Saints track and field split their squad over the weekend to chase competition across the state. The sprinters, jumpers, and distance crew headed to Bethel University to face off against a slew of MIAC competitors, as well as Division II and Division I participants. The throwers headed a bit farther south to MSU-Mankato mix it up in predominantly Division II fields. 

Ella Stritesky (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) led the Saints with yet another personal best hurl in the hammer throw. Her best toss of 49.63m put her in the thick of top NSIC (DII Conference) competitors with a fourth place finish. This performance saw Stritesky improve on a distance that already had her sitting in fourth place in school history in the hammer throw.  

Junior captain Ella Engen (Clearbrook, Minn./Clearbrook-Gonvick HS) also seized the opportunity for personal bests on Saturday afternoon in Mankato. Engen made her mark in the hammer with a 47.24m throw to finish in scoring position, in eighth place. This improved Engen's sixth place standing for the Saints in the hammer throw event. 

Engen unleashed yet another personal record in the discus with her throw of 38.39m to again finish eighth. Engen's discus performance bumped her up to fifth on the Saints all-time list.

Up in Arden Hills, Grace McCormick (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld HS) ran a personal best time in the 1500m to place 20th in a deep field. Her time of 4:59.30 is now tenth all-time on the Saints record boards. 

Ava Fink (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) opened up her outdoor season in the 100m dash with a time of 12.72 seconds to place 12th overall. 

In the 800m run, Regan DeWitt (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) fared well with a top 20 finish and a time of 2:21.84. 

Working with a short week, the Saints will get back in action next Thursday at The University of St. Thomas before a brief reset over Easter Break. The team continues to prepare for the MIAC Championships at Macalester College on May 9th-10th. 

See the full list of results for the Minnesota State Open here.
See the full list of results for the Bethel Invitational here.