Tommies stack wins, top marks across three meets

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas Track & Field continued the start of its outdoor season across three meets, highlighted by top marks at the Bryan Clay Multis in California and a series of event wins at the Gene Glader Invitational and Manitou Classic on Saturday despite poor weather conditions. The Tommies combined for multiple top-10 program performances, strong NCAA Midwest rankings and several event titles across the busy weekend.

MEN
The Tommie men turned in a productive weekend, beginning at the Gene Glader Invitational with 18 top-10 finishes and four event victories. Barak Barner led the hurdle group with a runner-up finish in the 110m hurdles, improving to eighth in program history and ranking 38th in the NCAA Midwest this season. Seth Johnson followed with a top-eight finish and moved to 12th all-time in program history in the 110m hurdles.

In the distance events, Isaac Nowak won the 3000m steeplechase and moved to 11th in program history while ranking 24th in the NCAA Midwest. Ben Stricker placed second in the same event and ranks 29th in the region. Samuel Gausmann added a win in the 800m run, while Max Westerlund claimed the 1500m title.

The throws group delivered another strong performance as Andrew Eichmann won the javelin and ranks 33rd in the NCAA Midwest, while teammate Grayson Spronk placed second and sits 38th in the region. Anthony Borom added a solid finish in the triple jump and ranks 39th in the Midwest this season.

At the Manitou Classic, the men recorded three top-10 finishes, highlighted by Trever Schirmer sweeping the discus and hammer throw titles to pace the Tommies in the field events.

WOMEN
The women were led by a strong showing in the multis, where Ella Olson posted 4,790 points in the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Multis to rank second in program history and 17th in the NCAA Midwest this season. Lillian Allen added 4,460 points to move to fifth all-time, while Brianna Fleek scored 4,389 points for seventh in program history. Fleek also recorded a 5.64-meter long jump during the heptathlon that ranks fifth in school history.

At the Gene Glader Invitational, Olivia Keller continued her strong start to the season with a pair of event wins. Keller won the 100m hurdles in 14.38, the third-fastest time in program history and 35th in the NCAA Midwest, before adding another title in the 400m hurdles with a 1:00.29 that ranks 17th in the region this season. Alexis Pratt captured the 400m dash in 56.51, the sixth-best time in program history, while Tessa Campbell followed in second with the seventh-fastest mark in school history at 57.00.

In the field events, Christina Driver won the triple jump and moved to fourth in program history, while Jacquelyn Cole claimed the long jump title and now ranks seventh all-time. Olivia Goebel added a runner-up finish in the 3000m steeplechase with the fourth-best performance in program history and 23rd in the NCAA Midwest. Layla Vennink also secured an event title in the 800m run as the Tommies totaled 21 top-10 finishes at Gene Glader.

At the Manitou Classic, the women added five top-10 finishes, led by Lauren Rott's victory in the shot put with a mark of 12.68 meters, which ranks 41st in the NCAA Midwest this season.

QUOTABLES
Women's Head Coach Ashley Lucas:
"Our multi women started us well with three great performances in California. The rest of the team also competed well yesterday back home, especially considering the weather conditions. Outdoor season can be a mental battle, especially when you don't have ideal conditions, but I feel like everyone kept a very focused mindset."

Men's Head Coach Pete Wareham:
"We had some specific objectives for this past weekend. For many, it was a bit of a rust buster as it was our first outdoor meet for everyone. We had to adapt a lot of things and focus on making the best of our opportunity and compete hard. I think we accomplished that although several races were cancelled due to weather.

Those that competed performed well. I was pleased with our young freshmen hurdlers. In addition, Ben Stricker ran a terrific steeplechase race while competing in the event for the first time ever. Also, I really liked the mindset of Samuel Gausmann who ran an impressive 800m run.

"We will continue to build on each day as we quickly head into high level meets in the upcoming meets."

UP NEXT
St. Thomas embarks on another multi-meet weekend April 16-18 as it travels to compete in California and back home in St. Paul. The Tommies will send athletes to the Pacific Coast Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on April 16, the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., on April 17-18, the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on April 18, and the Holst Invitational in St. Paul on April 18.

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 --

Tommies stack wins, top marks across three meets

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Players Mentioned

Lillian Allen

Barak Barner

Anthony Borom

Tessa Campbell

Jacquelyn Cole

Christina Driver

Andrew Eichmann

Brianna Fleek

Samuel Gausmann

Olivia Goebel

Seth Johnson

Olivia Keller

Isaac Nowak

Ella Olson

Alexis Pratt

Lauren Rott

Trever Schirmer

Grayson Spronk

Ben Stricker

Layla Vennink

Max Westerlund

University of St. Thomas Athletics