ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Hamline University track and field teams continued their impressive outdoor campaign on Saturday, competing across town at the Macalester Rider/Bolstorff Invitational. The Pipers were led by a dominant performance from junior Morris Suah, who swept both hurdle events, and a record-breaking afternoon from freshman Mabel Badejo in the long jump.
Morris Suah was the individual star for the men's squad, claiming two first-place finishes and contributing 20 points to the team total. Suah opened his day by winning the 110-meter hurdles in 15.50 seconds and followed it up with a season-best performance in the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 55.64 seconds to secure his second gold medal of the meet. The Piper hurdlers showed great depth in the 400-meter event, as freshman Edward Gregorin took sixth with a personal-best 1:00.59 and sophomore Maddox Moses added another career best with a time of 1:02.43.
In the women's field events, Mabel Badejo continued her historic freshman season by winning the long jump with a mark of 5.53 meters. Her leap not only secured first place but also established a new Rider/Bolstorff Invitational meet record. The Pipers also found success in the vertical jumps, where freshman Ali Simonson placed seventh in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 1.45 meters, while Savannah Brown earned seventh in the pole vault by clearing 3.06 meters.
The men's jumping crew posted several high-scoring marks, led by a third-place finish from freshman Rufus Zulu in the triple jump with a leap of 12.23 meters. In the long jump, senior Josiah Budiman took fourth place at 6.34 meters, narrowly edging out teammate Miquel Pittman, who finished fifth with a mark of 6.33 meters. Mitchell Wilson rounded out the scoring in the event, taking eighth place. On the track, Manny Poscher and Rufus Zulu led the sprinters in the 100-meter dash, finishing 13th and 14th respectively in a massive field of over 60 competitors.
Hamline's women sprinters were paced by sophomore Claire Siems, who earned sixth place in the 100-meter dash (12.89) and fifth place in the 200-meter dash (26.68). The 200-meter event saw a wave of personal records for the Pipers, with Aliyah Robran, Jayda Boutchee, and Keityshia Houston all clocking career-best times. Robran also added a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.77 seconds.
The Pipers' throwing contingent had a busy afternoon in the rings. Freshman Dillon Thurston led the men with a seventh-place finish in the hammer throw, posting a mark of 49.27 meters, while Davian Vu secured eighth in the shot put with a toss of 13.76 meters. For the women, Brooke Tracy earned ninth in the hammer throw with a season-best 42.97 meters, and Magenta Owens took 11th. Owens also led the Piper women in the discus with a season-best mark of 33.64 meters.
With several student-athletes finding their rhythm at the right time, the Pipers combined for over 20 personal or season-best marks during the competition. The team will look to carry this momentum forward as they head into the final weeks of the regular season and prepare for the conference championships.
