Track and field teams show out at Ted Nelson Classic

The Minnesota State men’s and women’s track and field teams found success in the Ted Nelson Classic this past weekend.

The day started off with sophomore Vance Barnes taking second place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.97. The lady Mavericks claimed the top three spots for their 60-meter dash. Junior Karlona Gregory (7.71) took first place, sophomore Gabi Gaines (7.75) at second, and sophomore Afure Adah (7.76) finished third.

For the long-distance runners, junior Austin Pasch finished first in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:30.16. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team earned first place with a time of 3:17.90. The women long-distance runners also found similar success. Sophomores Bobbi Patrick (1:38.01) and Jessica Boespflug (1:40.59) finished second and third in the 600-meter race, respectively. The women’s 4×400-meter relay earned second place with a time of 3:54.93.

The men’s side performed extremely well in the field events. For the triple jump, the men’s team swept the board. Junior Michael Sandle took first place with 52’3.75”. This was Sandle’s second best jump of the season and with that, he now owns the first and second best triple jump measures in the entire Division-II. Junior Mitchell Valli set a personal best in the pole vault as he cleared 16’7.25”. This mark ranks him fifth nationally.

The Mavericks earned first place in the high jump for both men and women. Sophomore Khadiya Hollingsworth grabbed the top spot with a jump of 5’9.25”. Sophomore Jeff DeCock set a new personal record at 6’11.5”. This mark ranks him fourth in Division-II. For the men’s throwers, senior Bryan Caffin had a great day. He finished second in shot put with a throw of 49’6.5”. He also finished fifth in the weight throw at 56’3.75”.

Assistant coach Chris Rombough was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We had a solid outing this weekend, we had good showings from Mitch Valli, Mike Sandle, Jeff DeCock, and Khadiya Hollingsworth,” Rombough said.

The Maverick track and field teams are nearing the end of their indoor season. Rombough stressed the opportunities to qualify for post season competition is dwindling.

“The opportunities to qualify for both the conference and national meets are nearing an end…we must take each opportunity to its fullest and not have the mentality that there is always another chance,” said Rombough.

MNSU’s next event is on the road at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. Events will be held all day on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11.