MONMOUTH, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the three-team Monmouth Midwest Invitational on Friday. Both squads found individual success, with the women having eight top finishers and the men with seven. The women's team also secured a top placement in the 4x400-meter relay.
On an individual level, the women's team had eight top placements out of their 13 events. In running events, the Vikings were dominant. McKenzie Reser was among the highlights, earning two first-place finishes in the 60-meter and 200-meter runs. Her 7.99 time matched her career-best, which also ties for seventh on the all-time indoor rankings for the program. Reser was followed closely in the 200-meter run by teammate Sara Clapp, who placed second and ran a 29.91 time. With only one hurdle event, Madison Morrow capitalized and claimed the top spot with a 10.08 effort.
As distance began to increase, Augie continued to find success. In the 800-meter run, Lina Maatouk turned in a top finish with a 2:32.91 time. Maatouk's teammates were right on her heels, with Kara Lotz and Madison Weis taking second and third place in the race. In the women's one mile, Emma Odle ran an impressive 5:36.22 time, good for first place. Lastly, in the 3000-meter run, Anna Boardman ran a top time of 10:42.78. Boardman's time bested the second-place runner by a full minute.
The Vikings' continued success poured into field events, with the women's team securing two top placements. Rhiannon Marshall claimed the victory in the high jump, turning in a 1.64-meter leap. Brooke Ziegenhorn earned her top finish in the pole vault with a 3.21-meter vault. The lone top finish from the men came via Rafael Estrada's 1.77-meter leap in the high jump. A few Vikings narrowly missed top placements in the non-grounded events. Dakota Straight earned second place in the pole vault with a four-meter vault, while Braeden Clements secured a top-three finish in a highly competitive long jump event containing 13 other leapers.
The Augie men's team had seven top finishers across their 13 events. Seth Sottos put together a memorable evening in race events, earning a first and third-place finish in the 200-meter and 60-meter, respectively. In the lone hurdle event, the Vikings completed the event sweep, as Connor Lopez notched a top finish with a 9.41 time.
The men dominated the distance events at Friday's invitational, securing top placements across the 800-meter, one-mile, and 3000-meter runs. The 800-meter event consisted of five runners, with the Vikings securing the top three spots. Eirik Andersen's 2:11.06 time paced the trio. In the one mile, Joe Langridge coasted to first place, ending with a time of 4:30.79. Rounding out the distance events, Alex Gazarek secured the top spot with a 9:31.15 time.
The Viking men's and women's teams had impressive runs in the team relays. The women secured first place with a 4:40.5 time, courtesy of Clapp, Morrow, Reser, and Kira Nelson. The relay team for the men earned a second-place finish with a 3:41.45 time.
Carson Eipers highlighted the Vikings' efforts in the weight throwing competition, posting a 17.27 hurl, good for second place at the event among ten other tossers.
The Vikings will travel to the campus of St. Ambrose for the second time this season for the Bumble Rumble on January 21. Start time is still to be determined.
