The University of Minnesota Duluth men's/women's indoor track & field teams competed on Saturday at the Lake Superior Challenge hosted by the College of St. Scholastica. The Bulldogs earned 13 first place finishes on the day. 

UMD's Megan Gilles started off the day for the Bulldogs with a first place finish in the women's 60m hurdles with a time of 9.31 followed by senior Bryn London in third place with a time of 9.62. In the 200m, UMD finished second (Emily Anderson - 26.27), third (Jordan Grell - 26.75), fourth (Jacqi Rae - 26.85, fifth (Lindsey Root - 26.98), and sixth (Chloey Evans - 27.27). The women's 400m saw freshman Kate Fitzgerald cross the line in first with a time of 59.66. A pair of freshman finished the women's 600m in second place (Marybeth Mathews - 1:44.15) and third place (Alaina Hageman - 1:44.51). In the women's 800m, the mid-distance crew ran a clean sweep of first through fourth with Savannah Schley leading the charge with a time of 2:15.48 followed by Franny Seidel (2:19.24) in second, Haleigh Reindl (2:19.31) in third and Alaina Steele (2:24.51) in fourth. In the women's distance races, sophomore Josie Bond (5:15.54) notched a second place finish in the one mile followed by senior Morgan Radel with a time of 5:26.28. The women's 3000m saw the Bulldogs once again sweep the top six spots --- led by junior Lauryn Renier (10:45.52). In the field events, UMD's Emily Jones cleared 1.53m in the high jump to finish in second place. In the women's long jump it was Bulldog Jacqi Rae who earned the top spot with a leap of 5.43m followed by Lindsey Root in second place with a strong 5.41m. The Bulldogs other top spot came in the women's triple jump as Emily Jones soared 10.58m. 

On the men's side, UMD's sprint crew turned in some solid performances starting with the men's 60m as freshman Cole Brisbois crossed the line in 7.15 for a fourth place finish followed by Nicholas Westphal at 7.16 (fifth) and Josh Miley in 7.20 (sixth). Bulldogs Samuel Blomberg crossed the line in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.80 for a second place finish. In the men's 200m, Cole Brisbois once again led the way with a time of 22.93 for a second place finish and Josh Miley finished third with a time of 23.03. The UMD men took the top two spots in the 600m as Bereket Loer (1:23.91) and Alexander Croston (1:24.97) ran strong. In the distance events, the Bulldogs earned a first place finish in the men's mile as Jordan Gruenes ran a 4:22.29 and in the men's 1000m Mikey Kvaal landed a second place finish with a time of 2:36.46. In the final distance race of the day, the men's 3000m, UMD crossed the line in second (Isaac Martel - 9:22.82) and third place (Zachary Anderson - 9:27.54). In the field events, the UMD men had another strong day. Freshman Jaden Johnson cleared 1.93m in the high jump to take home the top spot. Bulldogs Kyle Kucera (3.98m) and Baden Bastian (3.98m) earned second and third place finishes in the men's pole vault. Colton Kostynick continued to turn in dominating performances as he tossed a 15.92m in the shot put for first place. In the other field events, UMD's Bennett Nelson (12.53m) earned first in the triple jump and Jackson Weston (14.98M) garnered a first place finish in the weight throw. In the final event of the day, the men's 4x400m team of Loer, Blomberg, Rogers, and Croston crossed the line in first with a time of 3:31.61.

Coach Brautigam's Thoughts on the women's team:
"We had a few breakthrough performances today especially in the women's long jump. Our women's weight throw crew also had a big day with PRs all around. From sprints to distance we had a lot of positive movement on the conference list. It will be fun to see how our group continues to improve as we get closer to championship season." 

Coach Brautigam's Thoughts on the men's team:
"We had some individuals step up today and take a big step forward. This was a great opportunity this weekend to be at home, get a lot of reps in, and competed to win. We had a number of PRs today and continue to pick up on little wins as we get down to the last few meaningful weeks before the post season."

Up Next
The Bulldogs will visit Minnesota State in Mankato on Friday, February 10th for the Minnesota State Meet and stay local as they cross the bridge into Superior, Wis. on Saturday, February 11th for the Sam Maday Classic at UWS.