The Northwestern Track and Feld program has competed in three indoor meets so far this season. The athletes have been putting effort in both practices and meets. There have been many participants who have won or been top two in their specialized events.
This past December, the teams traveled to Concordia for their first meet, the Bulldog Early Bird Invite. A few top finishers for the squad included senior Autumn Muilenberg who placed second in the 3000m run with a time of 11:04 and sophomore James Gilbert Jr. who placed first in the long jump with a distance of 7.54m (24.74ft).
The second meet of the season was the Dakota Wesleyan Open on Jan. 16. Due to the weather, the women’s team was unable to compete the day before. For the men, three athletes placed first in their respective events. Gilbert set a school record in the triple jump with a distance of 14.46m (47.44ft). This distance also put him in second place in all of NAIA. Junior Dylan Hendricks won the 5000m run with a time of 15:38. And junior Aaron Shepard tied in the high jump with a height of 1.83m (6ft).
The third meet of the season took place last weekend at Dordt University. On the men’s side, three athletes once again placed first in their events. Hendricks won a race for the second meet in a row. He ran a time of 4:28 to win the mile. Gilbert took first in an event for the third meet in a row winning the long jump with a distance of 7.17m (23.5ft). Finally, freshman Lorenzo Jones won the triple jump with a distance of 13.63m (44.7ft). On the women’s side, senior Allison Birks took both of the first place finishes for NW. In the long jump, she cleared a personal best with a distance of 5.29m (17.4 ft) to win the event. In the high jump, Birks won a tie breaker against both Dordt and Mount Marty with a height of 1.48m (4.86ft). Both teams will compete at the Mount Marty Invite on Saturday, Jan. 30.
