Track & Field Teams at Lee Krough Invite

Photo Credit: Brooklyn Delray Photography

ST. PETER, Minn. - Another day of school records, personal records and season bests. The Bethany Track and Field team competed on Saturday at Gustavus College in the Lee Krough Invite.

One of the day's top performers for Bethany was Senior Luke Hahn (Sioux Falls, S.D.). The Javelin was the very first event of the meet and on the men's side, Hahn really impressed. Four of Hahn's Javelin throws broke his previous school record, with his best (44.86m/147' 2") shattering the previous record. "He helped set the tone for our team today and continues to prove his dedication to track and field, through both his demeanor and humbleness," stated Coach Michael Dunn. Hahn also competed in the Pole Vault, 100m and 200m during the day, with a top 10 performance in school history run in the 200m.

Another athlete that performed very well at Gustavus was a name far too familiar to us this season, Lydia Hildebrandt (Mountain Lake, Minn.). Competing in three events throughout the meet, Hildebrandt was part of three more school records. In the 100m, Hildebrandt crushed the school record by over an entire second (12.90). While in the 200m, she bettered Bethany's school record by nearly a full second (27.33). To finish the day on the track, Hildebrandt helped the 4x400m relay team finish with a school record (4:27.11) that improved the previous record by over 4.5 seconds. "Hildebrandt truly gets after every race she is part of and that effort and drive she gives to each race is most definitely paying off. Good athletes always leave a little guts out there and Hildebrandt is one that does that each week," commented Dunn after the meet.

With a huge day in the field, Tanya Sherrard (Bayfield, Wis.) competed in both the shot put and the discus. Where she really made some noise today was in the discus. Sherrard went into the meet this weekend with a previous best throw of 23.45m (76'11"), after the meet was finished she had thrown a 27.89m (91'6"). In doing so, Sherrard broke the school record by over 2.3m "I know Coach Ferguson is thrilled about Tanya's performance. It is great to see Tanya have a day like today and I look forward to see how she continues to build off of this performance and into the remainder of the outdoor season."

The fourth athlete who set the bar high this weekend (no pun intended) was sophomore Kari Marzinske (South St. Paul, Minn.). In the high jump, Kari broke her previous school record with a leap of 1.51 (4'11.50"). Following her record performance, Kari competed in the 100m High hurdles prelims. During this race she bettered her previous school record by nearly .6 seconds (16.43) and in doing so qualified for finals. In finals, Kari ran another time that was faster than the previous school record (16.68). Next on her docket was the 200m, where she ran the 3rd best time in school history. She then finished her day competing in the school record breaking 4x400m relay. "Kari is an absolute natural when it comes to athleticism. If she is challenged or has a goal in mind, there is no doubt she can accomplish it. I think all of us coaches are excited for her future on this team."

Kari's older sister, Danielle Marzinske (South St. Paul, Minn.) also had a day to write home about. Starting her day off in the long jump, Danielle broke her sister's (Kari) long jump record with a mark of 4.81m (15'9.50"). The next event Danielle competed in was the 100m High Hurdles. While going over one of the last hurdles, Danielle nearly tripped but caught herself and finished with a personal best (17.12). Her time also was the third best 100m High Hurdle race in school history. Her next event was the 200m, where she ran the ninth fastest time in school history (29.20). Danielle ended her day by running the anchor leg of the school record breaking 4x400m relay team. "Danielle has really proven that she can compete in any type of track and field event we throw at her and I believe before she graduates a heptathlon is in her future."

"It seems to get more difficult each week to highlight performances when so many are worth praising. I just can't wait until our athletes are also stringing multiple weeks of practices together. Getting healthy down the stretch will be huge for us to improve where we need to and I am looking forward to what we can do as a team when firing on all cylinders. Each of our student-athletes put so much into his or her preparation and as a coach it is always exciting to see it pay off at meets."
Next week, Bethany's Men's and Women's track and field team will be at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa.