MSU Mankato Chuck Petersen Preseason Open

The Cougars sent the majority of their track and field athletes to Mankato, Minn. to compete in the MSU Mankato Chuck Petersen Preseason Open which was hosted by Minnesota State-Mankato.

Brigitte Gross came away with titles in the 60m hurdles and the Pole Vault. In the hurdles, Gross edged out Hannah Mueller of Winona State to take the victory with her time of 8.99. Gross' vault of 12-6.75 (3.83m) helped her claim the title as she won the competition by over seven inches and also notched a NCAA provisional qualifying standard.

Blake Stevenson notched a victory of his own in the 800m dash when he ran a 1:56.15, winning the race by over two seconds. In third place was teammate Blaze Killian who ran a time of 2:01.76. Stevenson was also a member of the 4x400m relay that won with their time of 3:30.18. He was joined on the relay by Kaleb Lindsey-Stevens, Kyle Tibke and Cory Eberle.

Kaleb Lindsey-Stevens took the title in the 300m dash with his time of 35.91. He also came in 1st place in the Long Jump with his leap of 22-9.25 (6.94m).

In the men's Pole Vault, USF took the top three spots with Scott Greenman claiming 1st with his vault of 15-9 (4.80m). He was followed by teammates Jagger Gran (15-3/4.65m) and Chase Jensen (14-3.25/4.35m)

Jazzelena Black won the women's triple jump by nearly four feet with her NCAA provisional jump of 39-8.5 (12.10m).

The 400m dash was won by Kyle Tibke who crossed the tape in a time of 51.58.

Jordan Bents also had a big day for the Cougars as he placed 2nd in the Weight Throw with his mark of 57-7.75 (17.57m) and also finished 2nd  in the Shot Put with his throw of 53-10.25 (16.41m). Bents marks in the two events were school records and NCAA provisional qualifying marks.

In the women's weight throw, USF's Marissa Whipple took runner-up honors with her throw of 54-8.75 (16.68m). Whipple's throw is the farthest in USF history and is also a NCAA provisional mark.

While competing in the 600m dash, Kendra Knight came in second overall with her time of 1:35.60.

Hailee Heitkamp made her debut in the Cougar uniform on the track when she came in third in the 800m dash with her time of 2:27.64.

In the women's high jump, USF's Lindsay Elston finished in 3rd place by jumping 5-1 (1.55m).

Yellowjacket Holiday Open

Six Cougar multi-event athletes made their way to Spearfish, S.D. to take part in the Yellowjacket Holiday Open hosted by Black Hills State.

Katlyn Sawtelle was the top Cougar finisher for the women with her score of 3234. Sawtelle left the meet with a third place finish and a NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Sawtelle was followed by Kirsten Townley who notched a score of 2991 in her first ever multi-event competition. Townley's score was good for a 4th place finish and was just over 200 points off of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.

Freshman Autumn Luger (2537) and Emily Leise (1770) also competed for the Cougar women and came in 9th and 11th place respectively for USF.

For the men, Robert Menzie and Seth Lewis were the lone Cougar competitors. Menzie came in 5th place with his score of 4071 while Lewis came in 9th place, scoring 2789 points.