Track and field traveled to Nebraska to compete in the Prairie Wolf Invitational and the Concordia Classic, hosted by Concordia Nebraska, testing their skills against top competitors. Striving to be the best, Golden Eagles broke school records and earned new personal bests. 

Sophomore Giovana Pelascini made school history over the weekend earning 3,489 points in pentathlon, an event that tallies her score in the high jump, 60m hurdles, long jump, shot put and the 800m. 

Pelascini said, “Emotionally, it was a roller coaster because I was dealing with a lot of aches and pains coming into the meet, and it had me pretty stressed, but I felt good during competition and was confident in my ability to excel in what I’ve been practicing.”

“The pentathlon is super draining due to the continuous activity going on for hours throughout the five events. My legs got progressively more worn out as the day went on,” Pelascini said, “By the time I reached the last event [the 800], they were getting pretty heavy and fatigued ... but that’s just part of doing this event, and you gotta learn to keep pushing and tough it out.”

It’s a good thing the track and field season just started because Pelascini is hungry for more and eager for another school record under her belt. “I know I could improve because some of my event performances were average,” said Pelascini, “Overall, I’m happy with my score and excited to keep working to crush the heptathlon record in the outdoor season."

In his sophomore season, thrower Trey Vergenz hit his mark after taking home first place in shot put, throwing 16.17m and besting his 25 competitors at the Prairie Wolf Invitational. The next day at the Concordia Classic,Vergenz also took first in the weight throw, beating out 47 competitors with a 16.90m throw. 

“I did not have too many unexpected moments at either meet ...but I am getting very close to our weight throw school record. I did not get it this weekend ... but I will go for it in Michigan at GVSU. I need to stay relaxed in competition and trust my technique ... then good things will happen,’’ said Vergenz. 

The returning PacWest Freshman of the Year is looking to continue his record breaking behavior this season and shoot for the stars. ‘‘The meet was much more competitive than others expected… I got to compete against very high-level programs from Division 1 down to NAIA. Even with the highly competitive competition, I could still place highly in all events,” said Vergenz. 

These Golden Eagles are destined for more record-breaking moments this season. The Green and Gold will head back out to the midwest for the Grand Valley State Big Meet in Michigan on Feb. 14 and 15. For real-time record breaking announcements and meet updates follow @cuigoldeneagles and @cuitfxc on Instagram. 

Tags: Track and Field, Record Breaking

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