NORTHFIELD, Minn. — While the rest of her teammates were heading to Pella, Iowa, for the Central Open, Saint Mary's University freshman Sabrina Buslack-Larsen was miles away, taking part in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference heptathlon.
And while the final place finish may not have been what she was hoping for, her hirst-ever heptathlon was certainly a success.
“This was a great experience for (Sabrina),” said assistant coach
Ward Berndt. “She PR'd in almost every single event, so it's pretty tough to feel too disappointed. For a first heptathlon, Sabrina should be proud of her effort.”
The shot put proved to be Buslack-Larsen's best event, posting a throw of 30-6 to finish fourth. She also finished sixth in the high jump (4-9), seventh in the 200 (29.84), ninth in the javelin (74-5), 12th in the 800 (2:45.04) and 14th in both the 100 hurdles (18.74) and long jump (12-11).
For the second meet in a row, Mother Nature was the topic of the day for the rest of the Cardinals, as cold, windy, rainy conditions made life miserable for the Central Open competitors.
Most of the competitors, that is.
Andrew Brueggen (Holmen, Wis.) broke his own school record in the hammer throw, while
Nicole Heitmann (Hayward, Wis.) and
Ryan Wockenfus (New London, Wis.) narrowly missed etching their names in the Cardinal record books to highlight SMU's performances.
“It was a great meet, despite the conditions,” said SMU coach Shawn McMahon. “The weather made it pretty tough out there, but we still got a lot of great performances. It was definitely worth it to make the trip.”
Brueggen won the hammer throw with his school-record throw of 56.66 meters, while Wockenfus just missed the school record with his second-place throw of 52.97 in the javelin and Heitmann's 40.46 effort in the discus was just short of Ashley Luehmann's school mark of 42.38, set in 2007.
Also for the Cardinal men,
Josiah Ryks (Austin, Minn.) stopped the clock in 52.19 to finish fifth in the 400, while
Peter Borash (Bowlus, Minn.) added a ninth-place time of 2:05.63 in the 800.
On the women's side,
Teri Heinzen (Marshfield, Wis.) clocked a time of 26.21 to place third in the 200, added a time of 12.99 to finish fourth in the 200, and posted a leap of 5.15 meters to finish sixth in the long jump, while Coco Booker (St. Paul, Minn.) was sixth in the shot put (12.03 meters),
Joanna Pace (Minoqua, Wis.) was seventh in the 800 (2:30.64), and
Sara Harstad (Chatfield, Minn.) was eighth in the hammer (41.88 meters).
“I'm very happy with out performances,” said McMahon, whose team is now off until next Friday and Saturday, when they take part in the MIAC Outdoor Championships at the SMU Outdoor Complex. “I think we are set up pretty well for the conference championships.”
Complete Central Open Results /
Complete MIAC Heptathlon Results
