A Successful Spring Season Opener

ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/6/24)----The first full outdoor meet of the year was a success for the Cobbers as they recorded 11 Top 5 finishes, had five program Top 20 marks and nine personal best numbers at the Hamline Invitational in St. Paul.

Sophomore Kyla Nygaard and first-year athlete Genevieve Gruba led Concordia with both athletes winning events at the meet that featured many MIAC teams.

Nygaard clocked a time of 59.48 in the 400 meters to best a field of 31 runners. Her finishing time is a personal best and No.17 on the school's all-time list. Nygaard's sub-1 minute time also moves her into the No.4 on the MIAC list this season.  

Gruba, who played for the Cobbers' women's basketball team in the winter, wasted little time in making her mark on the outdoor track & field scene. Competing in her first collegiate meet, the 2-sport athlete unleashed a throw of 126-06 and won the javelin by a full 7 feet. Her distance is also No.11 in program history and the second farthest in the conference this year.

The javelin also featured another first-year athlete posting a Top 5 finish. Reagan Wohlers, who played for the Cobber women's hockey team in the winter, posted a mark of 114-11 which was good for a fourth-place finish and the No.5 mark in the MIAC.

The other Top 5 finishes at the meet in field events came in the triple jump, long jump and high jump.

Junior Jenna Kalevik continued the trend of successful first outdoor meets as she finished third in the high jump, fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump. She cleared 4-11.75 in the high jump, posted a distance of 32-05.75 in the triple jump and 15-07.50 in the long jump. Her marks in the high jump and long jump are personal bests and all three marks put her in the Top 10 of the MIAC.

Not to be content with posting Top 5 finishes in field events, Kalevik who earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the indoor pentathlon, recorded a time of 15.35 in the 100 meters which was good for third place and is the sixth fastest time in school history. It is also No.2 in the MIAC this year.

Piper Osborne and Grace Ciarrochi had the other Top 5 field finishes for the Cobbers. Osborne was second in the triple jump with a distance of 34-06.75 and Ciarrochi was fifth in the long jump at 15-08.25.

Sophomore Emily Rengo, first-year sprinter Andie Sandman and senior Maddie Guler came through with the other Top 5 finishes in track events.

Rengo placed second in the 200 meters with a time of 26.09, which was the fastest mark by any non-Division I runner in the race.

Sandman recorded the 16th-fastest time in program history in the 100-meter dash. She sprinted to a time of 12.79 which is a personal best and tied for seventh in the conference.

The top improvement mark of the meet for the Cobbers belonged to sophomore Elsie Hatlevig, who crossed the line in the 5000 meters in a time of 19:25.74 which was a 33-second improvement over her previous personal best mark in the event.    

UP NEXT: Concordia will head west to compete in the Al Cassell Classic at the University of Jamestown on Friday, Apr. 12 beginning at 4 p.m.  

COBBER NOTABLES:
Hamline Open
Hamline University, St. Paul, MN
April 6, 2024

COBBER ALL-TIME LIST:
100 – Andie Sandman – 12.79 – All-Time #16 tie
100 – Piper Osborne – 12.84 – All-Time #21
400 – Kyla Nygaard – 59.48 – All-Time #17
100 Hurdles – Jenna Kalevik – 15.35 – All-Time #6 tie
4x100 Relay – Andie Sandman, Emily Rengo, Piper Osborne, Lydia Fynboh – 49.67 – All-Time #8
Javelin Throw – Genevieve Gruba – 126-6 (38.55m) All-Time #11

PERSONAL RECORDS:
100- Andie Sandman, Izzy Johnson
400- Kyla Nygaard
5000- Elsie Hatlevig
100 Hurdles- Jenna Kalevik
Long Jump- Jenna Kalevik
High Jump- Jenna Kalevik
Discus Throw-Cailey Schlosser
Hammer Throw- Laura Fuller