Maverick men and women dominate at Invite

This past weekend, the Minnesota State Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams hosted schools from California, in addition to several familiar schools in the midwest for the Minnesota State Massive meets. The Mavericks wiped the board clean on both days as the men’s and women’s teams took home first place, respectively.

For the women, junior sprinters Denisha Cartwright and Makayla Jackson secured the top two spots in the 200m dash with times of 23.86 for Cartwright and 24.42 for Jackson. Cartwright’s impressive time of 23.86 lowered her faculty and school records and secured a critical 10 pts for Minnesota State in the meet.

Jackson also proved to be dominant in the long jump as she extended her faculty record by a distance of 6.37m on her first attempt, enough for first place. Junior Mariah Williams was also impressive for the Mavericks as she secured second place in the long jump with a distance of 6.03m.

Senior distance runner Amanda Montplaisir also bested a school record that had lasted for 43 years in the 3000m run. Though she was able to beat the existing school record with a time of 9:32.59, her quick feet were only able to secure third place in the event that day.

For the men, the Mavericks dominated the pole vault event, securing four of the top-five spots. Junior Carson Dittel won the event for the Mavericks with a mark of 5.01 meters followed closely behind by sophomore teammate Jedidah Hansen with a height of 4.76m.

Minnesota State boasted a tight teammate battle in the 400m dash as two Mavericks secured the top-two spots in a close affair. Senior Rashion Walker edged out freshman Qai Hussey by 0.01 seconds with times of 49.08 and 49.09.

But the Mavericks saved the best event for last as the distance medley team finished with a time of 9:58.65. This time currently sits at eleventh best in the nation and was the fourth-best time in school history. 

With a team score of 184 for the women and 193.5 for the men, both Maverick track teams dominated the field for first place. The student-athletes returned back to Myers Field House Saturday for day two of the meet.

Like Friday, the women’s short-distance events featured the friendly competition between Mavericks Cartwright and Jackson. In the 60-meter dash, Jackson narrowly bested Cartwright by 0.003 seconds with times of 7.235 and 7.238, a new school record.

Along with senior Rose Gay, Cartwright, Jackson, and Cramer teamed up to compete for the Mavericks in the 4×400 relay. The four combined to break the previous school record with a time of 3:44.61 despite finishing second in the event.

The sprinters were the talk of the day for Minnesota State as four of the top-five spots in the 60-meter hurdles were held by Mavericks. Led by junior Roxan Foster’s time of 8.63, the Mavericks were able to secure 27 of a possible 41 pts in that event.

On the men’s side, the Mavericks shined in the majority of the events Saturday. The Mavericks were able to secure the top-three spots in the 200m dash which was led by sophomore Steven Marks with a time of 22.08.

In addition, sophomore Aiden Buendorf earned the individual title for the Mavericks in the high jump with a mark of 2.09. Sophomore Jacob Ziebarth followed closely behind Buendorf with a second place height of 2.04.

The Mavericks shined in the pole vault competition on Saturday as they secured the top four heights and earned 29 total points in the event. Dittel barely missed his mark from Friday as he posted a height of 5.00m.

Like Friday, the both Maverick teams dominated the competition in day two of the meet as they secured first place, respectively. The men and women will be back in action Friday starting at 3 p.m. for the Maverick Invitational at Myers Field House.

Write to Karson Buelow at Karson.Buelow@mnsu.edu

Header photo: MSU Track & Field Men’s and Women’s teams each took 1st place over both days of the Minnesota State Massive Meet #1 Friday, Feb. 10 and Meet #2 Saturday, Feb. 11. (Dylan Engel)