String of records broken at Mark Schuck Open and Multi

MANKATO, Minn. - St. Thomas Indoor Track & Field turned in a record-setting weekend at the Mark Schuck Open and Multi, hosted by Minnesota State University, Mankato, on Jan. 30–31, highlighted by two men's and two women's program records, five event wins and a deep collection of top-10 marks in program history across both squads.

WOMEN
The Tommie women delivered one of the most record-heavy performances of the season, highlighted by a historic showing in the pole vault. Sophomore Brooke Wisdom and junior Morgan Koppelman each cleared 3.91 meters to finish first and second, respectively, tying the program record and ranking fifth in the Summit League this season. Junior Cassia Cady added another program record in the triple jump, finishing third with a leap of 12.06 meters that now ranks second in the league.

Senior Alexis Pratt captured an event win in the 300-meter dash, running 36.69 to rank second in program history, while also contributing a top-10 program mark in the 200 meters. In the multis, sophomore Ella Olson placed fourth in the pentathlon with 3,473 points, ranking third all-time at St. Thomas and fourth in the Summit League, while senior Brianna Fleek followed closely in fifth with 3,437 points, fourth in program history. Junior Lillian Allen also cracked the program's top six with a seventh-place pentathlon finish.

Additional top-10 program performances came from freshman Jayi Wilson in the 60-meter dash (7.66, fifth all-time), sophomore Brooke Hohenecker, freshman Tessa Campbell and junior Kendall Hagness in the 300 meters, Jackie Cole in the long jump and freshman Grazina Troup in the triple jump. Sophomore Danika Apple added a runner-up finish in the 60 meters, ranking fourth in the Summit League.

The women totaled three event wins — Pratt in the 300 meters, freshman Katelyn Wozniak in the 600 meters (1:37.71) and the shared pole vault title by Wisdom and Koppelman — along with six top-three finishes, closing a standout weekend in Mankato.

MEN
The Tommie men were led by a pair of program records on the track, headlined by sophomore Blake Burnstad's victory in the 1000-meter run. Burnstad clocked a time of 2:26.92 to win the event outright and break a program record he previously shared. The performance anchored a dominant showing in the event, as freshman Casey Poppley followed closely in second at 2:27.17, ranking second in program history, while sophomore Ethan Foote placed third in 2:29.01, good for 10th all-time at St. Thomas.

Junior Johnny Bezdicek added another program record with a 34.43 in the 300-meter dash to place third overall, while sophomore Braeden Brouwer ran 8.22 in the 60-meter hurdles prelims to rank fourth in program history and 10th in the Summit League this season. In the field, junior Trever Schirmer recorded a 16.07-meter throw in the shot put to rank ninth all-time and ninth in the Summit League, while junior Will DiSessa posted a 7.06-meter long jump, ranking fifth in the league. On the distance side, junior Adam Lueth placed third in the 3000 meters (8:19.27), sophomore Ben Stricker finished second in the 5000 meters (15:05.22) and junior Charlie Power-Theisen added a top-10 Summit League time in the same event.

St. Thomas totaled two event wins — Burnstad in the 1000 meters and freshman Sam Hebert in the 600 meters (1:22.30) — along with eight top-three finishes on the weekend.

QUOTABLES
Women's Head Coach Ashley Lucas:
"I thought the team really rose to the challenge we gave them of not being complacent and truly competed with heart and grit. The multi ladies got it started off strong for us on Friday and that carried over into Saturday. Highlights were Brooke Wisdom and Morgan Koppelman going toe-to-toe with each other and breaking the school record together and then Cassia Cady following that up with breaking the school record in the triple jump.

"We will continue to challenge the team to continually up their game as we get into the prime of the season. We are excited to carry this momentum to competitions at Nebraska and Minnesota this coming weekend."

Men's Head Coach Pete Wareham:
"Our guys did a real good job at Mankato this weekend. The highlights were school records by Johnny Bezdicek at 300m and also Blake Burnstad in the 1000m. In addition, we had several guys have significant personal records. Trever Schirmer did really well, Casey Poppler ran very well, and Braeden Brouwer had a nice personal record. Will DiSessa also had a nice personal record in the long jump. Sam Hebert and Landon Deneen were good at 600m.

"Our upcoming meet at Nebraska will definitley be very competitive and it will be another opportunity to build on our momentum from this weekend."

UP NEXT
St. Thomas will split its squad this coming weekend, traveling to the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational & Multi Feb. 6-7 in Lincoln, Neb., and the Gopher Classic Feb. 7 in Minneapolis.

FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's and Women's Track & Field, follow along on Twitter at @TommieXCTF. Follow both programs on Instagram at @tommiewxctf and @tommiemtfxc

-- St. Thomas Athletics --

String of records broken at Mark Schuck Open and Multi

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Players Mentioned

Lillian Allen

Danika Apple

Braeden Brouwer

Blake Burnstad

Cassia Cady

Tessa Campbell

Landon Deneen

Will DiSessa

Brianna Fleek

Ethan Foote

Kendall Hagness

Sam Hebert

Brooke Hohenecker

Morgan Koppelman

Adam Lueth

Ella Olson

Casey Poppler

Charlie Power-Theisen

Alexis Pratt

Trever Schirmer

Ben Stricker

Grazina Troup

Jayi Wilson

Brooke Wisdom

Katelyn Wozniak

University of St. Thomas Athletics