LA CROSSE, Wis. (
csssaints.com) – Three members of the St. Scholastica track and field team set one program record and two personal-best marks on Friday at the Phil Esten Challenge, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Russert in the Heptathlon
Hannah Russert (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia HS ) opened competition on Thursday by setting a personal-best heptathlon time in the 100m hurdles at 15.37 to win the event. In the third event of the day she went on to place fourth in the shot put with a toss of 30'7.5" (9.33m). She followed that up with a third place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 27.67. After the dust settled on the first day, Russert found herself in the lead with 2,480 points.
On Friday, Russert was fourth in the long jump with an outdoor-best mark of 16'2.5" (4.94m) to begin the day. After placing fourth again in the javelin throw, Russert posted a personal-best time in the 800m run, placing seventh in 2:36.05.
Russert finished third in the competition, but was the second-highest NCAA Division III athlete with a personal-best score of 4,069 points.
Cerar in the Decathlon
On Thursday,
Frank Cerar (Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville HS) got off to a great start setting a personal-best time of 12.18 to finish seventh in the 100m dash. He then ended the opening day of competition with a personal-best time of 53.98 in the 400m dash to place sixth in that event. His first day total was 2,783 points, good enough for fifth place out of the 16 competitors.
On Friday, Cerar began by placing fifth in the 110m hurdles. After finishing runner-up in the discus toss with a mark of 114'9" (34.98m), he matched a season-best height in the pole vault, clearing 12'5.5" (3.80m) to place third. In the final event, Cerar ran a personal-best time of 5:05.39 in the 1,500m run.
Cerar ended fourth in the competition with a personal-best score of 5,446 points.
Gibson Sets Program Record
Taylor Gibson (La Crescent, Minn./La Crescent HS) competed in the 800m run on Friday and finished second with a program record time of 2:14.71. She was the top NCAA Division III finisher in the event. That program record had stood since 2010.
Up Next
The rest of the Saints will be in action tomorrow at the Holst Invitational, hosted by Concordia University-St. Paul. Action is slated to begin at 10 a.m.
