A New Crew Leads At Cobber Open
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/25/20)---The 2020 indoor season is officially here and there might be a new crew leader for the Cobbers. Concordia kicked off the new year by hosting the annual Cobber Open and showed off its talent in new events.
In the past years Concordia's teams have relied on the strength of their throw crew and middle distance group to score points at meets. On Saturday it was the spring squad that stole the show.
Freshman Carlie Heinecke won the 60-meter dash, finished second in the 200 meters and led a group of CC athletes that posted five Top 6 finishes in the two sprint races.
Heinecke's first collegiate meet success was a part of the Cobber team that recorded four individual event wins and recorded numerous Top 3 finishes against two Division III teams a DII squad and a team from the NAIA.
Heinecke clocked an 8.19 in the 60 meters which was .13 of a second faster than teammate Zahra Banks who was second in a time of 8.32. Heinecke's finishing time is the sixth fastest in school history and fastest since 2016.
Herinecke then ran a 27.82 in the 200 meters which was only .80 of a second off the winning time.
The Cobbers had two other athletes post Top 6 finishes in the 200 meters. Sophomores Musu Kromah and Jenna LaFave both crossed the line in under 30 seconds. Kromah was fourth in a time of 29.41 and LaFave was sixth at 29.90.
A second event win also came from the shorter sprint distances. Sophomore Nicole Lilleberg ran a 9.84 to claim the title in the 60-meter hurdles. She was the only athlete to break the 10-second mark in the meet. Lilleberg's time is a personal best by a mere .02 of a second. She clocked a 9.86 at last year's conference indoor meet.
Lilleberg also posted a second-place finish in the triple jump where she covered a distance of 31-07.50.
The other event wins came from standout middle-distance and distance athletes. Josie Hermann started her junior season by winning the 1000 meters. Last year's MIAC indoor champ in the event ran a 3:02.75 which is less than a second off her MIAC winning time from last year.
Hermann was one of six Cobbers that finished in the Top 7 in the event. Senior Miriah Forness was second with a time of 3:14.65.
Meritt Miller carried over her All-Region cross country success by winning the mile. Miller crossed the line in 5:36.57 which was almost two seconds fastest than the runner up.
Miller was joined by cross country teammates Kara Andersen, Emily Rugloski and Amelia Landsverk to post a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Cobbers. Andersen ran a 5:38.55 and was second in the race.
Sophomore Cayle Hovland finished second in both the shot put and weight throw. The two events featured some of the deepest talent of any events at the meet. Hovland had a distance of 41-10.50 in the shot put. Her mark is less than six inches off the distance she posted at last year's MIAC indoor meet where she finished second.
Hovland pulled off the throw runner-up double by recording a mark of 50-04.50 in the weight throw. Her distance would have been good for second place at last year's conference meet.
Fellow sophomore Allyson Kangas also finished in the Top 5 in both events. She was fourth in the shot put (38-11) and third in the weight throw (49-04.50).
UP NEXT: Concordia will head up I-29 to compete in Grand Forks at the UND Open and Multi-Event on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
COBBER NOTABLES:
Cobber Open Indoor
Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
January 25, 2020
EVENT WINNERS:
60- Carlie Heinecke
1000- Josie Herrmann
Mile- Meritt Miller
60 Hurdles- Nicole Lilleberg.
COBBER ALL-TIME LIST:
60 – Carlie Heinecke – 8.19 – All-Time #7
60 Hurdles – Nicole Lilleberg – 9.84 – All-Time #12 tie
Weight Throw – Cayle Hovland – 50-4.5 (15.35m) – All-Time #2
Weight Throw – Allyson Kangas – 49-4.5 (15.05m) – All-Time #8
PERSONAL RECORDS:
60- Carlie Heinecke
400- Nicole Lilleberg
1000- Rachel Friberg
60 Hurdles- Nicole Lilleberg
Shot Put- Sofia Palme
Weight Throw- Cayle Hovland, Allyson Kangas, Emily White.
Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.
