Putting The Pieces Together
Concordia continues to keep putting pieces of the puzzle together as they head towards the MIAC Meet.
FARGO, N.D. (4/22/17)--- Another week closer to the MIAC championships and all the pieces are starting to fit into the puzzle for Concordia to post its 28th straight Top 5 finish at the conference meet.
Junior Hannah Lundstrom continued her return to competition level and was one of four Cobbers to record MIAC Top 5 marks at the Lyle Hokanson Classic hosted by North Dakota State.
Lundstrom led the top finishes for the Concordia track athletes at a meet that featured NCAA Division I, II and III athletes. She clocked a season-best 25.37 in the 200 meters and placed seventh in the event. Her time is the fourth fastest in the MIAC this year and only .26 of a second off her career best set in 2015 which is the second fastest in school history.
The other three Top 5 conference marks came from the stellar Concordia field crew. Tresa Reuter and Mandy Mercil added another implement to their growing list of top marks in the MIAC. Both athletes had season-best distances in the discus which pushed them into the Top 5 of the conference.
Reuter and Mercil were the only two non-Division I athletes to finish in the Top 14 of the discus at NDSU. Reuter heaved the disc 134-03 and placed 10th while Mercil was right behind at 131-05 and came home in 13th place. Mercil now jumps to the No.3 spot in the conference and Mercil is No.4.
Reuter also holds the No.9 mark in the MIAC in both the hammer and shot put. Mercil is tops in the shot put and 11th in the hammer as both athletes will be looking to score points in multiple events at the conference meet.
Teammate Bailey Hovland didn't come away with any season best marks at NDSU but has the farthest distance in the conference in the hammer throw this year and is ninth in the shot put.
Junior Vanessa Johnson came out of nowhere to finish fourth in the high jump at the meet. She bettered All-American teammate Emma Peterson with a season-best height of 5-05.25. Peterson was fifth at 5-03.25.
Johnson's height of 5-05.25 recalls her form in 2015 when she cleared 5-06.5 and earned a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Championship Meet. Her mark at the NDSU Meet is the second best in the conference this year – right behind Peterson's MIAC-best height of 5-06.00.
Freshman Mollie Francis had a solid meet on the track and in the jump pit. Francis ran a 12.77 in the 100 meters which is the 11th fastest in the MIAC this year and then posted a distance of 17-01.50 in the long jump which is just shy of her season best mark that has her fifth in the MIAC.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will continue with its string of meets to prepare for the conference clash. CC will host the annual Cobber Twilight Meet on Tuesday, Apr. 25 at 3:30 p.m.