KENOSHA, Wis. – The Augustana Vikings men's and women's track & field teams wrapped up competition at the CCIW Outdoor Championships on Saturday, with the men placing second overall with 138.5 points and the women finishing fifth with 112 points.
AJ Banks turned in one of the most dominant performances of the meet, capturing the conference title in the 110m hurdles with a meet-record time of 14.39. The junior added another title in the 400m hurdles, winning in 54.10, while Bayley Pierce placed third in 56.07 and Elijah Lara followed in fourth with a personal-best 56.73. Banks' efforts earned him CCIW Track Athlete of the Meet honors. In the 110m hurdles final, Brayden Veil added a third-place finish in 14.76, while Pierce placed eighth in 15.62 to give the Vikings multiple scorers. Tyreke Fortney also delivered a standout day on the track, winning the 100m title in 10.64 before adding an all-conference finish in the 200m, placing second with a personal-best 21.65.
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In the field, Landon Wierenga and Magnus Wells continued their strong weekends. Wierenga placed third in the discus with a mark of 52.02m, while Wells added a fifth-place finish at 48.27m and later scored in the shot put with a fourth-place mark of 14.86m. Freshman Ben Kama-Kama contributed points in the high jump, clearing 1.92m to place sixth, while Luke Smith added to his weekend with a runner-up finish in the long jump at 6.91m.
The distance group added key points late in the meet, with Adam Miller placing eighth in the 1500m in 4:04.98, while Isaac Schuda scored in the 10,000m with an eighth-place finish in 32:06.00. The men's 4x400m relay team of Mohamed Benbrahim, AJ Banks, Daniel Prochaska, and Bryce Jackson closed out the meet with a sixth-place finish in 3:25.75.
In the multi-events, Joshua Vook highlighted the decathlon group with an event win in the 110m hurdles (16.24), while Aymane Bargaouz added a third-place finish in 16.80. Bargaouz also won the pole vault portion of the decathlon (3.80m) and added a runner-up finish in the 1500m with a time of 5:01.16, while Diego Gomez placed third in the 1500m in 5:02.63.
On the women's side, Charlotte Frere capped off a historic weekend with a conference title in the discus, setting a meet record with a throw of 51.07m. She also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 13.09m, earning CCIW Field Athlete of the Meet honors. Laina Nelson added a fourth-place finish in the discus at 37.48m to go along with her earlier javelin title, while freshman Leila Sifford earned First Year Field Athlete of the Meet honors after placing second in the triple jump with a mark of 11.56m.
On the track, Jordyn Van Santen led the way in the 400m, placing second in 58.77, while Bridget Hecker added a fifth-place finish in 1:00.28. In the 800m, Marie Weber earned a fourth-place finish with a personal-best time of 2:18.99, while Norah Wright added a fifth-place showing in the 1500m in 4:51.45. Ryan Jednachowski added points in the 5000m with a fifth-place finish in 18:32.37 after also scoring in the 10,000m earlier in the meet, while Keira Nelson earned All-Conference honors in the 10,000m and was later recognized with the Elite 26 Award alongside Wierenga. The women's 4x100m relay team of Cora Deemer, Hecker, Van Santen, and Sifford placed second in 48.48, while the 4x400m relay team of Van Santen, Hecker, Deemer, and Marie Weber finished fifth in 4:05.40.
Both squads return to action on May 8 at the Augustana Pentultimate Qualifier. Schedule to be announced shortly.
