Distance Runners Lead Cobber Crew Across Red River

FARGO, N.D. (2/07/15)—Concordia traveled across the Red River to compete in the Thundering Herd Classic hosted by NDSU and got a kick out of their distance and middle distance athletes.

Mackenzie Randklev, Anna Sneltjes and Susan Drache all had top 6 finishes in middle distance and distance events. They were the top Cobber finishers in a meet that was almost exclusively NCAA Division I and II athletes as CC continues to show improvement in the early stages of the indoor season.

Randklev owned the top finish for the Concordia track crew at the meet. She ran a 2:32.71 in the 800 meters and finished in third place. That is a season best time for a Cobber athlete in the event.

Sneltjes followed suit by recording a fifth-place finish in the mile run. She crossed the line 5:46.42 and was less than four seconds outside the top 3. Sneltjes' time is a season best.

Drache made her mark in the 3000 meters. She came home in a time of 11:44.39 to place sixth in her heat. That time is 17-seconds faster than her previous season best time which she posted at the Cobber Alumni meet on Jan. 31.

The field events were once again headlined by All-American Cherae Reeves. Reeves placed third in the shot put which had 25 athletes in the event. Reeves' best toss was 47-00.25. That is a foot under her MIAC-best mark she posted last week at the Cobber Duals.

One of the key features of the Thundering Herd Classic is that it allows the Concordia multi-even athletes a chance to compete in the first pentathlon event. The Cobbers had a pair of athletes go through the five events. Anna Skow-Anderson came away with a sixth-place finish with a final total of 2,661 points. That total is 32 points better than her previous career best which she set at last year's MIAC Indoor Meet when she placed 10th with 2,629 points. Freshman Marissa Andersen was right behind Skow-Anderson. Anderson recorded a total of 2,479 points in her very first collegiate pentathlon.

Freshman Vanessa Johnson had a quality showing in her second collegiate meet in both track and field events. Johnson made the finals in the 6-meter hurdles and was in the top 7 of the seeded high jump competition. She ran a 9.90 in the qualifying heat of the 60-meter hurdles to place eighth. That time is a season best and in the top 12 of the conference. She cleared 5-03.25 in the high jump to earn a seventh-place finish.

The Cobbers will compete against more Divisions III teams when they participate in their next meet. CC will head southwest to take part in the St. Ben's Triangular on Saturday, Feb. 14.