Senior captain
Amelia Maher broke a University of Minnesota Duluth indoor track and field record that stood for nearly a dozen years over the weekend at the Thundering Herd Classic in Fargo, N.D. Maher, one of select number of athletes UMD sent to the two-day event at North Dakota State University, placed third in the 200-meter dash finals Friday with a time of 25.88, which eclipsed the old Bulldog mark of 25.91 set by Andrea Vake at the 2003 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Wayne, Neb. Maher also captured first place in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 58.90, and was sixth in the long jump (17'-02.25").
Other top UMD performances at the Thundering Herd Classic included a second-place finish by junior captain
Hannah Olson in the 3,000-meter run (9:50.13) and a third-place effort by
Emilee Trost in the 800-meter run (2:15.11). The distance medley relay team of Olson, Trost, junior
Madeline Schaeffer and sophomore
Madison Sachs took third (11:54.46 -- the fifth best time in the NCAA Division II ranks at the moment) as did the 4 x 400 relay unit of Maher, Schaeffer, Sachs and freshman
Mary Ford. NCAA II provisional-qualify marks were reached by Olson (3,000 meters), Trost (800 meters), and the distance medley relay team.
The majority of Bulldogs hunkered down in Duluth and made the six-block trek east to the College of St. Scholastica's Lake Superior Challenge on Saturday. Senior captain
Katherine Ayers was the lone UMD representative to claim an individual title, doing so in women's weight throw (clearing the NCAA II provisional standard at 56'-08.75"). She tacked on a runner-up showing in the shot put (41'-09.75") and joined senior
Erin Pangerl (60-meter dash in 8.00 and 200-meter dash in 26.46), junior
Lauren Bruha (1,000-meter run; 3:09.36), and freshmen
McKenzie Holt (3,000-meter run; 10:35.95) and Katie Hawkinson (long jump; 16'-06.50) in UMD's circle of top two finishers.
UMD will split up its squad next weekend (Feb. 13-14) with some members taking part in the South Dakota State University Invitational in Brookings, S.D., and the others heading across the bridge for the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Border Battle.
2015 Thundering Herd Classic Results2015 Lake Superior Challenge Results
