Christian Leads Cobbers Here, There And Everywhere
ST. PETER, Minn. (4/26/14)—Concordia was here, there and everywhere over the weekend as the Cobbers participated in three different meets on Friday and Saturday. CC sent a group to the Drake Relays in Iowa and then the Gustavus Drake Alternative Meet in St. Peter on Saturday while a third crew participated in the Al Cassell Relays at Valley City State.
Concordia posted three event victories and 11 top 5 finishes at the Gustavus meet. Morgan Christian captured the win in the 800 meters while Cherae Reeves added another title to her packed shot put trophy case and freshman two-sport athlete Mikayla Forness won the javelin.
Christian ran a season-best time of 2:18.35 in the 800 meters and bested a field of 29 athletes. Reeves, who competed in the Drake Relays on Friday, posted a distance of 44-03.25 in the shot put to win the event by almost a foot. Forness continues to impress in the javelin. She recorded a distance of 120-08.00 and was tops among 33 athletes. Forness currently holds the second best mark in the event in the MIAC at 132-03. Reeves was second in the javelin at Gustavus with a mark of 114.00.
Rochelle Hickerson made the final heat in the 100-meter dash and placed fourth with a time of 13.46.
Paige Rygg was the only other track athlete to crack the top 5 in St. Peter. She came home in 4:56.71 in the 1500 meters and placed fifth. She is getting closer to her season-best time in 2013 when she went 4:51.08 at the MIAC Championships.
Besides the javelin, the long jump and shot put also produced a pair of top finishes for CC. Hilary Thompson was third in both the long jump and triple jump. She didn't post season best marks in either but is consistently the top MIAC performer in both events this season. She currently owns the tops distances in both the long jump and triple jump.
Freshman Ruth Peterson was fifth in the long jump with a mark of 16-10.50 while Olivia Johnson was third in the shot put at 42-08.00. Hillary Birchem capped the Concordia top 5 contingent. Birchem, fresh off a huge day at the Cobber Twilight Meet, was fourth in the discus at 127-09. She tossed the discus 144-11 at the Cobber Twilight during the week and that is the top distance in the conference this season.
The Concordia multi-eventers used the Al Cassell Relays to prepare for the upcoming conference heptathlon. Mandy Mercil was third in the shot put at 38-09.00 while Greta Walsh was sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 34-05.00
The top track event at valley City State was the 100-meter dash where the Cobbers posted a 4-5-6-7-8 finish. Rachel Tisdale led the way with a time of 13.25. Freshman Liza Thompson dropped .22 of a second off her previous collegiate best and came home in 13.50 while Madeline Phillips broke the 14-second barrier for the first time in her collegiate career and recorded a time of 13.99.
The Cobbers will have their multi-event crew head to Carleton to participate in the MIAC heptathlon on May 1-2 while the rest of the team will head across 8th street to compete at the Ron Masanz Invite at MSU Moorhead on May 3.
COBBER NOTABLES
Al Cassell Relays
@ VCSU, Valley City, ND
PERSONAL RECORDS:
100- Liza Thompson, Madeline Phillips, Amy Paulson;
200- Amy Paulson;
800- Ingrid Floersheim;
Pole Vault- Andie Baker;
Hammer Throw- Ali Chudy.
Drake Alternative Meet
@ Gustavus Adolphus, St. Peter, MN
PERSONAL RECORDS:
800- Mikayla Forness, Katie Barkley;
100 Hurdles- Mikayla Forness;
Hammer Throw- Olivia Johnson.