Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 Minnesota State men's indoor track & field squad claimed the team title with 291.5 points as they hosted the Ted Nelson Classic. MSU nearly doubled the score of runner-up St. Thomas (153) as the Mavericks won 10 of the 18 total events in the meet.
Junior
James Gilbert turned in arguably the most electrifying performance of the day as had all sorts of superlative notes surrounding his eye-popping mark of 7.77m (25' 6") in his second attempt en route to winning the long jump. Gilbert broke the 15-year-old Myers Field House record in the event, with previous record holder
Wilbert Walker of Lincoln leaping 7.69 m (25' 2.75") at the 2008 NCAA Division II National Championships. Beyond that, Gilbert now owns the best mark in the long jump in the nation this year. Gilbert's mark was so impressive that he passed on all three attempts in the final round, setting the mark in the opening flight round.
Not to be overlooked in the long jump were the efforts of sophomore
Slade Heald (7.38 m; 24' 2.50") and junior
Naishaun Jernigan (7.32 m; 24' 0.25"), who took third and fourth, respectively, with marks that also bested the previous meet record as well as met provisionally qualifying standards. Heald moved into 11
th on the national leaderboard, with Jernigan now in 19
th. Along those lines, Heald is now eighth in the MSU record books, with Jernigan close behind at 10
th. Freshman
Camden Combs claimed a sixth-place finish with his jump of 6.90 m (22' 7.75").
The finals of the men's 60-meter dash featured a finish about as close as humanly possible as three Mavericks all finished within 0.002 of each other while claiming the top three spots. Ultimately, redshirt freshman
Trey Vaval was deemed the winner with a time of 6.872, while sophomores
Daniel Attoh (6.873) and
Steven Marks (6.874) were right behind.
A pair of junior Mavericks bested the previous meet record in the 60-meter hurdles finals, with
Abel Christiansen ultimately posting the best time at 7.93, with
Renald Pierre right behind at 8.07. Christiansen's career-best time vaulted him up to seventh in NCAA Division II in the event this year, and into a tie for third in the MSU record books. Pierre, meanwhile, now stands in a tie for 22
nd nationally and seventh all-time at Minnesota State.
Maverick throwers started off the day with a strong effort in the weight throw, taking the top four places combined and scoring in five spots. Junior
Carter Aguilera took top honors with his mark of 18.21 m (59' 9"). Fellow junior
Tommy Kucera was runner-up with a toss of 18.02 m (59' 1.5"), while sophomore
Thomas Spoehr not only finished third in the event, but improved to seventh on the MSU all-time list in the event with his mark of 17.72 m (58' 1.75). Also scoring for Minnesota State were sophomore
Zachary Shaner in fourth (16.54 m; 54' 3.25") and freshman
Nathan Gribble in eighth (14.81 m; 48' 7.25").
The throwers strong day continued in the shot put as they notched five of the top eight scoring positions. Aguilera was once again the top Maverick finisher as his shot of 15.04 m (49' 4.25") was good for second. Junior
Sam Moore was third (14.99 m; 49' 2.25"), and freshman
Ben Weiser took fourth (14.68 m; 48' 2"). Also scoring for MSU was Kucera in fifth (14.67 m; 48' 1.75") and Gribble in eighth (13.71 m; 44" 11.75").
Sophomore
Jacob Ziebarth successfully defended his Ted Nelson Classic title in the high jump, clearing 1.98 m (6' 6") to take the top spot. Also scoring for the Mavericks in the high jump were freshmen
Jory Peters (tied for fourth) and
Braxton Stewart (sixth), both of whom exited the field after clearing 1.93 m (6' 4").
The triple jump title went to Minnesota State sophomore
Onyekachi Ukaobasi with his mark of 15.01 m (49' 3"). Sophomore
Lorenzo Jones (14.47 m; 47' 5.75") slotted in at third and moved into 15
th on the MSU all-time list in the process along with putting up a provisionally qualifying mark. Freshman
Anthony Borom (14.00 m; 45' 11.25") and Combs (13.84 m; 45' 5") finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.
In the mile, sophomore
Ray Ure brought home his first career title in title in that event via completing the race in a time of 4:23.03. Fellow sophomore
Adam Bohm notched a fourth-place finish thanks to his time of 4:27.05.
Senior
Rashion Walker chalked up his first individual title as a Maverick thanks to edging sophomore
Junior Pontes Da Veiga teammate by 0.02 seconds in the 400-meter dash, 49.33 to 49.35. Also scoring for MSU in the event were senior
Kenry Atubel in fourth (49.61), sophomore
Marvin Dure in fifth (49.89), and freshman
Qai Hussey in sixth (49.93).
Junior
Tanner Maier collected another individual title for MSU on the day by besting the field in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:52.68. Freshman
Caden Speikers was fifth in the same race (2:00.41).
Carson Dittel's fine season continued in the pole vault as the junior brought home another first-place finish after clearing 4.78 m (15' 8.25"). MSU athletes actually took all of the top four spots in the competition, with sophomores
Alex Berg (4.63 m; 15' 2.25"),
Jedidah Hansen (4.48 m; 14' 8.25"), and
Austin Frank (4.33 m; 14' 2.50") finishing second through fourth, respectively.
Junior
Armando Colome led the charge of five Mavericks who scored team points in the 200-meter dash thanks to his runner-up time of 22.26. Senior
Eddie Blackwell (22.48), Marks (22.50), and freshman
Brock Unger (22.26) were fourth through sixth, respectively, with Attoh finishing in eighth (22.78).
In the 600-meter run, senior
Ben Schmied finished fourth with a time of 1:21.24 in a tight race. Sophomore
Nikolai Schmanski scored in the 3000-meter run for the third time in as many tries this season, this time notching an eighth-place finish with a time of 9:07.80. Sophomore
Carter Owen was the lone Maverick to place in the 1000-meter run, taking seventh (2:33.73).
The final event of the meet saw MSU have two teams in the 4x400 relay, with the squads finishing in second and fifth.
Next action for the Mavericks will be next weekend when they host a pair of one-day meets in Myers Field House. The Minnesota State Massive Meet #1 will start at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 10th, with the Minnesota State Massive Meet #2 ensuing the following day at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 11th.
| Place |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
MINNESOTA STATE |
291.5 |
| 2 |
St. Thomas |
153 |
| 3 |
Iowa Central Community College |
51 |
| 4 |
Carleton |
47 |
| 5 |
Gustavus Adolphus |
27 |
| 6 |
Southeastern Community College |
16.5 |
| 7 |
North Iowa Area Community College |
13 |
| 8 |
Wisconsin-River Falls |
12 |
| 9 |
Bethany Lutheran |
8 |
| 10 |
Hawkeye Community College |
5 |
| 11 |
Fleigle's Flyers |
4 |
