Duluth, Minn. - The 2024-25 Track and Field season officially kicked off for the Saints over the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, athletes from Lakehead University, University of Minnesota – Duluth, University of Wisconsin – Superior, and University of Wisconsin – River Falls filled the Burns Wellness Commons to put their fall preparation to the test. 

Although the season has just begun, the Saints wasted no time setting the standard for what looks to be another successful season. 

Sweeping the individual throwing titles at The Opener was senior thrower Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS). After last season, where he garnered his first All-American honors in the shot put, Beseth seemed to be picking up right where he left off. Beseth's throw of 16.66m in the shot put sits atop the entirety of Division III. Beseth's other winning toss came in the weight throw. His mark of 17.34m placed him at #11 on the national list. 

Sophomore thrower Joshua Monreal (Proctor, Minn./Proctor HS) also had a smooth start to his season in the throwing circle. Monreal earned bronze in both the shot put (15.31m) and weight throw (16.15m). 

Sophomore Anthony Mahowald (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) led the way for the jumpers in the long jump. Mahowald strung together a fine series; hitting a 6.55m leap to place third overall in a heated competition. 

Junior captain Noah Kubicek (Owatona, Minn./Owatonna HS) cracked the facility record in the 400m dash. Although he fell a bit short of the goal, his commanding victory was the best opening 400m time in school history. Kubicek won the two-lap event by over 2.5 seconds, with a winning time of 49.98. 

Kubicek also anchored the winning 4x400m relay with another sub-50 second split. His time on the track was more of a victory lap after Sean Alfaro Diedrich (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS), Derek Douglas (Escanaba, Mich./Escanaba HS), and Nathan Neu (Ortonville, Minn./Ortonville HS) cleared their way through the heat, moving the baton safely into the lead in the opening laps. The team's time of 3:28.69 seconds is the fifth-fastest indoor time in Saints history.

The 800m dash brought intrasquad competition and quick opening times. Four all-time great Saints cross-country harriers swapped in their shorter spikes and started to chisel away at their fall base. Douglas took the race out quickly and kept the early laps honest. However, it was the duo of CC All-Americans Calvin Boone (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Highland Park HS) and Lars DeWall that moved through the final stages to snag podium finishes. Boone claimed victory in 1:56.76, with DeWall in third in 1:58.91. 

Local freshman Ben Westholm (Duluth, MN/Duluth East High School) raced his way to a third-place finish in the mile with a mark of 4:32.75.

CSS Program Top-10 Entries

• Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) moved up to 2nd all-time in the weight throw with a mark of 17.34m
• Sean Alfaro Diedrich (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS), Derek Douglas (Escanaba, Mich./Escanaba HS), Nathan Neu (Ortonville, Minn./Ortonville HS), and Noah Kubicek (Owatona, Minn./Owatonna HS) ran to 5th all-time in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:28.69
• Mason Sundquist () is 10th all-time in the weight throw with a mark of 14.60m
• Anthony Mahowald (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) is 8th all-time in the long jump with a mark of 6.55m
• Nathan Neu (Ortonville, Minn./Ortonville HS) improved his mark for 9th all-time in the 800m run with a time of 2:00.49.

Up Next

Saints Track and Field will take a holiday pause from now until January 8th. They'll return to competition on January 18th at the Twin Ports Open in Superior.