The Northwestern College track and field squads competed at the Vance Butler Invitational, hosted by Augustana College (S.D.), this past Saturday and several athletes turned in outstanding performances. Freshman Logan Ogden took first in the shot put with a toss of 48-05.25 and the men's 4x100 relay team placed first with a time of 43.51. Relay members include Kyle Blankers, Jameson Guthmiller, Jordan Langer and Luke Hofmeyer.
Olivia Johnson (Milford, Iowa) finished second in the 1500m run and qualified for outdoor nationals with a time of 4:40.5. She later finished third in the 800m as she crossed the finish line in 2:20.25. Laura Jacobson (Galva, Iowa) took second in the 800m with a time of 2:19.76. Emily DeWeerd placed sixth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16:42. Jess Regan also placed sixth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 69.71. Sara Hess and Kaitlin Beaver placed fourth in their respective events. Hess crossed the finish line in 10:56.25 in the 3000m while Beaver met the provisional qualifying mark in the high jump, clearing 5-04.25. Sara Earleywine set a new school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 121-06, good for 10th place.
On the men's side, senior Kyle Blankers (Sheldon, Iowa) turned in several top performances. In addition to being part of the first place 4x100 relay team, Blankers took second in the 100m dash with a time of 11.72 and later placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 20-09.25. Luke Hofmeyer and Jordan Langer placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 100m dash with times of 11.93 and 11.98. Kyle Sauter placed sixth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.77 and Derrick Rensink crossed the line in fifth place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 60.48. In the field events, Josh Earleywine and Michael Ortmeier placed fourth in their respective events. In the hammer throw, Earleywine completed a toss of 147-06 while Ortmeier cleared 6-04 in the high jump.
Northwestern will host the Red Raider Open this Saturday, April 12, beginning at 10:00am.
