After outstanding team and individual performances at the Indoor MIAC Track and Field Meet, three Gusties moved on to represent the team at the National Indoor Championships.

On Feb 23-24, the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Teams traveled to Macalester College in St. Paul to compete in the MIAC Indoor Championships.

While there were many successes throughout the meet, four Gusties have been recognized and received awards for their performances.

Sophomore Alex Anderson and Junior Mckayla Stowell both earned USTFCCCA All-Central Region honors.

Anderson was honored for her efforts in the high jump.

She placed second at the MIAC Championships with a jump of 5-4.24 and was named MIAC All-Conference.

Stowell finished in third place in the 60-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 7.80, just shy of her career best, which ranks in the top-20 in Division III.

For her efforts, Stowell punched her ticket to the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships.

“Taylor is young and has some great talent. Now we want to see what he can do with some great instruction and continue to get better.” — Coach Bahr

“Overall, they competed hard and I have no doubt they gave us their best performance,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said of the Gustie Women at the MIAC meet.

On the men’s side, First Year Taylor Rooney and Junior Michael Hensch led the scoring for Gustavus with stellar outcomes in their respective events.

Rooney headlined day one of the meet by breaking the MIAC Indoor record time in the 60-meter hurdles.

He ran the event in a time of 8.15 seconds, which broke the previous record of 8.40 set in 2012.

His time also earned him “Outstanding Performance of the Meet”.

Rooney also placed first in the high jump with a leap of 6-8 that set a new Gustavus record.

“Rooney winning the hurdles was huge and he continues to tear it up as a freshman, which is exciting to see,” Bahr said.

Hensch also dominated his event, finishing first in the shot put.

His throw of 56 feet was more than two feet beyond the second place finisher and proved to be a new PR for Hensch.

For their efforts, both Hensch and Rooney earned USTFCCCA All-Central Region awards, and both earned spots to compete at the National Indoor Meet.

Stowell, Hensch, and Rooney then traveled to Birmingham Southern College in Alabama to compete at the national meet.

On the women’s side, Stowell was seeded 17th in the 60-meter dash, and finished two spots higher in 15th with an admirable time of 7.79.

Her time was just shy of her career best, but didn’t qualify her for the finals of the event.

Hensch was seeded fourth in the shot put based on his throw of 56 feet from the MIAC Indoor meet.

In Birmingham, he finished in sixth place with a throw of 53-05.50. His sixth place finish earned him All-American honors.

“Mike is 100 percent a product of hard work. He has dedicated himself by eating right and sleeping right. He is very scheduled and particular with the things he does with his body and it is paying off. We’ll look forward to see what he can do outdoors and his continuation up the ladder,” Bahr said.

On the first day of the meet, Rooney qualified for the 60-meter hurdle final with a time of 8.20.

The next day, the First-year ran a time of 8.21 and finished in seventh place, also earning All-American honors.

“Taylor is young and has some great talent. Now we want to see what he can do with some great instruction and continue to get better. Seventh place in his first indoor season is pretty impressive. He is definitely looking to improve and is learning. Anytime you have a talented individual who is willing to listen and learn, I only see his future going up,” Bahr said.

The Gusties have some time off from competition before they return to the track for the beginning of the outdoor season on March 29 at St. John’s.