Waldorf races to 4×100 relay title at Lee Krough Invitational
By Aaron Schneider
ST. PETER, Minnesota – The Waldorf University men’s track and field captured the 4×100-meter relay title at the Lee Krough Invitational on Saturday.
In a meet that featured primarily NCAA Division II and Division III competition, the Warriors continued to carry momentum through the outdoor season by establishing six outdoor school records.
The 4×100 relay team of freshman Alvyns Alcenord, sophomore Caleb Gilbertson, freshmen Isaiah Craig and Jonah Remker raced to a first-place finish, and an outdoor school record with a time of 43.63 seconds. Working together, the relay team has improved by a second in each meet.
“Winning the 4×100 was a great experience for us,” Waldorf coach Kelsey Riggins said. “We still have a few small adjustments to make, but the progress these men have made every week has been phenomenal.”
Remker, junior Austin Anderson, freshman Mark Ahlers and Craig turned in a third-place finish in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3 minutes, 29.62 seconds and an outdoor school record.
“The 4×400 team ran an incredibly gutsy race,” Riggins said. “Jonah opened up with a great opening leg and put us in a great spot. Austin, who was not feeling the best, went out and ran with some guts. Mark ran a great leg, and then Isaiah came through with a sub-50-second split. This group of four guys does a great job, and they complement each other well.”
Along with competing on two record-setting relay teams, Craig established outdoor school records in the triple jump and high jump. The Apple Valley, Minnesota native earned third in the triple jump with a 13.33-meter (43-foot, 9-inch) leap while earning fifth in the high jump at 1.87 meters (6 feet, 1.5 inches).
“Isaiah had an excellent weekend,” Riggins said. “Things are really starting to come together for him in his approach for both jumping events, and we are starting to see the rewards from that.”
In addition to solid 4×100 and 4×400 relay splits, Craig improved by nearly a meter in the triple jump.
“He had three great jumps in prelims and another solid three jumps in the finals,” Riggins said. “Each one of his jumps was farther than his indoor PR in the triple jump. There is a lot left for him in the triple jump, and I think we are going to see some bigger jumps yet from him this season.”
Alcenord raced to second (11.03) in the 100 finals to set an outdoor school record after the Pompano Beach, Florida native qualified fourth (11.20) in the preliminaries.
Ahlers went the distance to set an outdoor school record and secure seventh (4:18) in the 1,500.
The Warriors went to work in the 5,000 as four individuals recorded top-10 performances. Junior Nathan Meiners battled to third (16:46.82), junior Ovan Garcia powered to fifth (16:56.74) with a personal-record time, junior Aaron Ward came in 0.21 seconds behind Garcia to lock up sixth (16:56.95) and senior Cody Clark crossed the finish line in seventh (17:08.06) behind a personal-record time.
“Ovan broke 17 minutes, which is a big milestone for him,” Riggins said. “We are very proud of his progress.”
Gilbertson claimed fourth in the long jump, recording a distance of 6.28 meters (20 feet, 7.25 inches). The Hayfield, Minnesota native also set a personal record in the javelin with a 36.48-meter (119-foot, 8-inch) launch.
Junior Korey Beaman charged fourth (59.62) in the 400 hurdles. Freshman Andre Davis put up a fight in his heat of the 400 hurdles, despite tripping over the second hurdle.
Senior Isaiah Lufkin turned in a personal-best distance of 28.58 meters (93 feet, 9 inches) in the hammer throw.
The Warriors capitalized on favorable weather with several strong performances throughout the day.
“We had a beautiful day for track and field,” Riggins said. “The sun was out and there was some wind, but we live in the Midwest, so getting away from the wind is rare.”
Waldorf has two meets scheduled for the upcoming week. The Warriors compete at the two-day Phil Esten Challenge in La Crosse, Wisconsin, starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Waldorf also hosts the Warrior Invitational next Saturday. The meet begins at 12 p.m. at Beebe Track and marks the first home meet in program history.