CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Looking to keep pace midway through the outdoor season, the Dakota Wesleyan University track and field program snagged a handful of event titles and a multitude of top-5 performances at the 2022 Rittgers Invitational hosted by Coe University on Friday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Distance duo Wyatt Baldauf and Caleb Sayler crossed the finish line for individual victories in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meters while Adaya Plastow, Cale Strong and Katlyn Briggs finished atop the leaderboards in their respective events.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Baldauf, the junior distance specialist from Seneca, Ill., shaved off a resounding 16 seconds for a collegiate best in the running of the men's steeplechase and registered the individual title with a time of 10:35.82 minutes. Continuing his strong freshman campaign meanwhile, Sayler distanced himself with a personal best of 16:06.99 in the 5,000 meters as the Lennox, S.D., native finished nearly five seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Elsewhere in the distance events, Annika Vermeulen completed the 800m race in sixth, and Justin Sorensen logged a finish of 2:04.09 in the men's 800 race.
Dakota Wesleyan freshman Adaya Plastow also had a solid outing with a first-place performance in the 400m High Hurdles with a split of 1:08.43. Plastow, the Mitchell High product rounded out the day with a season-best of 16.23 in the 100 meter hurdles good enough for fourth. In the triple jump, Strong continued the DWU individual titles with yet another Tiger season best after a leap of 13.23m on his first attempt of the day.
Lia Guigui and Avany Long went back-to-back in the women's long jump field with third and fourth place performances as Guigui crossed the line in third in the 100 meter dash at 13.11. Ashtyn Evans notched a distance of 10.01m in the triple jump while Lila Gronseth and Abbigail Magnuson highlighted the action in the shot put competition. Gronseth, who maintains an NAIA 'A' standard in the shot, dialed a throw of 13.39m, and Magnuson ended the day in fifth with a distance of 12.37m.
In the men's shot put competition, Caden Milmine worked a runner-up performance despite a season-best mark of 15.83m on his final attempt of the event finals. Chris Zanotto, who finished third in the hammer, dialed a distance of 46.36m on his final throw as well.
Sticking in the throwing ring and rounding out the meet, Katlyn Briggs prolonged her strong sophomore campaign with the event title in the hammer and a second-place status in the discus throw. Overall, the lady Tigers positioned four spots in the top-8 in both events as Briggs collected the win in the hammer with a mark of 47.09m followed by DWU senior Morgan Taft in third (41.94m) and Darby Deffenbaugh in fifth (41.15m). In the discus, Briggs, the sophomore throws specialist logged a throw of 39.58m followed by Gronseth and Deffenbaugh in fourth and fifth in the final standings.
UP NEXT
The Tigers keep pace next at the Dewy Donat Classic on Friday and Saturday from Al Sahli Track on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D.
Full DWU Women's Results
100m
3rd – Lia Guigui – 13.11
800m
6th – Annika Vermeulen – 2:44.59
100m HH
4th – Adaya Plastow – 16.23
10th – Avany Long – 17.77
400m HH
1st – Adaya Plastow – 1:08.43
4x100m Relay
4th – Ashtyn Evans, Avany Long, Lia Guigui, Adaya Plastow – 53.23
4x400m Relay
4th – Ashtyn Evans, Annika Vermeulen, Avany Long, Adaya Plastow – 4:33.85
Triple Jump
5th – Ashtyn Evans – 10.01m
High Jump
Lia Guigui – NH
Long Jump
3rd – Lia Guigui – 5.11m
4th – Avany Long – 5.01m
Discus Throw
2nd - Katlyn Briggs – 39.58m
4th – Lila Gronseth – 37.61m
5th – Darby Deffenbaugh – 35.90m
7th – Abbigail Magnuson – 34.31m
14th – Morgan Taft – 27.82m
Hammer Throw
1st - Katlyn Briggs – 47.09m
3rd – Morgan Taft – 41.94m
5th – Darby Deffenbaugh – 41.15m
7th – Lila Gronseth – 40.32m
Shot Put
3rd – Lila Gronseth – 13.39m
5th – Abbigail Magnuson – 12.37m
10th – Katlyn Briggs – 10.78m
11th – Morgan Taft – 10.69m
Full DWU Men's Results
800m
5th – Justin Sorensen – 2:04.09
3,000m steeplechase
1st – Wyatt Baldauf – 10:35.82
5,000m
1st – Caleb Sayler – 16:06.99
7th – Layne Lewis – 16:55.09
Triple Jump
1st – Cale Strong – 13.23m
Hammer Throw
3rd – Chris Zanotto – 46.36m
Javelin
15th – DJ Rediger – 27.67m
Discus Throw
17th – Caden Milmine – 31.88m
Shot Put
2nd – Caden Milmine – 15.83m
11th – Chris Zanotto – 12.58m