RIPON, Wis. – The Michigan Tech track & field team began its season indoors at the Ripon Final Qualifier, serving as a rust-buster on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies saw two event winners withClaire Endres (17:53.85) winning the women's 5,000m as Brady Hager was victorious in the men's 800m (1:59.04).
"I'm quite pleased with how we looked for this early-season meet. We came here to get that first race under our belts, as sometimes it can be a rough one and always comes with some lessons," said Tech head coach Robert Young. This should set us up to be ready to bring our best when we get outdoors in a few weeks.
"We had quite a few notable races and personal bests this afternoon. Claire Endres looks to be in really good form right now and her dominant 5k win should be a harbinger of what's to come. Hannah DuPuis and Ingrid Halverson also had really solid days in the mile, especially since they will race longer distances as the spring progresses. Brady Hager's win in the 800m was also pretty special, as he's had a tough road with injury and it's so great to see him healthy and competing well heading outdoors. Our men's team depth was already on display in both the 5000 and 800 and it will be fun to watch those packs develop over the coming meet."
Following Endres' personal-best in the women's 5,000m was Alisa Teige who secured a new personal-best time of 18:46.04 to take runner-up as Linnea Gray also ran a personal-best of 20:21.29 for fourth place.
Dylan Lydic led six Huskies under 16 minutes in the men's 5,000m with his time of 15:27.61, placing ninth in the event.
Michael Dennis went sub 4:25 in the mile with his effort of 4:24.76, earning him fifth in the event. Jackson Lillywhite (4:29.41) broke 4:30 with Luke Morrison close behind in 4:31.48 as the duo placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
The Huskies went 2-5 in the women's mile, led by Hannah Dupuis (5:10.06). Ingrid Halverson (5:13.65) and Sam Shaver (5:17.69) dipped under 5:20 as freshman Alena Tiernan ran 5:31.76 for fifth.
Highlighted by a win from Hager, the Huskies amassed five of the top six places in the men's 800m. Matthias Morse took second place in 2:00.86, before a trio of Huskies went 4-6 in Nik Thomas (2:01:30), Caden Karcher (2:02.49) and Broderick Stewart (2:03.68).
Grace Folkema claimed runner-up honors in the women's 800m in 2:15.80 as Julia Moxey took fourth place in 2:21.42.
Dominic Lowrie paced the men's 3,000m in 8:58.30 to take third in the event.
Ingrid Seagren was the top finisher for the Black & Gold in the final event of the day, placing third in the 3,000m in a time of 10:45.97.
Up Next
The Huskies begin the outdoor season on March 26-27, traveling to St. Louis, Missouri, for the WashU Distance Carnival and the St. Norbert Early Bird Meet on March 28.
