The University of MInnesota Duluth men's and women's indoor track teams successfully kicked off the 2023-24 season Saturday afternoon at the College of St. Scholastica Opener in the Burns Wellness Commons in Duluth, Minn.
Between the two squads, the Bulldogs had 42 podium placements, including seven first place honorees on both the men's and women's sides.
On the men's side, perhaps the biggest performance of the day belonged to sophomore William Heydt, who triple jumped to a win and an NCAA provisional mark of 14.64. Heydt also won the long jump with a personal record of 6.62.
Heydt wasn't the only Bulldogs to turn in a NCAA provisional performance – senior Eli Bicek threw for a personal record and provisional mark in the shot put of 16.66.
Trackside, UMD got a first place finish from Sam Blomberg in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.92. The Bulldogs also got a first place finish from Brady Johnson in the men's 200 meters (22.64) and a first place run out in their 4x400 meter relay, composed of Johnson, Ted Rogers, Bereket Loer and Alexander Croston – the second fastest Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference time so far.
On the field, a number of athletes reached first place podium stands in the very first indoor meet of the season. Jaden Johnson won the high jump with a jump of 1.95m (sixth-best in the NSIC), and Jackson Weston reached a personal record with a 16.93m weight throw, good for fourth right now in the NSIC.
On the women's track, multiple runners had conference-quick runs, including Katie Fitzgerald's personal best of 7.78 that clinched first in the women's 60 meters, and Megan Gilles' PR of 9.0 in the 60 meter hurdles that landed her a first place finish. Both Fitzgerald and Gilles laned top-10 NSIC performances – Fitzgerald in the 10 spot, while Gilles sits at eighth. Emily Bastian won with a time of 59.81, the seventh fastest NSIC time in the event this season and Ellie Hanowski took home first with a 5:27:38 mile turn – the second fastest time in the NSIC.. Kathryn Wraspir's 19:20:67 effort in the 5000 meters also secured another first place finish for the Bulldogs, and the fourth fastest conference run in the event in 2023-24..
Kayce Gielski won the weight throw with a huge PR of 16.70 meters, the second longest in the NSIC this season, while Erin Steinman triple jumped to first place with a 11.07 meter jump (the eighth longest in the NSIC).
For the full meet results, click here.
Both Bulldog squads will take a break over the holidays from outside competition, with the next meet – the Bearson/Gathje Classic – scheduled for Jan. 12, 2024 in Mankato, Minn.
