ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Hamline University track and field program continued its string of strong late-season performances on Friday at the Meet of the UnSaintly. Competing on their home turf at Klas Field, the Pipers secured two individual event titles, a relay victory, and a top-100 national mark in the hammer throw.
Sophomore Isaiah Watson provided one of the day's biggest highlights in the men's long jump. Watson captured first place with a personal-best leap of 6.81 meters, leading a deep Piper contingent that saw Josiah Budiman take third place and Miquel Pittman finish fifth. Mitchell Wilson also recorded a career-best mark in the event, finishing 11th. Junior Austin Schloeder added another gold medal to the Pipers' tally by winning the men's pole vault with a clearance of 4.55 meters. He was joined in the top eight by teammates Ian Cran and Jesse Gaboury.
The Hamline women found success both on the track and in the field, headlined by a victory in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Anabel Bradley, Aliyah Robran, Alicia Maddux, and Claire Siems clocked a season-best time of 4:09.00 to take first place. Earlier in the day, the women's 4x100-meter relay team secured a second-place finish. In the jumping events, the Pipers showed remarkable consistency in the high jump, where Frankie Witham, Ali Simonson, and Marissa Albers all cleared 1.46 meters to sweep the fifth, seventh, and eighth spots on the leaderboard.
In the throwing rings, freshman Dillon Thurston made waves in the hammer throw with a massive toss of 51.80 meters. The performance earned him a second-place finish and moved him into the top 100 nationally for NCAA Division III. On the women's side, sophomore Magenta Owens delivered a career-best performance in the discus, placing fourth with a mark of 36.94 meters. Lena Sampy added a top-ten finish in the shot put, while Marissa Albers took eighth in the javelin throw.
The hurdle crew delivered a high-scoring afternoon for the men's team in the 400-meter hurdles. Junior Morris Suah led the way with a third-place finish, followed closely by freshman Edward Gregorin in fourth and Jacob Aki in seventh. Both Gregorin and Aki established new personal records in the event. On the flat, senior Andrei Pettis finished 11th in a competitive 200-meter dash, while freshman Jackson Miller notched a personal best in the 400-meter dash.
Distance and middle-distance athletes also capitalized on the home conditions to drop their times. Freshman Jayden Rentz recorded a personal best in the 800-meter run, and sophomore Wade Tuggle shaved time off his career best in the 1500-meter run. For the women, Briyanna Burkhardt turned in a personal-best performance in the 1500-meter run, crossing the line in 5:17.15.
The Pipers accounted for over 15 personal bests throughout the meet, providing critical momentum as the program enters the conference championships.
