ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – As the conference meet gets closer and closer, track and field athletes are looking to improve on their marks and make sure they are qualified for the conference meet.
Friday at Gustavus’ Drake Alternate meet, senior thrower Haley Anderson did her part to make sure that she is not only qualified for the MIAC Outdoor Championships, but in the optimal flight.
Anderson recorded one lifetime personal best and two season PRs Friday and finished in the top 10 in all three events she competed in for the College of Saint Benedict track and field team. For her big day, Anderson is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
Anderson, a senior from Sartell, started Friday’s meet with a lifetime-best mark in the hammer throw. She improved on her personal best – set in 2018 – by a full two meters, taking ninth in the event with a toss of 41.70 meters. That mark also moved her into eighth in CSB outdoor track and field history.
After a lifetime personal best in the hammer, Anderson recorded season bests in both the discus and shot put. Her mark of 39.38 meters in the discus left her in fifth at the meet, and just 10 centimeters shy of her lifetime-best mark. She also finished sixth in the shot put with a toss of 12.30 meters, just 12 centimeters shy of her collegiate best.
Heading into the final meets of her CSB track and field career, Anderson is second in school history in the discus, third in the shot put and eighth in the hammer.
Anderson and her teammates are back in action Wednesday, May 1, at the Tommie Twilight. The MIAC Heptathlon is Thursday and Friday at Carleton, and the 2019 MIAC Outdoor Championships are May 10-11 at St. Thomas.