ERIC THIELE STAFF WRITER
The Wartburg track and field teams came in second place in the women’s competition and fifth place in the men’s competition at the Wartburg Select Meet on Saturday.
“We performed very well due to the type of conditions. I was very, very proud of them this weekend,” head coach Marcus Newsom said.
The women were led by several first-place finishes in the field events. The first of those was Amber Axon, who won the high jump with a jump of 1.57 meters. Alicia Ford was part of a three-way tie for fifth as she jumped 1.45 meters.
In the long jump, Skye Morrison finished first with a jump of 5.26 meters. The Knights’ Megan Baker came in fifth place with a jump of 4.70 meters.
Then in the triple jump, the women were able to capture three top-10 finishes as they took first, third and sixth by Akeya Aimable, Skye Morrison and Megan Baker respectively. Aimable had a jump of 11.05 meters to win the event.
The shot put saw Sarah Hoffman take home the title with a throw of 13.12 meters, just narrowly beating out Christy Bohl from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.
The Knights were also able to take second-place finishes from Faith Burt in the 400-meter run with a time of 58.08 and in the 800-meter run by Amanda Kuiken with a time of 2:17.02.
In the javelin, the women took home three top-five finishes as Hanne Wuertz finished in second place, Heidi Bursch in fourth and Rachael Andresen finished fifth.
The Knights’ relay teams took home one-two finishes in the 4x100-meter relay as the ‘B’ team took home first place. The ‘A’ team came home second place. This came down to the wire as the ‘B’ team finished with a time of 47.75, while the ‘A’ team finished at 47.84.
In the 4x400-meter relay, the Knights once again took home a one-two finish. The ‘B’ team came away with a narrow win from the ‘A’ team as they finished first with a time of 3:56.75 while the ‘A’ team came in at 3:57.36.
The women finished in second place overall at the meet with 193 points, just behind University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. The Eagles finished with 195.5 points.
“It gave us a way to see where we are really at. It gives a chance to look at what improvements we need to make. I think we have a long way to go and that is to be expected with the first meet,” Newsom said.
The men were led by a string of second place finishes. Brian Chenoweth finished second in the 1500-meter run as he finished with a time of 3:58.33. Also finishing in second place was Russell Harris in the 110-meter hurdles at a time of 15.06. Another second place finish was turned in by Jordan Sathoff in the high jump as he jumped 1.92 meters.
Mike Veendendaal took second in the decathlon as he collected 4399 points.
John Kuckelmen also finished second in the hammer throw at a distance of 50.30 meters.
Finishing out second place finishes was Steven Salinas in the javelin throw at a distance of 56.55 meters.
The men finished the weekend in fifth place with 85.5 points, behind team champions Augustana, UW – La Crosse, St. Thomas and UW – Platteville.
“We need to focus on the conference championship. My mind is focusing on the conference meet. If we don’t take care of the conference title, then the national meet won’t happen,” Newsom said.
Wartburg track and field will lace up their shoes again Friday at the UW – Platteville Invite. The first events start at 3 p.m. Friday.
Photo: Akeya Aimable completes one of her jumps during the Wartburg Select. Courtesy of Sports Information