On April 17, the St. Olaf women’s track and field team hosted the Manitou Track and Field Classic. It was a highly successful outing for the Oles, as several athletes topped their events and many others placed highly throughout the day.
The event began with the 3,000 meter steeplechase, and it was Piper Bain ’16 who started the day off in style for the Oles, as she raced to a victory in a time of 11:26.58. Following Bain’s lead, Dani Larson ’15 dominated the 100 meter hurdles, running the event in 15.32 to finish .09 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. Larson has continued her strong form from the indoor track and field season, where she finished seventh in the pentathlon at the NCAA Division III National Championships. Finishing just a few places behind Larson in the hurdles was Masha Grizhebovskaya ’18, who ran a time of 16.39 seconds to finish in fifth position.
Larson, not content with just one victory, backed up her performance by winning the long jump event, covering a distance of 5.15 meters to claim victory. She was also a part of the 4 x 100 team, along with Lillie Meakim ’18, Abby Stets ’18 and Madison Van Wylen ’16, which won the relay by nearly two seconds over rival University of St. Thomas.
Stets also starred for the Oles. In addition to contributing to the victorious relay team, she also claimed two other events. She won the 400 meter race in a scintillating time of 57.95 seconds and was a member of the 4 x 400 team that dominated with a time of 3:56.65. Other members of this winning team were Suzie Hoops ’17, Van Wylen and Larson.
Annika Johnson ’18 performed strongly for the Oles in the discus throw, throwing a distance of 36.04 meters to finish in third place.
St. Olaf will compete in several more events over the coming weeks in order to prepare for the MIAC Championships, which will be held on May 8 and 9 at Macalester College.
Photo Credit:MADISON VANG/MANITOU MESSENGER
