The Northwestern track team was set to compete in the Sioux City Relays last weekend, but the weather had something else in mind. The meet got pushed up a few days and was set to take place last Thursday and Friday, April 12 and 13. The first day took place, but Friday’s events did not happen.
However, both the men and women went down and competed in the one-day event and had some success. On the men’s side, senior Tanner Goetsch went out and won the 5000m with a time of 15:44, 30 seconds faster than the second place runner. Junior Caleb Benzing was not far behind, placing third with a time of 16:22.
The men had a total of 14 top 10 finishes on the day. Sophomore Brady Butters placed 10th in the 100m preliminaries and seventh in the 200m. Junior Perkins Aiyegbeni finished second in the 400m race with a time of 50.38, which was less than a second behind the first place runner. Senior Tim Rose placed fourth in the 800m with a time of 1:55. Junior Jonathan Eggebraaten placed fourth in the triple jump, and sophomore Tim Wager was right behind him in fifth place.
The NW women also had some solid turnouts for the one-day meet. Senior Sarah Lunn finished second in the 5000m and was one of the seven top 10 finishers for the women on Thursday. Lunn had a time of 18:30 which was over a minute faster than the third place runner. Sophomore Anna Heusinkveld had the seventh fastest time in her preliminary race with a time of 12:48. She then placed 10th in the 400m with a time of 1:01.
Seniors Katie Landhuis and Katie Bosch both took a top 10 finish in the 800m as they took fifth and sixth place respectively. Junior Hannah Morgan placed ninth in the discus on the day as well.
Despite their success this week, the weather has been an issue this season.
“It has been a tough season with the weather not cooperating,” senior Aaron Lemon said. “Some people have only competed in one meet, so it puts a lot of pressure on the remaining meets to qualify for conference. We are just hoping the rest of the season has decent weather.”
The Red Raider Open is set to take place this weekend in Orange City.
