin Madsen, Wyatt Nissen, Mitchell Rudie and Alex Leuenberger placed second with a time of 3:29.98.
The Wayne State women had a number of solid finishes, led by second-place efforts by Maya Couch, Olivia Schwarzrock and Emily Smollen.
Couch had a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash (7.98) and was third in the 200-meter dash in 26.67 seconds.
Schwarzrock posted a second-place effort in the weight throw (54-5 1/2) and took third in the shot put at 41-3.
In the women’s long jump, Smollen took second (17-2), Lindsey Kneifl was fourth (16-11 1/2) and Paige Condon seventh at 16-5 1/4.
Keyla Sambo was fourth in the triple jump (34-11 1/4) and Smollen took seventh at 34-7 1/2.
Anna Coffee came in third in the high jump, clearing 5-3, while freshman Jerika Bakenhus was eighth at 5-1.
Kylie Pachta had a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 600-meter run (1:42.90) and 1,000-meter run (3:10.64).
Alison Stineman was fourth in the mile run (5:33.75), Hailey Baker took fifth in the shot put (39-11 1/2) and sixth in the weight throw (51-5 3/4) while Faith Polacek was sixth in the 800-meter run at 2:30.99.
The Wildcat 1,600-meter relay team of Sarah Cotton, Kneifl, Coffee and Condon came in fifth place in a time of 4:18.31.
Wayne State will compete next weekend at the Mark Schuck Open and Multi in Mankato, Minn., next Friday and Saturday.
