Bison track has solid performance at Drake

Personal bests, program records get broken

The track and field teams spent their Friday and Saturday running, jumping, and throwing down in Des Moines, Iowa for the 110th Drake Relays.

One of the highlights of the weekend was provided by freshman thrower Akealy Moton. Moton dramatically took home the shot put title on her final throw with a mark of 55-00.25. Moton was back in third heading into her final throw, but was able to get the job done.

The rest of Friday was pretty quiet for the women’s team. Sophomore Kari Wolfe was able to secure second in the javelin, Kelby Anderson placed third in the 1,500m and Klara Lyon finished fifth in the pole vault.

A couple Bison were also able to set a few personal bests. Jocelyn Dinius and Josie Lilja both cleared outdoor personal bests of 12.01.50 in the pole vault. West Fargo native Tiana Pfaff had a career best 18-07.00 long jump, and sophomore Jenna Kes recorded a personal best 100m, clocking in just under 15 seconds.

It was more of the same for the men on Friday. Alex Talley threw 62-01.75 in the shot put, good enough for third.

The 4×100-meter relay team comprised of J.T. Butler, Alex Brosseau, Brandon Lewis and Ben Klimpke ran the second fastest relay in six years for the Herd, clocking in at 41.27. Senior Ryan Enerson ran a 14.69 in the 110m hurdles, the second-best time of his career.

The women’s team was able to find more success on the final day of the Drake Relays. Junior Amy Herrington’s 197-1 throw took home the title in the hammer throw, and Hannah Frost and Bailey Retzlaff finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

Amanda Levin, Dakota Wood, Macy Denzer and Michaela Baker’s 58.76 time in the shuttle hurdle relay was good enough for third, as well as set a new school record. Summit League triple jump leader Bailey DeMar’s 40-11.75 jump was good enough for fourth.

Payton Otterdahl had a pretty cool opportunity in the “Tokyo Countdown” special invitational on Saturday. Otterdahl, who’s second in the shot put in the NCAA this year, placed second in the event with a throw of 68-01.00. Ryan Crouser, the reigning Olympic champion and world leader, was the only one to top Otterdahl.

Talley set a personal best in the hammer throw by a whopping 7 feet on Saturday. His 217-8 throw was good enough for third, and he now ranks third in NDSU history.

The Bison teams now get nearly a week break before heading to Sioux Falls for the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.

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