NORTHFIELD, MN -- St. Scholastica track and field appeared in a two-day invitational in Northfield over the weekend. After introducing the season with some smaller, local meets, the team headed to MIAC-foe St. Olaf to face off against conference, in-state, and out-of-state competition. Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, Martin Luther, Minnesota Morris, North Central, St. Mary's, St. Olaf, and UW-River Falls came together to pack one of the finest indoor facilities in the midwest on Friday evening and through Saturday.

To kick off the weekend on Friday, Regan Niemi (Bemidji, MN/Bemidji HS) led the Saints on the track with a tenth place finish in a highly contested 5000m race. Niemi's time of 18:41 is a personal best result and lands her in fifth position on the St. Scholastica all-time performance list. 

In the weight throw, Ella Stritesky (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) continued her successful senior campaign with a fourth place showing. Stritesky's best throw of the evening went 15.54m.
On Saturday, first year hurdler Lucy Rappana (Duluth, MN/Duluth East High School) ran her way into the finals of the 60m hurdles. After placing fifth in the prelim, Rappana matched that with a strong fifth place finish in the finals. Rappana crossed the line in 9.90 seconds. 

The sprinters were led by Shayna Wick (Poplar, WI/Northwestern High School) with a runner-up finish in the 300m dash. Wick's time of 43.98 seconds is the sixth fastest time run by a St. Scholastica athlete in the event. Kayla Nelson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) was fresh on Wick's heels with a third place finish in 45.58 seconds.

 Allison Fink (Mountain Iron, MN/Rock Ridge High School) led the Saints in both the long and triple jump on Saturday. In the long jump, Fink strung together a consistent series - hitting the board on all six attempts. Fink's best leap of the day was 5.19m and placed her third overall. This mark is also good for third in line in the St. Scholastica record book.
Fink returned to the runway with another third place finish in the triple jump. Four of Fink's jumps cleared her personal record on Saturday. Her best jump of the day of 10.48m is the sixth best triple jump mark in school history.

The Saints head back up to Duluth with more conference qualifiers and movement on the school record lists. The team will focus on a final push with training over the next two weeks, while taking a break from competing next weekend. See the Saints back in action in Superior on February 14th.