When we travel to meets, we are sometimes reminded of how the small details of our facilities make for a great place for track and field. From the wide track lanes, to the ample space for field events, I enjoy practice and hosting meets here at Saint John’s University. At our meet last Saturday, we definitely missed the full-size track lanes of home. The 200 meter runners struggled to stay in their lanes around tight turns. Since we don’t always have the benefit of competing at home, I guess we’ve got something to work on.
The big highlight of the February 1st meet in River Falls, WI was Maguire Petersen’s (Freshman, Hutchinson, MN) high jump performance. He cleared 2.07 meters (6-9.5 ft) which is currently tied for fourth in the nation. It also ranks 2nd in Saint John’s history and puts him one inch below the school record.
The near school record in the high jump reminded Coach Joe Vardas about previous school records. After Drew Dockendorf (Junior, Holdingford) broke the pole vault school record at the alumni meet on January 25th, Joe has been reminiscing about Brayden Wagner and his outstanding performances in 2009. Joe shared that Brayden qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championship in the pole vault and the decathlon. He finished the day one events with five personal bests. After completing the decathlon events, Wagner still had to compete in the open pole vault that day. Initially seeded 10th, Brayden completed his vaults, jumping 15-7 ¼ (4.76m), just 1 ½ inches off his personal best. Since it had been a long day, Joe and Drew didn’t wait around for the end of pole vault. Joe recalls, “We were sitting in the restaurant, getting Brayden ready for day two of the decathlon, when we received a call from somebody at the stadium. Brayden was being paged over the PA system in the stadium. They were going to confer awards for the pole vault and he had unexpectedly placed eighth. Three of the top-six athletes No-Heighted, including the Top-Seeded 18-footer in the event.” He hustled back in time for the award ceremony. Wagner began day two of the decathlon in 11th place. He set four more personal bests and finished the competition with a second place finish in the pole vault and winning the 1500m. His stellar performance earned him a sixth place finish in the decathlon with 6680 points. He is second on the Saint John’s All-Time list in the decathlon. This is one more example of the rich legacy of Track and Field at SJU.
Our next meet is Friday, February 7th at Macalester. Both field and track events are scheduled to start at 5:00pm. The distance runners will be back in action and we will have good representation in all events.