ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul track and field teams continue their preparation for the NSIC Championships as they are set to compete in four different meets this week from Wednesday to Saturday.
 
MEET INFORMATION
The Golden Bears open the week with a trip to the University of Minnesota on Wednesday for the Running on Hope Invitational. Throws are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with jumps at 2:30 p.m. and running events at 3 p.m.
 
On Thursday, a few athletes will compete at the Kip Janvrin Open on the campus of Simpson College while the Drake Relays get underway in Des Moines, Iowa. Events get underway at 1 p.m. at the Kip Janvrin Open while the prestigious Drake Relays run from Thursday to Saturday.
 
CSP closes out the week on Saturday at the Rider/Bolstorff Invite on the campus of Macalester. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running events at 11 a.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last Saturday, on a cool and windy Saturday at Sea Foam Stadium, Eben Mundfrom broke the school record in the hammer throw as the Concordia-St. Paul track and field teams combined for six wins and 23 top-five finishes on the day.
 
On the track, CSP grabbed a pair of wins in the mid-distance as Matthew Helser claimed the crown in the 800m with a time of 1:58.89 and Emmett Faltesek won the 1500m with a time of 4:02.38. The quartet of Calder Erick, James Howard, Tarnue David and Taaron Rudzitis gave the men a fifth win overall as they wrapped up the 4x400m relay in 3:26.98.
 
On the women's side, the 4x400m relay team of Karlina Zimmerman, Jaid Perry, Michaella Hartinger and Sydney Jackson finished in 4:13.53 to pick up the victory.
 
LAST TRIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Back on May 2, 2019, the CSP men competed at the Minnesota Twilight.
 
Benjamin Allen added another impressive finish to his resume, as the junior runner took home the top spot in the 800m with a time of 1:51.91. That time was just .4 seconds off of Kyle Warren's school record time set in 2006 in the event. Allen also hit an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the meet, which he did in the 1500m in his last action. His 800m time ranks second in the NSIC.
 
Brian Szutkowski also brought home a title for CSP, as he finished first in the 100m dash. Szutkowski posted a time of 10.87 In the prelims and 11.02 in the finals to finish first in both races.
 
A pair of distance runners also secured top-three finishes.  Caleb Troe placed third in the 5000m with a time of 15:17.22 while Zeke Green matched that result in the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 10:00.59.
 
LAST YEAR AT THE KIP JANVRIN OPEN
The Golden Bears sent a limited group to Simpson last year as Emmett Faltesek took 36^th in the 1500m.
 
LAST YEAR AT THE DRAKE RELAYS
Back on Apr. 30, 2022, CSP's Jakob Tordsen and Arika Robinson highlighted a strong weekend for the Concordia-St. Paul track and field teams as Tordsen won the decathlon and Robinson won the heptathlon at the Drake Relays.
 
Tordsen broke two school records with his performance as his 7145 points shattered Josh Johanson's record of 6472 points set back in 2018 while he blew past his previous best in the javelin throw with a distance of 190'7". He finished no lower than sixth in any of the 10 events, finishing first in the javelin and second in the pole vault and high jump to earn the top spot. His mark of 7145 points pushed him into fifth on the NCAA qualifying list heading down the home stretch of the outdoor season.
 
Robinson added a dominant performance of her own as she won four of her seven events to finish first with a mark of 5029 points, a full 270 points ahead of any other competitor. Robinson set a PR while claiming the top spot in the 100m hurdles, the high jump, the 200m and the long jump. She added another top-five finish at the meet as her height of 5'9.25" was good for fifth. Robinson now sits in sixth in the pentathlon on the NCAA qualifying list to go along with her #2 ranking in the high jump set earlier this season.
 
LAST TRIP TO MACALESTER
Back on Apr. 30, 2016, CSP competed at the Macalester Twilight.
 
The Golden Bears opened up action on the campus of Macalester College as a small contingent of five athletes competed. Bryan Elyea-Wheeler was the top finisher with a ninth-place finish in the pole vault by clearing a height of 13'7.75".
 
Caleb Troe and Tyler Karl each grabbed 10th place finishes as well with Troe finishing the 1500m with a time of 4:08.59 and Karl finishing the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 10:12.24.
 
OUTDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
Women
High Jump
Arika Harbo – 5' 8.75", 1^st
Ella Paaverud – 5' 5", 34^th
 
Heptathlon
Arika Harbo – 5193 Points, 7^th
 
Long Jump
Arika Harbo – 19' 1.5", 36^th
 
100m Hurdles
Arika Harbo – 14.34, 41^st
 
Men
Discus Throw
Dan Otto – 170' 2", 17^th
CJ Picazo – 164' 7", 36^th
 
Hammer Throw
Eben Mundfrom – 194' 3", 21^st
 
Decathlon
Calder Erick – 6064 Points, 34^th