First outdoor track meet held

By Pat Howard
Cardinal Staff

On Friday, April 17, Saint Mary’s University had its first-ever outdoor track and field meet. The Phil Esten Challenge was hosted by UW - La Crosse but held at SMU due to construction on their own new facility. Eight teams competed in the meet.

The SMU men’s track team finished fifth overall, and the women’s team finished out the day in seventh.

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The head official, or “starter,” arrived later than anticipated, pushing events back roughly an hour, but that did not seem to keep the spirits of the athletes down.

The atmosphere at the track complex was overwhelmingly positive. Spectators and athletes alike from various schools were making positive remarks throughout the event, which lasted roughly seven hours.

Standout athletes included sophomore Ryan Wockenfus, who finished third in the javelin event with a throw of 42.06 meters, junior Teri Heinzen, who placed fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.72 seconds and fifth in the long jump with a leap of 5.01 meters, and sophomore Brittany Kuehn, who finsihed the 400 meter with a time of 58.96 seconds.

The spirit of teamwork was best displayed in the men’s 800 meter run, as sophomore Benton Kodet and senior Marty Howard ran together against strong competitors such as UW - Stout’s Justin Verhulst. Kodet set a new personal record with a time of 2:02.73, and Howard finished with a time of 2:03.39.