Mankato Results | Minnesota Results

MANKATO, Minn. – Saint John's track and field won three events and collected 28 top-eight finishes on Friday, Feb. 21, at Division II MSU-Mankato's Maverick Open.

A trio of seniors provided SJU's individual wins. Jackson McDowell (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) won the high jump with a height of 1.98 meters and classmates Max Lelwica (Brainerd, Minn.) and Anthony Thurk (St. Bonifacius, Minn./Waconia) tied for seventh (1.83 meters).

Zach Schaffer (Chaska, Minn.) took first place in the long jump with a distance of 6.89 meters and was followed in second place by sophomore sprinter Max Reis (West Fargo, N.D./Spectrum), who recorded a mark of 6.88 meters in his event debut. Sophomore Matt Hansen (Longmont, Colo./Niwot) was seventh (6.29 meters). Reis also claimed third, first among Division III sprinters, in the 60-meter dash (6.97).

Four Johnnies finished in the top eight in the 1,000 meters, led by Tommy Allen (Woodbury, Minn./St. Paul Academy) by 0:00.25 ahead of sophomore Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River), 2:32.72-2:32.97. Junior Owen Montreuil (Jordan, Minn.) was fourth (2:33.34) and senior Joe Gathje (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) was eighth (2:40.21).

Sophomore Wyatt Witschen (Monticello, Minn.) took second with a season-best time of 51.31 seconds in the 400-meter dash and classmate Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) was second in the 800 meters (2:02.06). Another sophomore, Connor O'Brien (Belle Blaine, Minn.), was behind Molenkamp in eighth (2:09.23).

Freshman Collin Berg (Buffalo, Minn.) was second in the mile run in 4:32.90, while senior Ethan Leonard (Chaska, Minn.) and sophomore Peyton Martinek (Coon Rapids, Minn.) followed him in fourth (4:35.05) and fifth (4:35.20), respectively.

Four Johnnies qualified for the eight-man final in the 60-meter hurdles, led by Lelwica in third place with a time of 8.60 seconds. Freshman Jacob Sterk (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Thurk were fifth (8.98) and sixth (9.01), while freshman Bailey Evans (Breckenridge, Minn.) was eighth (9.31). Sterk and freshman Evan Raske (Becker, Minn./Monticello) were fifth (1:30.72) and sixth (1:31.35) in the 600 meters.

Sophomore Bangaly Kaba (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) was fourth in the triple jump (12.82 meters) and junior Kole Guth (St. Peter, Minn.) and sophomore Andrew Withuski (Wahpeton, N.D.) tied at 4.09 meters for fifth and sixth places in the pole vault. Sophomore Kieran Murnan (Lakeville, Minn./Holy Angels) claimed sixth in the 200-meter dash (22.77) and freshman Grady Minnerath (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) was seventh, first among Division III throwers, with a season-best toss of 14.27 meters in the shot put.

Minnesota Snowshoe Open
Three Johnnies raced Friday at Division I Minnesota's Snowshoe Open in Minneapolis. Junior Nick St. Peter (Maple Grove, Minn.) led the way in fourth, first among Division III runners, with a season-best time of 4:20.39 in the mile run. Senior Eamon Cavanaugh (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) claimed eighth (8:42.69), third among Division III participants, and junior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) was 14th (8:57.47) out of 36 runners in the 3,000 meters.

SJU returns home to host the 2025 MIAC Indoor Championships next Friday-Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1, in the Donald McNeely Spectrum. The meet begins with the first part of the heptathlon at 2:20 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27. The heptathlon resumes at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by the first day of full competition at 4 p.m. Saturday's action begins with field events at noon and on the track at 1 p.m.