March Madness Triangular Kicks Off Outdoor Season
The Cobbers hosted St. John’s and Martin Luther and came away with three event wins and a slew of top 3 finishes on a brisk and windy day in the outdoor opener.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/29/14)—The Cobbers turned to hosts to start the 2014 outdoor track and field season at the Concordia March Madness Triangular Meet. The Cobbers hosted St. John's and Martin Luther and came away with three event wins and a slew of top 3 finishes on a brisk and windy day at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex.
The meet was originally scheduled to be held at St. John's but was moved to Moorhead due to a clear Irv Christenson track and unobstructed field venues. The Cobbers opened the outdoor campaign by placing second with a total of 191.5 points. The Johnnies won the event with 347.0 points while Martin Luther was third at 51.5 points.
Alex Benzegala was able to cut through the wind and lead the Concordia track contingent he posted a pair of top 3 finishes and won the 200-meter dash. The senior captain ran a 23.95 in the race and beat teammate Dan McGuire by .51 seconds. Benzegala then turned around and claimed third place in the 100-meter dash. He clocked a 11.78 in an event that is not one of his specialties.
Carl Wahlin and Jeff Fiebelkorn completed the trio of track wins for the Cobbers. Wahlin bested the field in the 800 meters while Fielbelkorn was tops in the initial 400-meter hurdle race of the season. Wahlin came away with a time of 2:04.29 which beat a quartet of SJU runners. He was able to nip the second-place finisher at the line by a mere .03 seconds. Fiebelkorn turned in a time of 1:01.01 in the extended hurdle race. He was the leader of a pack of five CC runners who claimed the top 5 spots in the race. Tim Peterson was second and Jamie Marrier was third.
Mark Goss and Jackson Schepp owned the top field finishes for Concordia. Goss placed second in the high jump with a mark of 6-04.25. That height is better than his top mark in 2013. Schepp was second in the long jump at 20-09.00. He also placed third in the high jump with a mark of 6-02.25.
Connor Johnson stepped onto the competitive stage for the first time this year. The javelin specialist, who won the event at the conference meet in 2012, finished third at the March Madness event with a mark of 146-05.00.
The Cobbers will try and beat the winter weather forecast by staying outside and competing at the Carleton Invite on Saturday, Apr. 5.