In two meets that were not team-scored, the outdoor track and field teams came through with some solid individual performances over the past few weekends, garnering a number of high-place finishes. On April 3 the Mac track hosted the Hamline Invitational due to ongoing construction on the Pipers’ campus. Anna Gordon ’06 and Koby Hagen ’06 led all Mac athletes, each earning a first-place finish. Gordon took the 3000m crown in 10:50.47 and Hagen continued to excel in the 1500m, winning with a time of 4:54.02. The women’s team also had a large number of second and third-place finishes: right behind Gordon was teammate Mo Mullikan ’04, coming in second with a time in 11:04.58. Kirsten Fristad ’05 and Johanna Shreve ’05 placed well in the 100m hurdles, finishing in second and third, respectively. The other top Mac women were Lisa Ostenson ’06 who got second in the javelin throw and Anna Shamey ’07 who took third in the 800m run.

The men’s side also had a number of top finishers. Dylan Keith ’07, 5000m; Ssebbaale Sseremba ’05, triple jump; and Tim Burns ’06, long jump, all took fifth in their respective events. Bo Rydze ’05 ran well to place second in the 3000m steeplechase and Alex Wise ’07 tied for a first place showing in the pole vault (14-10).

The next week the Mac athletes traveled to a cold, wet Gustavus campus. Student support was low, as the Gusties could not be expected to ruin their outfits by going out in a drizzle (that, and they were on spring break). Against some tough competition, including two D-II schools and two “How are they D-III?!” University of Wisc. schools, the Mac squads represented themselves well.

Wise again led the Mac men, placing third overall in the pole vault and first among those not unattached. The men also had four sixth place finishers: Andre Moulton ’05 was speedy in the 100m dash (11.85). Brendan Viele ’05 showed off his versatility by competing in the long jump after running in the 100 on April 3. Jordan Selbo ’06 ran a personal record in the 5000m (15:58.19), which was second among D-III finishers. Finally, Tim Burns came up with another strong showing, taking the men’s final sixth-place spot in the triple jump (39-11.50).

On the women’s side, to no one’s surprise, Hagen again led the charge. She finished off the day with a third place performance in the 800m and the top prize in the 1500m, improving by five seconds over the previous meet to clock in at 4:48.96. Renee Schaefer ’04 was the other top finisher for Macalester, getting second in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 12:15.8. Shamey recovered well from realizing she didn’t have a singlet on right before the race to place fourth in the 800m. The other Mac women going the distance were Gordon, who was fourth in the 5000m and Francie Streich ’05 who was only seven seconds behind in fifth.

Performers in the sprints and field events also put up their fair share of impressive placements. Kaela Schramm ’07 took third in the 100m hurdles, Susan Brown ’07 went for fifth in the triple jump, and Ostenson improved over the previous week by two feet (109-6) and wound up third in the javelin throw.

Spirits seemed high and a nice little jiggilo was even had despite the weather conditions. The squads next compete April 17 in Northfield and are back home April 21 and 24 (not that many of you will be in any condition to watch).