The Event... The Red Raider track and field squads will travel to Wayne State College to take part in the Wayne State College Sunshine Invitational this afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The meet takes the place of the Red Raider Open which was canceled last weekend (April 12) due to the weather. Field events will begin at 3:00 pm with the first running event beginning at 4:30 pm. The meet will conclude around 8:00 pm with the final event, the 5000m run, at 7:45 pm. Schedule of Events
The Teams... Originally scheduled to be a dual meet between USD and Wayne State, the field has now expanded to nine teams, including Wayne State, USD, USF, Briar Cliff, Dakota State, Dakota Wesleyan, Dordt, Mount Marty and the Red Raiders.
Last Time Out... The Northwestern track and field squads have had one outdoor meet so far this season, back on April 5 at the Vance Butler Invitational in Sioux Falls, S.D. No team scores were kept at the event but several Red Raiders turned in outstanding performances at the meet despite the windy conditions.
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. Blankers, a senior from Sheldon, Iowa also 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. Hofmeyer and 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.
The women's team was led by freshman Olivia Johnson (Milford, Iowa), who 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.
National Qualifiers... Two Red Raider athletes, Olivia Johnson and Jon Woehl, have qualified for the NAIA National Outdoor Meet so far. Johnson qualified in the 1500m run at the Vance Butler Invite while Woehl met the qualifying time for the marathon at the Midland Lutheran Half Marathon. Both Kaitlin Beaver and Jack Peterson have met the provisional qualifying standard in the high jump and marathon, respectively.
Next up... Northwestern will next compete at the Doane Relays on Friday, April 18, in Crete, Neb.
