(CRETE, Neb.) — The Mules and Jennies track squads opened up the 2012-13 indoor track season Friday and Saturday, taking a pair of first-place results at the Doane College Happy Holidays Multi-Events.
Senior Brent Vogel claimed the heptathlon title on the men’s side, while junior Erin Alewine won the pentathlon for the Jennies.
Vogel earned first place in three of the seven events at the meet, winning the pole vault, 1,000-meter run, and 55-meter hurdles. He finished with a total of 5,450 points, setting a new UCM record in the heptathlon and earning an automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships. The senior also earned new personal records in both the long jump (22′ 11″) and Shot Put (40′ 10.25″).
Alewine was the only athlete to break the 4,000-point mark in the women’s Pentathlon, taking first place in all five events. The Jefferson City, Mo. native earned provisional marks in the High Jump (5-8 1/2), 55-meter hurdles (8.23), and an automatic mark in the Long Jump (19-6). Her pentathlon total of 4,121 points is also an automatic qualifying mark, as the junior earns a berth into the NCAA Championships this March.
For the Jennies, sophomore Madison Smith finished in second place, totaling 3,457 points to earn a provisional mark in the pentathlon. Freshman Brittany Kallenberger made her collegiate debut, scoring 3,142 points and coming in fourth.
Three Mules earned provisional marks in the heptathlon, including freshman Daniel McCarty (4,687, fifth), senior Ethan Warren (4,683, sixth), and freshman Blake Seitz (4,616, seventh).
The full Mules and Jennies track teams will make their season debut next month, when they host the UCM Invite. The one-day meet is set for Jan. 18.