Baldus throws his way to Ohio, national meet
ROCK ISLAND, ILL. — Senior discus thrower Theo Baldus (St. Ansgar) got the mark he needed to likely qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a new personal-best effort at the Augustana Midwest Twilight Qualifier Thursday night.
No team scores were kept at the meet.
Baldus made the finals on his second of the three throws in the prelims. He reached 165 feet, 3 inches on his fifth throw to finish fourth in the meet. More importantly, he moved up to No. 17 on the qualifying list and into position to qualify for the national meet.
“He was able to take advantage of the opportunity,” coach Brandon Sturman said. “He hit a slight PR and most likely got himself into the meet. He got bumped out of the top 20 in the last week but after today it looks like he’ll be going.”
Caroline McMartin (sophomore, Pella) entered the night at No. 19 in the country in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. She finished second in the race in 11:03.98, which was not an improvement on her previous time, but nobody else in the country passed her and she remains No. 19 which is likely enough to qualify.
“By the time she ran, we had a pretty good idea she was in,” Sturman said. “We decided to have her run anyways to see if she could hit a PR. She still ran really well.”
Teammate Megan Johnson (sophomore, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) was fifth in the steeplechase in 11:18.09.
Noah Jorgenson (sophomore, Sidney) was fifth in the 800-meter run in 1:51.74. Caleb Silver (junior, Conrad, BCLUW HS) was seventh in the men’s steeplechase in 9:13.66 and Cutler Owens (senior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) was ninth in 9:22.28.
Alyssa Streigel (freshman, Mount Pleasant) had a season-best discus throw mark of 133-9, placing ninth.
The official qualifying list for the NCAA Division III Championships will be released on Friday. The championship meet is scheduled for May 26-28 in Geneva, Ohio.
