Chris Mangan

With the indoor track season nearing the half way point, both the men’s and women’s team performed well at the MSU Open and Pentathlon in Mankato this past weekend.

The women’s school record was set for the third week in a row in the 20-point weight throw. Sophomore Michelle Schuch reclaimed the top spot from sophomore Jennifer Mach with a throw of 54 feet, 4 inches, which was good for third place. Junior Sara Achman finished second in the shot-put, and Andrea Masters also finished second in the high jump. Freshman Rachel Hakk finished fifth in the pentathlon with her teammate, sophomore Kim Markham, finishing a close sixth.

Sophomore Heather Wollman won two events, the 60 and 400-meter runs with teammate and fellow sophomore Brittany Garner finishing second in both events. Junior Stacy Huss won the 800-meter run with a time of two minutes, 19.65 seconds. Sophomore Nicole Davis finished third in the mile with teammate sophomore Heidi Quail finishing eighth. Freshman Kristin Barrios added a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, and junior Sarah Hanson finished sixth in the 5,000-meter run.

On the men’s side, the Jacks turned in eight season-best marks. Three Rapid City natives turned third place finishes in their respective events. Sophomore Ben Jasinski racked up 3,188 points in the heptathlon; Jackrabbit assistant coach Lyndon McDowell won the event with 4,069 points. Redshirt freshman Marshal Kambestad bettered his mark in the mile while sophomore Corey Beffert had a season-best leap in the long jump. Beffert also finished seventh in the 60-meter dash.

The other season-best marks were turned in by freshmen D.J. Thompson in the 800-meter run, Dan Winders in the 300-meter dash, sophomore Sam McInerney in the shot-put and junior Nick Schanaman in the 60-meter hurdles. Winders finished third and Schanaman finished fourth, while McInerney finished sixth and Thompson finished eleventh. The medley relay team also turned in a season-best time. The Jacks got a fourth-place effort from freshman Greg Vollmer in the 3,000 meter run and a fifth place effort from junior Tyler Schiferl in the pole vault.

No team scores were kept in the two-day event. Both teams return to action this weekend at the Adidas Classic in Lincoln, Neb.