Track team makes history

The St. Ben’s track and field team is coming off a weekend that saw a first-place finish at their home meet, plenty of career best performances, and eight performances that earned top 10 of all time marks and three school records. With the record-breaking weekend, the track and field team earned CSB Team of the Week.

The competition started Friday as senior Tracy Renier and sophomores Fiona Smith and Bridget Tetmeyer traveled to Brookings, S.D. with head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue to compete in the 5k at the SDSU Indoor Classic.

The meet was filled with mostly Division I and II talent.

Tetmeyer and Renier ran well against the fierce competition. Renier finished in 19th with a time of 18:22.39. The run trumped her previous best by more than a minute and was good for ninth-best in CSB history.

Tetmeyer also fared well. The run was her first 5k performance indoors, and the sophomore took 23rd, crossing the finish line in 18:31.28. The time was good for 10th best in CSB indoor history.

Smith did what has become familiar in her CSB track and cross country career—she set another school record.

She broke her own 5k indoor record, crossing the finish line 48 seconds faster than her career best time from 2021. She finished in just 16:35.24.

Going into the meet, Smith and the eventual winner, Leah Hansen, from South Dakota State came up with a strategy for the race.

“We went into it planning to pace each other and help each other out,” Smith said. “I knew besides her there wouldn’t be much competition; I thought it would be just us two going back and forth.”

Smith also said she was confident she would be able to break her personal record.

“I was fairly certain I was going to be able to do it because where I am at right now in my training is better than where I was at last outdoor season. Last outdoor season, I ran a 16:45 and indoor I ran a 17:23 so I knew that I would be better in the indoors for sure. So, it wasn’t too surprising. I was just happy to be able to do it.”

With that time Smith became the first Bennie runner to break the 17-minute mark in the 5k. She now holds the second fastest time in Division III this year and just one of six times faster than 17 minutes.

**Heat on the Track**

The rest of the Bennie track and field team laced up and competed on Saturday at their home meet. Two Bennies set school records and the team also recorded seven performances in the top 10 in program history.

The day started with sophomore Kate Gallagher breaking the school record in the 60-meter dash. She broke the eight second mark last year and hasn’t looked back. Gallagher finished in 7.94 seconds, squeaking past the record of 7.95 seconds by one-hundredth of a second.

The previous record, set in 2014, was held by both Clare Foley and Valerie Clintsman. Gallagher noted the excitement of having her family and friends there for support. She said the fans gave the meet a much different feel and that the crowd gave her the extra push she needed to perform her best. The sophomore also mentioned how great her teammates are.

“The best part about breaking the school record was turning around to see my teammates after finishing the race. They were all standing on the sidelines yelling, clapping and waiting to hug me even before I knew what time I ran. I am very lucky to have such supportive teammates,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher wasn’t the only one to break records in the 60-meter dash. Sophomore Tiana Johnson and senior Dacoda Speidel took second and third place respectively. Johnson moved into fifth place all time with a time of 8.03 seconds while Speidel now stands in sixth place all time with a finish of 8.06 seconds.

Johnson continued to have success. After her speedy 60-yard dash she placed second in the 200 with a time of 26.14 seconds, good for second best in program history.

**Throwing History**

Later in the day, senior Maggie Beckmann crushed the school record in weight throw. The previous record, set in 2014 by Sam Imholte, was 15.30 meters, but Beckmann’s toss blew by that distance by almost an entire meter. The new record now sits at 16.20 meters.

Beckmann noted that prior to Saturday’s meet she had been overthinking. She knew the record was within her grasp so she changed her approach on Saturday. She did not overthink and thought that whatever happens, happens. Beckmann said the feeling after seeing that record breaking mark was difficult to describe.

“I was so happy. I have been working [for] four years and working so hard just to be able to see that measurement and it was just so fulfilling.”

Balder-Lanoue was excited after the successful weekend.

“It was fun watching so many great performances. On Mondays we always celebrate all of our success, and I don’t even know where to start. There are so many fantastic things that happened.” Balder-Lanoue said. “We have such a great balance from every field event to every track event so it will be fun to see what we can do in the next two weeks.”

Other athletes also jumped into the top 10 in program history. Sophomore Haley Joos threw a career best and jumped into 10th all time in the weight throw with a mark of 12.98 meters.

Senior Stephanie Pickthorn also joined in the historic afternoon. She leaped into the programs top 10 list in the triple jump with a mark of 10.80 meters, good for ninth-best in program history. She also finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.56 seconds.

First-year Justus Floren added to the point total with a pair of wins, in the high jump at 1.55 meters and in the long jump with a leap of 5.01 meters. Bennie pole vaulters claimed the top three spots. Junior Caitlin Salfer won the event at 2.95 meters while first-year Molly Vaughn and senior Olivia Hoff tied for second with jumps of 2.80 meters.

Senior Laura Mitch won the 400 with a time of 64.03 seconds while sophomore teammate Mirijana Ganley took second, finishing in 65.28 seconds.

Other notable finishers included junior Emily DeMorett who finished second in the 5k in 19:41.03, and sophomore Sidela Nyuga took second in the 600 (1:44.35). First- year Kalli Smith (2:24.38) and senior Nora Doyle (2:29.58) took second and third in the 800, while sophomore Danielle Anderson (9.53 meters) placed second in the triple jump. The Bennie relay teams also won the 800-meter relay and took second in the 1,600-meter relay.

The track and field team heads to St. Olaf this Friday for their final meet before conferences.