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Men record 20 lifetime bests
By Stephanie Riebe
Collegian Reporter
The Gina Relays are
always a big event for the Chargers, but this last weekend's
meet was bigger than ever.
Besides hosting over 3,000 athletes in the
meet, the team had four national qualifiers and 20 lifetime
bests.
"We had an awesome meet," coach
Bill Lundberg said. "And it was the best to be at home.
No one really had any idea of the magnitude of this meet."
The 3000 athletes included not only college
competitors, but also club teams and unattached runners, some
of whom were aiming to earn Olympic-qualifying scores.
On Saturday, three hammer throwers achieved
this distinction.
Derek Woodske from the Ashland Elite finished
first place in the hammer throw. His heave of 69.140 meters
was a new meet record, and over five meters longer than the
Olympic "B" qualifying standards of 64.00 meters,
and less than a meter away from the "A" standards,
which are 70.00 meters.
The second and third place finishes in the
hammer throw also qualified for Olympic "B" standards.
Charger senior Jon Bromley finished 28th in
the hammer throw with a throw of 49.39 meters.
Chris Adams of the Ashland Elite also set
a new meet record in the shot put with a throw of 18.170 meters.
"The opportunity to compete in and host
such a prestigious meet was an honor," junior Dustin Mann
said. "The competition was incredible. Some of the races
were the fastest I have ever seen in person."
The distance runners proved they were up for
the competition. Four runners made NCAA qualifying times in
their events. Junior Seth Folkerstma qualified with a ninth
place finish in the steeple chase with a time of 9:21.97. Junior
Kyle Fujimoto qualified in the 10,000 meter race with a time
of 30:53.30.
"It was very honoring and humbling at
the same time to run at the same time as some of the runners
in the race," Fujimoto said. "This meet had the best
overall field than any meet I have ever been in and it was just
great to be a part of it."
Senior Steve Larson qualified in the 5,000
meter race with a time of 14:44.60. He placed 21st in the biggest
race of the meet, which had a field of over 140 runners who
participated in the event Friday evening.
Junior Michael Nikkila qualified in 1500 meter
race with a ninth place finish and a time of 3:53.22. Nikkila's
performance was impressive, considering that his heat of runners
included former Olympian Paul McMullen.
"I'm not great, by any means, but to
go from a fairly normal high school miler to racing against
Olympians is definitely something I'm thankful for," Nikkila
said. "I just hope I continue to improve."
The team's performance was also highlighted
by the Chargers' many other personal bests.
"We had 20 lifetime bests and many of
those marks came from our underclassmen," Lundberg said.
The Chargers said that their performances
at the Gina Relays helped build confidence for their upcoming
season ending events.
This Saturday the Chargers will compete
in the Northwood Open in Midland, Mich. On May 6-7, the team
will host the two day outdoor GLIAC competition.
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