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Track shines at home
BY ZACH GRILL
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/28
The UMD track team had a series of successful performances last week, as a school record was broken and a pair of national provisional standards were set at the Bulldog Open last Thursday in Duluth. The women’s team was led by freshman thrower Melissa Smith, who broke the school record and also topped the national provisional standard in the women’s discus throw with a distance of 144’0”, according to the UMD Web site.
Junior Liz Palkie also bettered the national provisional standard in the 800-meter run with a first place finish and a time of 2:14.30. Other Bulldogs to place first in their events were sophomore hurdler Rebekeh Kok in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and freshman thrower Elizabeth Crane in the shot put.
While the women’s team had strong showings in the throwing events, the men’s team was led by the distance runners. Junior distance runner Erik Atkinson won the 5000-meter run with a personal best time of 14:55.72, and senior middle-distance runner Jared Clementson finished first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.72. Senior John Kallemeyn was also a first place finisher, winning the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:58.23, according to the Web site.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be heading to St. Cloud this weekend to participate in the North Central Conference (NCC) Heptathlon and Decathlon on April 28-29.
