On April 13, the Women’s Track and Field team competed in Winona, Minnesota on a blustery, wintry day in Minnesota Spring. If you have been frustrated with the weather lately, imagine attempting to run a race against the wind on a day sandwiched in between forecasted winter storms. Nevertheless, the ladies of the Ole track team managed to battle through inclement conditions.
Senior captain Emma Lee managed to set a St. Olaf record in the 10,000-meter race with a time of 35:47.24. Ironically, Lee bested herself and beat her own best time from 2012. Rebecca Bevans ’13and Sophie Pietrick ’13 followed her in second place and third place, respectively. The three ladies were able to garner St. Olaf’s top-three all-time finishers in the 10K event. Elise Wrolstad held the former all-time best time with a time of 37:24:24. Wrolstad clinched the top spot in 1984 and remained unbeaten until last year when Lee set the new record in 2012.
Another captain, Moriah Novacinski ’14, had an excellent day of racing. Novacinski placed first in the 800-meter run and second in the 1500-meter. The 4×100-meter relay team, made up of Tara Reyelts ’14, Britta Olsen ’14, Erin McHugh ’16 and Julia Wolter ’15, took home second place with a time of 53.20. Another Ole success story occurred in the heptathlon. For those of you not versed in track and field or Greek, the heptathlon is a combined contest made up of seven events, including 100 meter hurdles, shot put, high jump, 200 meter, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 meter. Dani Larson ’14 finished second, and ranks third on the St. Olaf all-time records list with a score of 3999 points.
If you want to catch the Ole ladies at their home meet this weekend, the action begins at 10:00 a.m. at Manitou Stadium on Saturday April 20. Teams attending will be St. Ben’s, St. Kate’s, St. Thomas, and Macalester. So head on down to Manitou on a sunny spring day with a high of 40F degrees! Go Oles!