The University of Minnesota Duluth men's/women's indoor track & field teams began 2023 with a solid showing on Friday afternoon in Mankato, MN at the Minnesota State Invitational. Across both teams, the Bulldogs notched multiple PR's, along with a new facility record. Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, and Winona State all competed on Friday.
The Bulldog men saw strong performances in the field events against a top ranked Minnesota State team. Led by pre-season NSIC Bulldog to watch
Colton Kostynick, who finished second in the shot put with a throw of 15.85m and fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 15.84m. In the jumps category, Bulldog
William Heydt finished with a triple jump of 13.75m for third place and earned a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.46m. On the women's side, Bulldog
Jacqi Rae turned in strong performances in the women's shot put with a toss of 11.68m (seventh place) and a leap of 5.18m for a seventh-place finish in the long jump. Other strong finishes came in the men's high jump as
Jaden Johnson turned in a fifth-place performance with a height of 1.86m and
Emily Jones on the women's side cleared 1.57m for eighth place.
In the running events, the Bulldog men saw two top five finishes in the one mile with
Owen Dickenson (second - 4:23.45) and
Jordan Gruenes (fourth place - 4:27.22).
Cole Brisbois earned a strong second place finish in the men's 60m with a time of 7.12 and
Samuel Blomberg notched a third-place finish in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.70. The highlight on the men's side was
Lucas Selman who finished first and set a personal best in the 3000m and a facility record with a time of 8:48.76. Bulldogs
Jack Van Kempen and
Austin Antony also turned in personal bests in the 3000m. On the women's side, Bulldog
Megan Gilles turned in two personal bests -- in the 60m hurdles (9.33) and in the 200m (26.15). All-American
Haleigh Reindl opened 2023 with a second-place finish in the women's 600m with a time of 1:40.31. Rounding out performances on the women's team was
Anna Eich in the one mile (5:31.23 - fifth place) and
Kira Almsberger (5:37.99 - sixth place).
Coach Brautigam's Thoughts on the women's team:
"We saw some great performances on the women's side today to begin 2023. We showed promise in a lot of areas, and it was good to get this first meet coming back from break under our belt. We look forward to being stronger over the coming weeks."
Coach Brautigam's Thoughts on the men's team:
"The men saw a solid day competitively in the throws area competing against a team that is among the best in the conference. Our first-year sprints/jump crew continues to prove that they will be competitive right away in their first season."
Up Next
Both teams will be back in the twin ports on Saturday, January 21st as they head across the bridge to the Twin Ports Open hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
