Men and Women Finish Fourth at UMAC Indoor Championships

*** Photo Credit:  Brooklyn Delray Photography 

SUPERIOR, Wis. -    The Bethany Lutheran College Track and Field Team competed in the 2016 UMAC Championship on Friday and Saturday. The men and women went into the meet ranked fourth and did not disappoint. "This sport is unique because everyone is always looking to get a record of some kind every time they compete. If one steps back and looks at the scope of how both this men's and women's team performed they would see something really special. They competed with a lot of heart, effort and competitiveness," stated Head Coach Michael Dunn following the championships.
                
DAY ONE
 
Friday night on the track both Kari Marzinske (SO) and Dani Marzinske (SR) qualified for the finals in the 60m High Hurdles with top 10 performances on the all-time lists. Lydia Hildebrandt (FR) pulled out a school record in the prelims, with a time of 8.28, qualifying for finals in the process. Kevin Harris (SO) tied for fourth on the all-time list in the 60m prelims (7.35), also qualifying for Saturday's finals. Noah Larson (FR) ran a personal best (7.46) and jumped to number nine on the all-time list, just missing qualifying for finals as he finished ninth overall.
 
Switching gears to the 5000m, Megan Sauer (JR) represented Bethany Lutheran and broke her own school record by nearly 15 seconds (19:12.03), she also finished fourth overall. "The effort you see on the track from Megan is incredible; you can tell she wanted to break 11 minutes the moment she stepped on the track. It's extremely impressive she did this without tapering." On the men's side, Owen Richardson (JR) finished with a 16:24.36 (second on the all-time list) and sixth overall.   
 
In the men's 400m, Kevin Harris (SO) won his heat and finished third overall, with a time of 52.23 and a new school record. Stefan Prince (FR) finished third in his heat and fourth overall, with the number two all-time in school history (52.62).
 
The women's DMR had an impressive performance by Morgan Sauer (FR), Anna Lieske (SO), Jessica Berlinger (FR) and Kirsten Elyea (SO), with a time of 13:49.18 (second all-time) and good enough for second place overall. The men's DMR finished fifth overall, running an 11:51.10 (number four all-time) and was composed of Lucas Malimanek (JR), Michael Bless (FR), Owen Richardson (JR) and David Luehring (SO).
 
The women's 4x200m relay finished with a 1:54.01, giving them the school record by over two seconds. The team made up of Hildebrandt, K. Marzinske, D. Marzinske, and Kayla Norris (SO) crossed the finish line fourth overall. In the Men's 4x200m relay, Harris, Prince, Larson and Luke Hahn (SR) ran the schools second fastest all-time of 1:35.60, this placed them third overall. "These two races were very exciting and I couldn't be prouder of their efforts, giving everything they had for one another has been more than any coach can ask for."  
 
In the field events, the women's weight throw had a field day, literally and figuratively. Lindsey Stewart (JR) finished sixth place overall in the weight throw, with a throw of 10.84 (35'6.75"). This toss put her second on the all-time list. Freshman Marissa Milles, threw a personal record of 10.09 (33' 1.25"), this put her fifth on the all-time list and placed her seventh at the conference meet. Arianna Emmons (SO) tossed herself into the Bethany record books at eighth on the all-time list in the weight throw with a mark of 8.73 (28'7.75"). "Our throwing coach Andrew Ferguson has done a great job with these young ladies and we are lucky to have him working with these women. The marks just keep getting better." In the men's weight throw, Joshua Jablon (SO) finished seventh overall with a throw of 12.88 (42'3.25"). This throw was number two on Bethany's all-time list.
 
The long jump was led by senior Danielle Marzinske with a school record leap of 4.63 (15'11"). This jump placed Danielle fourth overall. Kari Marzinske leapt 4.63 (15'2.25"), good enough for 10^th on the all-time list and sixth overall. "Kaija continues to show that she can get these jumpers to perform at a high level and I know she looks forward to outdoor." In the vertical jumps, Noah Larson finished with a high jump of 1.82 (5'11.50"), tied for second overall and third on the all-time list. In the women's high jump, Kari Marzinske got second place with a jump of 1.52 (4'11.75"). This jump put Kari third on the all-time list. Brittany Moldstad (JR) placed seventh overall with a jump of 1.37 (4'6").  
                 
