ST. PAUL, Minn. – It must have been home field advantage for the Golden Bears on Saturday as their accomplishments continued to grow on the Sea Foam Stadium scoreboard. It was a beautiful day as Concordia won seven events and set four school records while hosting the Holst Invitational.

"Great day," said head coach Sam Johnson. "A lot of school records set; some facility records; some meet records." Johnson had to worry about a lot more than coaching today, with the meet's coordination being part of his responsibility. "Stuff was awesome. Not just from our athletes. People were going out, competing hard, and setting season bests."


Holst Invitational Track Meet 4.18.2015 - Images by Justin Oakman

It is not often that someone sets a school record and wins an event that they have never competed in before. But that is exactly what Tyler Naumowicz did on Saturday. The 400 meter hurdles is a brand new race for Naumowicz, but he sped by the competition and clocked in at 55.08.

"Since his freshman year, we kind of thought that might be a good race for him," said Johnson. "He's a strong 400 runner, he's a very good hurdler and when you put those two things together, you can't help but be pretty decent at the 400 meter hurdles."

With such good results in his first race, Naumowicz could be headed to a national meet in future seasons. "The sky's the limit," says Johnson.

That wasn't all on what turned out to be a career day for Naumowicz. He was part of the winning 4x400 relay team and placed second in the 110 meter hurdles. In that race he was just beaten out by James Ryan of Minnesota Duluth who finished with a time of 15.21 to his 15.33.

Gloria Williams was another record-setter. At last week's meet, Williams won the 100 and the 200 meter races. She came just .20 of the school record in the 100. This week, she was faster. Her time of 12.28 beat the long-standing school record of 12.40. It also improves on her time from last week by .32. Williams also ran on the successful 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay teams.

Not to be outdone, Marquavius Taylor won the 100 meter dash for the men, 10.79 was his winning time. To add to his breakout day, he took second in the 200 meter with a time of 22.09.

Concordia's relay teams saw results today. The women's 4x100 started off the meet with a win. Then, the team wrapped up the meet with a women's second place and a men's win in the 4x400 relay. Johnson put out his best teams and saw their speed on the track. But he knows there is still faster times to be had.

Freshman high jumper Gretchen Feilen has been clearing the school record in practice for a month, and today she did it in competition. "I think being at home this weekend allowed her to put it all together," said Johnson. She matched the mark of 5'1.75 that had stood for 12 years. Feilen placed fourth as she and teammate Marianna Kramer went up against tough competition with two University of Minnesota jumpers participating.

Josh Johanson, another freshman high jumper, took first in the high jump. After he had won, he skipped a bar and raised it to the school record mark and came extremely close to clearing it. As it was, he left with a mark of 6'3.50.

Martina Ware set the school record in the shot put with a throw of 44'2.50. Now she just has the hammer throw record to beat. Once she does that, she will have achieved her goal of clearing all the throwing records at Concordia (excluding javelin).

The hammer throw proved frustrating to Mike Cullen on Saturday. He came within one inch of the school record while setting a new PR. He placed fifth in that event and the discus throw, and placed second in the shot put as the Indoor All-American looks to translate that success to the outdoor season.

Antony Odera leaped his way to a win in the triple jump with a jump of 44'9.75.

Ten meet records and eight facility records were set on the day overall.

The Golden Bears begin a busy schedule next week with meets on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th.

 
Results
Women
4x100 Relay
Concordia-St. Paul – 49.46 1st
1500m
Maggie Marcus – 5:06.77 19th
Rachel Thaemert – 5:46.06 30th
400m
Sarah Pieper – 1:02.51 5th
Leah Amundson – 1:05.48 10th
100m
Gloria Williams – 12.28 3rd School Record
100m Hurdles
Kalle Burney – 16.99 5th
Wakpor Ighovojah – 19.44 6th
400m Hurdles
Katie Bialka – 1:12.78 4th
200m
LaKeya Rudolph – 28.08 14th
Morgan Perkins – 30.21 17th
4x400 Relay
Concordia-St. Paul – 4:07.18 2nd
Hammer Throw
Martina Ware – 147'8 8th
Mariah Hoffman – 127'8 14th
Pole Vault
Marianna Kramer – 10'4 6th
Gretchen Feilen – 9'10 8th
Sarah Pieper – 9'10 9th
Long Jump
Kalle Burney – 15'11.75 6th
High Jump
Gretchen Feilen – 5'1.75 4th Ties School Record
Marianna Kramer – 4'7.75 5th
Shot Put
Martina Ware – 44'2.50 2nd School Record
Triple Jump
Kelsey Kronholm – 29'10.25 4th
Discus
Mariah Hoffman – 101'9 10th
 
Men
3000m Steeplechase
Josh Smith – 10:41.17 8th
1500m
Nic Rudolph – 4:12.31 6th
400m
David Stanley – 49.32 2nd
Vantwon Melton – 49.35 3rd
Adam Hausken – 50.62 5th
100m
Marquavius Taylor – 10.79 1st
Keante Johnson – 11.35 5th
110m Hurdles
Tyler Naumowicz – 15.33 2nd
800m
Nic Rudolph – 2:03.16 9th
400m Hurdles
Tyler Naumowicz – 55.08 1st School Record
200m
Marquavius Taylor – 22.09 2nd
5000m
Sam Anderson – 17:14.26 9th
Tyler Karl – 17:27.73 10th
Andrew Gilhart – 18:05.32 12th
4x400 Relay
Concordia-St. Paul – 3:20.21 1st Meet/Facility Record
Hammer
Mike Cullen – 159'2 5th
Javelin
Micah Niebuhr – 121'11 9th
Joe Owens – 106'4 13th
Pole Vault
Bryan Elyea-Wheeler – 14'3.25 3rd
Long Jump
John Gibbs – 20'1.75 5th
Howard Jones – 18'5.25 11th
High Jump
Josh Johanson – 6'3.50 1st
Shot Put
Mike Cullen – 50'8.75 2nd
John Gabrielson – 46'10 8th
Triple Jump
Antony Odera – 44'9.75 1st
Discus
Mike Cullen – 140'7 5th
John Gabrielson – 136'10 7th