Mavs rise to the top of the nation
The top track and field athletes across the nation went to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California and the Loper Invitational in Kearney, Nebraska to showcase their talents. Minnesota State’s No. 5 Women’s and No.17 Men’s Track and Field teams dominated the meets and continue to place at the top of the nation.
Junior duo Makayla Jackson and Denisha Cartwright had a standout weekend.
Jackson finished in first place in the long jump with a leap of 6.62m. This broke her personal record and all MSU records and places her at the top of national rankings. It was the longest jump in the nation this year and the third longest in NCAA Division II history. She also sits at the top of the national rankings in the 200m dash with a 23.75s finish which earned her 10th in the competition.
Finishing just before her, Cartwright finished the 200m dash with a time of 23.18s. This broke her own record at the top of the MSU all-time list and ranks her second best in the nation. Lastly, Jackson and Cartwright finished within milliseconds of each other’s 100m time. Jackson finished in 11.60s placing her 15th in the nation while Cartwright placed 16th in the nation with a time of 11.62s.
In Nebraska, the women’s throwers furthered MSU’s success with three of the top five finishes. Senior Lexie Hurst took first in shot put with a throw of 14.67m while Kaitlyn Schroeder finished second and Madeline Fretag took fourth.
The men also showcased that they have national talent as well. In Nebraska, the duo of junior Carter Aguilera and freshman Ben Wieser stood out in the field. Aguilera took home gold in discus throwing 54.02m which earned him fifth overall in the nation. Aguilera also competed in the hammer where he recorded a personal best of 53.22m which finished in ninth place.
His partner Wieser competed in shot put, discus and hammer Shotput was his best event where he finished in third with a throw of 15.57m. He ended in ninth for discus and tenth in the hammer event.
To finish off the weekend highlights, more personal bests came from the men in California. Junior Carson Dittel finished in second place in the pole vault as he reached 5.20m. This personal best helped him climb the ladder of MSU athletes as he now sits with the second-highest vault in MSU history.
Junior Onyekachi Ukaobasi got his best performance in the triple jump which propelled him to both the fourth best at the event and fourth best as an MSU athlete. His triple jump was 15.28m.
Both Jackson and Aguilera were rewarded for their remarkable performances by being named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Field Athletes of the Week.
Depending on the weather, the Mavericks are expected to compete in the M City Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota Wednesday.
Write to Luke Jackson at Luke.Jackson.2@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: Makayla Jackson broke this year’s national long jump record at 6.62 meters while competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational. This jump also broke her personal record, Minnesota State’s record, and is the third longest jump in division two history. (File)