DAY TWO
 
To start off day two of the UMAC Championship on the track, Kirsten Elyea ran a 5:41.31 (sixth on the all-time list) mile and placed sixth overall. "She is competing at a very high level and it is only a matter of time before she really starts to turn some heads on the track." Morgan Sauer competed in her first mile of the season and ran a 5:55.57, placing eighth overall and number eight on the all-time list. "After only just getting into her bulk mileage training she will be someone to really watch for as we head into outdoor." Representing the men in the mile race, Owen Richardson finished fifth overall with a time of 4:44.90. This was good enough for fifth overall and fourth on the all-time list.
 
In the women's 60m High Hurdle finals, Kari Marzinske ran a 9.86 putting her second on the all-time list and fourth at the UMAC Championship. Sister Danielle finished close behind in fifth place at the UMAC Championship, with a 10.14 and sixth on the all-time list. "These two are fun to watch battle it out every time they lace up their spikes. The fun thing is they can be lacing their spikes up for any event and you know it is going to be great to watch."
 
The women's 60m finals was run by Lydia Hildebrandt in a school record time of 8.26 and fourth overall. "She continues to put on a show in every event she competes in. This weekend was no different and she is going to really become a force as we move into outdoor." The men's 60m final showcased Kevin Harris. He finished finals with a 7.38, good enough for fifth place at the meet and ninth on the all-time list. The next race on the track was the women's 800m, where Morgan Sauer finished with a time of 2:38.09 putting her sixth on the all-time list.
 
Lydia Hildebrandt ran a 27.77 in the 200m (sixth overall), breaking her own school record by nearly .3 seconds and in the process she becomes the first Bethany woman 200m runner to break 28 seconds! "This is another huge accomplishment by Hildebrandt and words can't express how proud I am to see her succeed at this pace." The men's 200m was again highlighted by Kevin Harris. Finishing in fourth place overall, Kevin ran a 23.34 and became third on the all-time list.
 
The women's 3000m showcased, Megan Sauer finishing with a school record of 10:58.69, becoming the first Bethany athlete to ever break 11 minutes in the 3000m. The time was good enough to place her third overall. Kirsten finished in sixth overall and 11:39.95, seventh on the all-time list. "It is fun to see these two ladies develop into truly great runners." David Luehring represented the men in the 3000m and finished with a time of 9:59.22, seventh on the all-time list.
 
The last event on the track was the women's 4x400m relay (K. Marzinske, Liseke, D. Marzinske and Hildebrandt) in a time of 4:28.38, they finished fourth overall and bested the school record by over two seconds. The men's 4x400m relay mirrored the women's with a school record by two seconds as well. It was run by Harris, Bless, Richardson and Prince in a school record time of 3:35.79, placing fourth overall. Similar to the first day the relays really brought on a lot of excitement. "With two new records in the books, you can see they really left it all out there. It was amazing to watch the both relays develop and both teams close in on the competition at the finish line."

Women's shot put led day two off in the field events. Marissa Milless threw a school record 9.65 (31'2") and did so finishing seventh overall. "She is really proving to be someone to watch as we move into outdoor." Men's shot put was led by Joshua Jablon, finishing in fifth place with a throw of 13.22 (43'4.50") and putting the throw number eight on the all-time list.
 
In the horizontal jumps, Noah Larson leapt 11.80 (38'8.75") in the triple jump and fifth place overall. This jump put him number three on the all-time list. "It is very impressive what Noah is doing in the jumps as this was the first time he ever triple jumped at a meet, with only one true day of practice. As we move into outdoor he will become more comfortable with the event." The women's triple jump for Bethany was led by Anna Lieske, jumping a 9.43 (30'11.25") and placing her fifth at the UMAC Championship. This jump puts her number nine on the all-time list. Lydia Wildauer (SO) jumped 9.08 (29'9.50"), eighth place at the UMAC Championship.
 
                Anna Lieske vaulted a 2.41 (7'10.75"), this vault was good enough for seventh overall and third on the all-time list. MacKenna Hinz (FR) finished close behind in eighth overall with a vault of 2.26 (7'5") and number five on the all-time list. The men's pole vault was represented by Luke Hahn and a vault of 2.60 (8'6.25") and sixth on the all-time list gave him an eighth place UMAC Championship finish.
 
"This weekend was about continuing to develop and push each other to new limits and boundaries, they all did that. What made it even more impressive is that we did not fully taper them, but they set new records all over the track and field. We will continue to improve individually and as a team. Transitioning into outdoor, we look forward to setting new heights, times and marks for our program. Again, it is great to be able to look back on this weekend and say that we left it all out there, these athletes really gave what they had this weekend and should be proud of their efforts."

The Vikings will continue to train for the 2016 Outdoor Track and Field season which will begin in April. Congratulations to all Bethany athletes who competed in the 2016 UMAC Indoor Championships.