Track team ranked 3rd in NSIC Conference

With only a handful of meets under their belts so far this season, the Augustana men and women's track and field teams have a lot to be proud of.

On Feb. 12, the women's medley team, made up of freshman Linn Nilsson, freshman Molly Kokesh, freshman Cecille Udstuen and senior Caitlin Polgreen, set a new school record at the Dordt Invitational in Sioux Center, Iowa, as did Udstuen in the 800 meters and Nilsson in the mile. On Feb. 19, Diego Oquendo broke an Augustana record in the 60 meter hurdles at the Nebraska Tune-Up in Lincoln.

The men's medley team, made up of sophomore Travis Beniak, freshman Aduo Omot, senior Brian Werner and sophomore Tom Karbo, followed in the footsteps of the female team and also set a new school record at the Tune-Up.

Oquendo said he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw that he had broken the 60-meter hurdles record.

"I thought it was crazy," Oquendo said. "When I saw my time I was filled with excitement, I am extremely honored to hold this school record ,knowing that it was set by a school legend, Vance Butler, in 1979."

Along with the record-setting races such as Oquendo's, many Augustana tracksters have been setting their own personal records while also qualifying for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Championships, which will be held today and tomorrow in Mankato, Minn.

In the weeks remaining in the season, Oquendo expects the team to improve even more and, possibly, set some more records.

"We've come a long way from the first couple of weeks, and I think we will continue to get better," Oquendo said. "For myself and my teammates, I think we are well-coached and we will be one of the top competitors come conference."

Senior Austin Vande Berg attributes the team's success to a lot of hard work in practice and to the teamwork and positive energy of the athletes in Augustana track and field.

"Our team is strong and fast this year," Vande Berg said. "We have men who are passionate about racing and throwing and jumping and the energy is contagious. We try to encourage each other as much as possible.

"I am inspired by the drive that the other men are putting forth and am having lots of fun at the same time," he said.

Sophomore Miriam Berg Hovda echoed Vande Berg's statement about the positive attitude of the team.

"The team has been very positive, and we have had some really good workouts," Hovda said. "Our team spirit and hard work have finally started to show."

Hovda, who placed sixth in the 3000-meter race at the Minnesota Parents' Day Invite on Feb. 20, is hoping for a personal record at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Conference meet.

"The team is helping me get better, and I want to do well for the team and for Augustana," Hovda said. "We just have to keep focusing and keep running and having fun."

Although he has been out with an injury most of the season so far, sophomore Kevin Knapp has observed the team coming together and each runner consistently improving on his or her times.

"As the indoor season has been coming closer to an end ,I think that the guys are focusing on the technical aspect of their events and fixing anything that will help them in their performance," Knapp said. "It's nice to see that guys are turning in top performances right before the conference meet."

Knapp noted that this team is the best team the school has had since he has been at Augustana.

"In the pre-season poll, we were picked 9th, but right now we're ranked 3rd in the conference," Knapp said. "We are all excited to prove ourselves even more."

Equally as thrilled with the teams' performances thus far is the man who oversees it all: head coach Tracy Hellman.

"We have had a number of school records set and provisional qualifiers for nationals,"Hellman said. "The thing that I am excited about is that we are getting better each week, and we hope to perform our best at the upcoming NSIC Championships."
Hellman is also very pleased with the improvement he has seen in the Augustana throwers.

"We've had some great performances all around, but our throwers especially have really improved and are throwing at a high level at this point of the season," Hellman said.
The performances of the entire team have been so impressive that Hellman expects the women to place first and the men to place second at the NSIC Championships.

"We are getting to the point of the season where we are responding to all the hard work we did earlier in the year," Hellman said. "Now we are getting recovered, and it is showing in the meet performances."

After the NSIC Championships this weekend, the team will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Championships, held in Albuquerque, N. M., on March 12 and 13.