After a competitive four months, Hamline University’s Men and Women’s Track and Field teams have nearly reached the halfway point of their 2024 season. Track and Field has logged several spectacular highs over the course of the spring semester.
So far, the men have placed as high as third when they attended the Luther Invitational in Decorah, Iowa, with the women coming in first in the very same event. Whether it’s jumps, throws, sprints or pole vaulting, Hamline University has proven to be a major force in the realm of Midwest collegiate- athletics.
Starting off with the men, the team’s jumpers registered several top finishes, like first year Morris Suah and sophomore Iain Lee netting second and third at the Luther Invitational and the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic respectively.
Leading the pack was none other than senior Michael Braun, who has taken home six top-three placements at nine of his past outings.
These performances would look stellar on any collegiate athlete’s seasonal resume, but Braun is still pushing himself.
“Honestly, for me, I’m not super happy with my performances so far this year, but that’s the nature of the sport,” Braun said.
He also recognizes how mentally taxing the sport can be, with him making it a priority to make sure to rest up so that he can continue to advance as an aspiring university athlete, “This year, I’ve needed to pull myself back to do less overall work at practice in order to keep the quality of work high while still doing what’s needed to progress.”
For the hurdlers, junior Mickey Otis and senior Raul Ortiz have done well for themselves lately, with Otis getting second place in the 60-meter category at the Luther Invitational and Ortiz also getting second at the invitational as well in the 400-meter category. A special mention also needs to be given to first year Jackson Lightner, who has tallied two superb first place finishes across the season, one at the Luther Invitational and another at the Saint John’s Invite.
When asked about what allowed them to put on such memorable performances, Head Coach Vaughn Tackmann could only praise his students for their hard work and the synergy that they foster between themselves.
“Our jumpers and hurdlers have been doing a great job of putting in some really solid work this season,” Tackmann said.
Their work ethic and dedication to their craft have allowed them to see success. It is also exciting because both of those groups have a good mix of veterans and newcomers. This allows for great opportunities in training to be pushed and challenged by your teammates while also getting good quality camaraderie,” Tackmann said.
In the case of the vaulters, Austin Schloeder highlights his 2024 season with two third placements and one fourth place finish. Sophomore Oliver Engstrom also reached the top of the competition by recording a second place showing at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic.
When it comes to the runners, we have Raul Ortiz, once again, finding his way into even more top-two placings when he scored second place at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic, proving to be a phenomenal multi-sport athlete. Also performing amazingly this season is junior Reece Thomas, who has accrued two top five outings, such as third at The Luther Invitational and fifth at the Saint John’s Invite.
Finally, for the throwers, we have Harry Massey leading the way with an excellent third placement in the men’s shot put at the Luther Invitational.
Switching to the women, up first were the jumpers. All across the board, the Pipers performed exceedingly well in the jump category, with first year Frankie Witham taking first place at the Luther Invitational in the high jump and fourth at the stacked MIAC Indoor Championship, as well as senior Terra McMahon getting third at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic.
Next, to the hurdlers. More than a few of Hamline’s finest managed to grab hold of a small plethora of top placings, like Andreiana Aurelius netting garnering fourth place at the Redlands Invitational and Gabrielle Hannah reaching sixth at the Luther Invitational.
For the vaulters, the Luther Invitational stands as one of the highest points of the season, with Bria Luepke placing first, and Grace Hatcher and Lucy Ehlers (Oracle staff member) tying for fifth. Bria and Grace would also place highly at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic, where they placed fifth and seventh respectively.
Going to the runners, the women have sprinted their way through a myriad of impressive outings across the nation. From Alicia Maddux and Libby Roberdeau finishing second and fourth at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic, to Wren Anderson cementing second at the Saint John’s Invite, and also Andreiana Aurelius getting third at the Luther Invitational, the Pipers have been on a mission this season.
And they appear to show no signs of slowing down, as the Assistant Coach Al Danielson mentions, “Throughout my years at Hamline, I have noticed that nearly every college athlete at Hamline I’ve encountered is driven to end the season on a high note,” Danielson said, “After dedicating months of intense effort, they are eager to assess their performance at the season’s conclusion and confirm that their hard work has been worthwhile.”
The throwers this season have been putting in major work. Senior Molly Meyers in particular has accumulated quite the laundry list of accomplishments, such as taking first place at the Luther Invitational and the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic and also winning the prestigious MIAC Shot Put Championship.
We also have Madison Reed and Lexi Brainer making great strides in their top placements. Madison logged a first place showing at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic and second at the MIAC Indoor Championship. As for Lexi, she took third at the MIAC Indoor Championship, second at the first at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic, and first at the Saint John’s Invite. Andreiana Aurel