Jackson Gerber, Sports Editor

The men’s and women’s outdoor track season is officially underway. A select group of athletes enjoyed the California sun on Friday and Saturday, while others braved a cold and rainy Minnesota spring meet at Hamline.

On Friday night, the athletes out in California took part in the Whittier College Twilight meet in Los Angeles. Kenna Bannister was the top performer in the meet, winning the shot put with a personal best throw of 11.48 meters and also finishing third in both the discus and hammer throw. She currently ranks fifth in the MIAC in the shot put and ninth in the hammer throw. Sam Rosario also had a solid showing in the meet as he finished sixth in the 100 at 11.38 seconds and eighth in the 200 at 23.34 seconds, both personal best times putting him at seventh and 11th respectively in the MIAC. Alex Bailey also set a collegiate best in the high jump, clearing 1.85 meters, which gave him a third-place finish in the meet and put him at fifth in the MIAC. On Saturday at the Pamona-Pitzer invitational, Miracle Adebanjo set a personal best time of 23.73 seconds in the 200, which puts him at 15th in the MIAC.

Back in Minnesota, the remaining Auggies competed at the Hamline Invitational on Saturday. Many athletes put on stellar performances considering the cold and wet weather they had to endure. Indoor national qualifier Jada Lewis continued her strong season as she placed third in the 100 at 12.90 seconds and fourth in the 200 at 26.96 seconds. Her times put her at fourth and sixth in the MIAC respectively. Also, for the women, Ann Sheely placed 29th with a 19:52.36 time in the 5k. The top performer for the men on the day was Evan Bergemann as he finished third in the Javelin with a throw of 46.26 meters which puts him at fifth in the MIAC. Taron Busby was the top sprinter for the Auggies; he finished in 12.01 seconds in the 100 and 24.31 seconds in the 200. Gabriel Olajoku also had a strong showing in the 400, posting a season best time of 54.39 seconds.

The next meet for the Auggies will be the Tomcat Twilight meet hosted by St. Thomas next Wednesday.

This article was originally published in the April 12, 2019 issue. 

Evan Bergemann throws the javelin at the Hamline invitational on 4/6. Photo by Jackson Gerber.