RESULTS

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Royals remain undefeated as Bethel defeated Gustavus in a dual meet on Saturday. Bethel scored 89 team points, while the Gusties scored 70.

"Our women showed us today what they have been doing in practice for the last few weeks," said Head Coach Andrew Rock. "We had an amazing meet with a school record, multiple top-10 national performances, and lots of personal bests. I can see the confidence growing in our teams as we continue to be blessed with an opportunity to compete. We are grateful to have Gustavus to compete against this weekend."

Here is how the events broke down:

SPRINTS

Kelsie Sealock put up a chart topping performance in her specialty – the 60m hurdles. Sealock blazed her way to victory by running an NCAA Division III leading time of 8.85 seconds. AnnaGrace Neson turned in a solid performance of 9.70 for 3^rd place.

Sophomore Mikayla Turek also came away with a nationally ranked performance. Turek ran hard to earn the lead at the cut and continued to pour it on in the second lap on her way to victory in the 400m. Her time of 59.36 is not only an indoor personal best by over a second, but it also ranks her 3^rd in Division III. Teammate Britta Nordberg pushed the pace along with Turek as she finished 2^nd. Nordberg's time of 1:00.03 is a personal best and places her number 8 on the Division III honor roll. Jessie Smith completed the sweep for Bethel, taking 3^rd place in 1:05.68.

Bethel also swept the 60m dash, taking 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd. Grace Scott powered her way to victory in a personal best time 8.06. Sophomore Jireh Babalola (2^nd) was close behind at 8.09 and Grace Perrenoud (3^rd) ran 8.18.

Hannah Sankey opened up her season by taking 2^nd place in the 200m. The 5-time All-American ran 26.55, which puts her 11^th on the Division III honor roll.

Bethel split their 4x400m relay teams into two evenly match squads. The team of Hannah Sankey, Britta Nordberg, Kelsie Sealock, and Jessie Smith edged out the other Royal team by running 4:09.11, winning by just 0.42.

DISTANCE

Freshman Annessa Ihde won the first 800m race of her collegiate career. Ihde led from gun to tape and finished in a time of 2:20.68, winning by more than 2 seconds. That time ranks her 5^th in Division III and 10^th on Bethel's all-time list.

Erika Swanson took away another event title for the Royals with her win in the mile. Swanson ran 5:50.74 for 1^st place. Swanson also came back to run the 3000m near the end of the meet. Her time of 11:02.76 placed her 3^rd overall.

The distance medley relay team of Lydia Crow, Malakai Holloway, Ashley Hansen, and Lydia Gessner took 2^nd place with their time of 13:51.17.

FIELD

The field events were highlighted by Jessica Lilland's school record in the pole vault. Lilland broke her own record when she cleared 3.40m / 11'1.75" to win a tie-breaker for 1^st place. That vault puts her 4^th on the Division III honor roll. Sadie Koelz matched her season best as she cleared 3.20m / 10'6" for 3^rd place.

AnnaGrace Nelson won the high jump for the second meet in a row. Nelson soared to a season best 1.58m / 5'2.5" to break a tie for 1^st place. Her leap is the top mark in the MIAC and the 13^th best jump in Division III this season.

Grace Perrenoud came away with a victory in the long jump. After fouling her first three attempts, Perrenoud hit the board when it mattered and jumped 5.10m / 16'8.75m. Teammate Ella Eliason took 2^nd place with her jump of 4.75m / 15'7".

The Royals took the top two places in the weight throw on Saturday. Captain Lauren Wagner won the event with a toss of 12.65m / 41'6". Lexi Ellinghuysen took 2^nd place by throwing the 20 lbs weight 12.25m / 40'2.25".

Emma Roethler threw a season best mark in the shot put of 11.93m / 39'1.75" for 2^nd place. That mark also ranks Roethler at number 6 on Bethel's all-time list.

UP NEXT

The Royals will take to the track again on Saturday, February 20^th when they host St. Ben's at the SRC. Follow the Royals on Instagram and Twitter @bethelxctf for team updates.