ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Men's Track and Field team opened its official indoor season just down Snelling Avenue, sending nine athletes to compete at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic, hosted by Macalester. The meet featured 16 teams from across the region.
Samuel Otis (Shoreview, Minn./Homeschool) highlighted the day with a record-setting performance, competing in both the 1000-meter and 400-meter races. Otis delivered personal-best times in each event, dropping nearly six seconds off his previous 1000-meter mark with a time of 2:58.55. He also shaved 0.6 seconds off his 400-meter personal best, previously set at last season's Hamline Invitational, finishing in 58.28 seconds.
John Shevchuk (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) competed in the 60-meter preliminaries, finishing 17th with a time of 7.32 seconds. He also raced in the 200 meters, posting a 23.85-second finish to place 21st overall.
Will Dorch (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) ran in both the 400 and 200 meters, clocking a 57.57 in the 400 to finish 29th, followed by a 25.20 performance in the 200-meter race, placing 42nd.
Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) joined Otis and Dorch in the 400 meters and was the first Eagle to cross the line in the event, finishing 26th with a time of 56.49 seconds. Ringsmuth also competed in the 1000 meters, placing 17th with a time of 3:03.91. Cody Mercado (Arden Hills, Minn./Fourth Baptist Christian School) rounded out the 1000-meter field for Northwestern, finishing 20th with a time of 4:10.06.
Three Eagles competed together in the 3000-meter run, with Tyler Dueber (Bloomington, Minn./Homeschool), Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville), and Caleb Phillips (Poplar, Wis./South Shore) finishing 15th, 21st, and 22nd, respectively. Dueber led the group with a time of 9:31.05. Van De Riet recorded a new personal best at 10:10.33, improving by one second from his previous mark. Phillips completed the race in 10:17.85, marking his first collegiate performance.
Peter Kephart (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) was the lone Eagle in the mile, finishing 60th with a time of 5:13.00.
The Northwestern men will return to competition at the St. John's Invitational on January 30 in St. Joseph.
