Following a lengthy break from season-opening competition until the Wayne State College women’s and men’s indoor track and field season resumed, the Wildcats moved into the busy portion of their schedule this past weekend.
From the Ruth Donohue Fieldhouse in Yankton, South Dakota on Saturday, teams competing at the Mounty Marty Invite meet were Augustana, Briar Cliff, Buena Vista, Dakota State, Dakota Wesleyan, Dordt, Midland, Mount Marty, Northwestern and Waldorf along with WSC.
In the women’s division, Wildcat throwers Hailey Baker and Olivia Schwarzrock led the way with event wins Saturday afternoon.
Schwarzrock, a junior from Gibbon, Minnesota, had the top mark in the shot put with a toss of 43’ 3 ¼” while also finishing fourth in the weight throw at 50’ 9 ¼”. Baker, a senior from Blair, posted a first-place finish in the weight throw at 56’ 0”.
Three other Wildcats placed in the shot put as sophomore Torrance Tso was sixth at 38’ 6 ¼” with freshmen Jalecia Williams and McKinley Grover seventh and eighth respectively with marks of 37’ 8” and 37’ 5 ¼”.
In the weight throw, freshman Taylor Arp had a third-place mark of 51’ 7 ¼” while senior McKenna Markle took seventh at 47’ 8 ½”.
The women’s 3,000-meter run saw Madeline Kunz come in second place in a time of 11:19.04 with Sydney Escritt next in third at 11:40.41.
In the 800-meter run, freshman Zoey Holmes was second at 2:24.04, Kaitlyn Bloomenrader third at 2:27.61 and junior Jozlyn Barnes sixth (2:38.09).
Freshman Reagan Murphy was fourth in the 400-meter dash (1:04.20) and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles finals in 9.50 seconds.
Kailee Kellum was third in the long jump (17’ 1 ½”) with junior Lindsey Kneifl eighth at 16’ 3 ¼”.
Junior Maelee Beacom was sixth in the one mile run (5:46.14) and Anna Coffee sixth in the high jump clearing 5’ 1” while sophomore Callie Kirchner took seventh in the 1,000-meter run at 3:14.64.
During the men’s division, Quentin Dreyer, Daniel Elge and Daylin Mallory each recorded event wins for the Wayne State College men’s track and field team.
Elge, a senior from Aurora, started the day with the first event win posting the top mark in the weight throw at 56’ 3 ¼”. The ‘Cats had six of the top eight throwers in the event as sophomore Jaxson Ninete took third (54’ 8 ¼”), J’Dyn Bullion was fourth at 50’ 5 ¼”, Jake Peitz was next in sixth (49’ 8 ¼”) with freshman Samuel Zazueta seventh (49’ 3”) and Braden McGill eighth at 49’ 1”.
Mallory, a junior from Norfolk, collected a first-place finish in the shot put where five Wildcats placed in the top six. Mallory’s winning mark was 52’ 1 ¼” followed by Elge in second at 51’ 11 ¼”. Zazueta was fourth (45’ 11 ¾”), Peitz fifth at 45’ 8” and Ninete sixth (45’ 7 ¾”).
The other Wildcat event win came from junior Quentin Dreyer in the 1,000-meter run in a time of 2:32.26.
Freshman Mitchell Hupp took second in the 60-meter dash finals (6.96) and was third in the 200-meter dash in 22.16 seconds while sophomore Elliott Nottlemann collected a second-place finish in the high jump clearing 6’ 4”. Senior Andrew Wyllie also had a second-place finish in the 800-meter run crossing the line in a time of 2:03.26.
Fifth-place finishes went to senior Wyatt Nissen in the 200-meter dash (22.64), junior Mitchell Rudie in the 600-meter run (1:30.44) and Brady Franzen in the 5,000-meter run (15:51.87).
Freshman Ethan Walters was seventh in the 800-meter run at 2:06.64 with Austin Madsen taking seventh in the 400-meter run (52.05) while freshman Akron Jostand took eighth in the one-mile run (4:49.02).
The Wildcat men’s 4 x 400-meter relay team of Wyllie, Dreyer, Walters and Jostand came in seventh with a time of 3:41.10.
The Wayne State College women’s and men’s indoor track and field team will next compete at the Concordia Classic on Saturday, Jan. 25 in Seward, Nebraska.