COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Opening the outdoor track and field season, the University of Northwestern Men's team participated in the Optimistic Meet hosted by Saint John's University. The meet included several UMAC and MIAC teams, along with a couple Division II schools.

Starting with the last and longest event of the meet, both Tyler Dueber (Bloomington, Minn./Homeschool) and Bennett Selfridge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) raced in the 10,000 meter run. They finished in 6th and 7th place running times of 34:59.21 and 35:24.22, respectively.

The Eagles had four runners run the 1500 meter. Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) was the first Eagle to cross the finish line in 23rd place, with a time of 4:32.95. Four seconds later, Samuel Otis (Shoreview, Minn./Homeschool) also crossed the line. With a time of 4:44.2, Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) placed 27th, and with a new personal best, Nate Moser (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) clocked a time of 4:48.03. Otis, Van De Riet and Moser all competed in the 800 meter as well. Otis and Van De Riet both ran a career best times of 2:12.85 and 2:19.13, which placed them 9th and 12th. Moser came close behind in 16th place with a time of 2:34.68.

With one event between the 1500 and his next event, Ringsmuth recovered enough for a 16th place finish in the 400 meter dash after running the full length of the track in just 54.8 seconds.

In the 100 meter dash, Tyler Bertram (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) took his mark for his first event since last spring after recovering from injury. In his return and first collegiate meet, he finished with a time of 12.21.

UNW will race in the Hamline Invitational on April 5th, starting at 10:00 AM.