Junior Zahra Banks won the 100-meter dash at the St. Olaf Manitou Classic on Thursday.
Junior Zahra Banks won the 100-meter dash at the St. Olaf Manitou Classic on Thursday.

Split Holiday Weekend

NORTHFIELD, Minn./DICKINSON N.D. (4/18-19/19)---Concordia used the holiday weekend to compete in two meets in two states. The Cobbers sent a group of athletes to the St. Olaf Manitou Classic on Thursday, Apr. 18 and then had another set compete in the Dickinson State Blue Hawk Games on Friday, Apr. 19.

Nether meet tracked team scores but Concordia was able to post several outstanding individual performances. The Cobbers had two track athletes and two field athletes claim individual event wins at St. Olaf and a pair of athletes had multiple Top 7 finishes at Dickinson State.

Junior Zahra Banks claimed the title of fastest athlete at St. Olaf as she ran away with the win in the 100-meter dash. She clocked a time of 13.17 in the finals of the event to win by .29 of a second. Banks' fastest time came in the prelims when she ran a 13.11.

Josie Herrmann has carried over her success from the indoor season to the outdoor campaign. Herrmann won the 1500 meters at St. Olaf with a time of 4:53.82. That time is the fourth fastest in the MIAC this year. Herrmann has the top mark in the 800 meters so far. Her time of 2:18.13 at the Dordt Invite is the fastest in the conference by .74 of a second.

Like Herrmann, a pair of freshmen field athletes have also picked up from where they left off at the indoor season. Jacey Schlosser claimed the win in the shout put while Cayle Hovland was victorious in the discus.

The shot put was the top event of the day for the Cobbers. The Top 4 finishers in the event all wore maroon and gold. Schlosser won the event with a distance of 40-10.50. Hovland was second at 40-03.25 while Kelsey Rajewsky was third at 39-01.00 and fellow freshman Alyson Kangas was fourth with a mark of 38-09.00.

Hovland earned her first collegiate win in the discus in the second outdoor meet of the year. She posted a season-best mark of 134-08 which won the event by a foot. Hovland's winning distance is the second farthest in the MIAC this year.

Rajewsky earned the long-distance travel award for the weekend as she went all the way from Northfield to Dickinson on Friday to compete in the Blue Hawk games. She made the trip worthwhile by placing in the Top 7 in the shot put, discus and hammer throw.

Rajewsky placed fourth in both the shot put and hammer and was seventh in the discus. She had a season-best mark in the hammer with a distance of 131-02. Rajewsky put up a mark of 38-06.75 in the shot put and 101-11 in the discus.

Junior Miriah Forness used the proximity of the Dickinson Meet to her hometown to post a pair of Top 6 finishes in middle distance events. She placed third in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:11.89 and was sixth in the 800 meters at 2:38.79.

UP NEXT: Concordia will take the weekend off for the holiday and then host the annual Cobber Twilight Meet on Tuesday, Apr. 23 starting at 3 p.m.

Cobber Notables:
Manitou Classic Outdoor
St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
April 18, 2019

Cobber All-Time:
1500 – Josie Herrmann  – 4:53.82 - All-Time #11
5000 – Kara Andersen – 18:27.67 – All-Time #9
Pole Vault – Miriah Forness – 10-4 (3.15m) – All-Time #6
Shot Put – Jacey Schlosser – 40-10.5 (12.46m) – All-Time #11
Shot Put – Cayle Hovland – 40-3.25 (12.27m) – All-Time #12

Personal records (Cobber outdoor marks only):
200- Musu Kromah
800- Isabel Fredrickson, Emily Hao
1500- Emily Rugloski
3000 Steeplechase- Ingrid Harbo
5000- Kara Andersen
10,000- Tarja Nelsen
 400 Hurdles- Miriah Forness, Nicole Lilleberg
High Jump- Corrie Ethen
Pole Vault- Miriah Forness
Shot Put- Jacey Schlosser, Cayle Hovland, Allyson Kangas
Discus- Cayle Hovland, Jacey Schlosser, Kelsey Rajewsky
Hammer- Jacey Schlosser, Allyson Kangas, Cayle Hovland