Meet of Champions for Track & Field

Nick Clark

The Luther College men's track and field team traveled to Augustana-Rock Island for the Meet of Champions Invitational. The Norse tallied 21 points and finished 11th.

Shane Steele and Nick Clark registered top-10 performances in the 10,000 meter run and the 200 meter dash respectively for the first time of their careers.

Steele posted a time of 31:53.94 that ranks eight on Luther's all-time list. He finished 19th from the field of 48 runners. Clark was clocked at 22.50 and finished ninth from the field of 48 competitors. Clark's time ranks sixth all-time.

Evan Neubauer was Luther's highest place winner for the afternoon. Neubauer placed fourth in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 15:48.38.

This coming weekend the team will bring 4 realy teams to the Drake Relays to compete.

Track & Field: Boleen Sets New Record

Lauren Boleen

The Luther College women's track and field team posted a point total of 99 points at the Augustana-Rock Island Invitational this afternoon. The Norse placed fourth from the field of 10 teams.

Lauren Boleen, the 2009 Iowa Conference champion and national qualifier in the javelin, won this event with a school record of 138-8. Boleen broke her own mark of 137-0 set last season. Twenty-seven competitors were in the field. Boleen's mark is also a provisional qualifying distance and currently ranks seventh in the nation.

Michelle Voigts and Katie Dolan also posted first place finishes. Voigts won the 400 meter hurdles with a personal best time of 1:05.50. Dolan led a foursome of Luther runners to cross the finish line ahead of the field of 28 competitors in the 5,000 meter run. Dolan crossed the line in 17:43.72. She was followed by teammates Sarah Lundine (18:01.24), Sharon Heyer (18:09.88) and Kim Horner (18:15.89).

Sam McAllister and Andrea Caldwell registered top-10 performances for the first time of their careers in the 800 meter run and the pole vault respectively.

McAllister finished fifth clocked at 2:18.53 that ranks eighth on Luther's all-time list. Dani Meirick, a 2009 outdoor qualifier in this event, finished just ahead of McAllister in fourth place with a provisional qualifying time of 2:14.18. Meirick holds the school record in this event of 2:13.30.

Caldwell vaulted over the bar at 8-3 1/4 that was good for 13th place. Caldwell's height ranks eighth on Luther's all-time list. Liz Knutson placed ninth in this same event with a mark of 9-3. Knutson already ranks fifth all-time with a personal best of 9-6 1/4.

The team will bring 4 relays and Boleen to this weekends Drake Relay competition.

Women's Tennis Continues Winning Streak

The Luther College women's tennis team extended its win streak to four matches after posting wins over St. Cloud State University and Augustana-Rock Island this afternoon here in Decorah. The two wins increased Luther's overall record to 24-6.

The Norse defeated St. Cloud State 6-3, posting wins in two of three doubles matches and four singles matches. Four of the singles matches went to three set tie breakers with both teams recording two wins. Kelsie Allen won one of these at #1 as did Katie Nichols at #5. Brynne Zinnecker at #4 and Cassandra Chalhoub at #6 won in straight sets.

Luther lost one doubles match en route to an 8-1 victory over Augustana-Rock Island. The Norse won all six singles matches in straight sets. Fran Fairfield won at #1, Zinnecker at #2, Chalhoub at #3, Katy Lindstrom at #4, Elise Allen at #5 and Katie Patterson at #6.

Luther will return to action on Saturday, April 24, when it will host Northwestern (MN) at 9:00 a.m. and Wartburg College at 3:00 p.m.

The Luther College men's tennis team traveled to Dubuque and played two non-conference matches and Iowa Conference opponent Loras College. The Norse defeated all three teams increasing their overall record to 26-8 and 7-0 in the Iowa Conference.

Luther started the afternoon with a 7-2 victory over regionally ranked #15 Carthage College. The Norse won two of three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches en route to the victory. Harrison Whitely posted a straight set victory over #8 Sammy Ramoni at #2 singles. , Scot Sundstrom who is ranked #7 in the Central Region, battled to a three set win over Jack Schiro. Utsab Rijal at #3, Mark Mateski at #4 and Nick Mozena at #6 all posted straight set wins. Luther's record against Central Region teams is now 15-3.

Luther wrapped up the afternoon posting 8-1 victories over both Augustana-Rock Island and Loras College. The victory over Loras also secured the #1 seed for the Iowa Conference tournament.

In the Augustana match, Rijal, Mateski, Mozena and Max Piepkorn all won in straight sets, while Samriddh Burman won in three. The Norse swept doubles action.

The Norse swept Loras 3-0 in doubles and proceeded to win five of six singles matches in straight sets. Posting wins in singles was Tyler Zinnecker, Nate Jung, Jacob Reitz, Chase Krebsbach, and Tyler Van Heest.

Luther will return to action next Saturday, April 24, when it will host Buena Vista University at 9:00 a.m. and Northwestern (MN) at 3:00 p.m.

Softball Sweeps the Cardinals

The nationally ranked #6 Luther College softball swept St. Mary's University in Winona, Minn., this afternoon. The Norse defeated the Cardinals 8-0 in game one and 2-0 in game two.

In game one, Lexy Determan (13-2) threw a two-hit shutout, her fifth of the season. Determan faced 29 batters, walked five and struck out 13.

Kelsey Kittleson (3-for-4) drove in what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning and scored the final run of the game in the seventh. Kittleson singled up the middle in the fourth and hit her first of two home runs for the afternoon, a solo shot to center field in the seventh.

Kelsey Hake (2-for-3) and Abby Christian (2-for-4) both drove in three runs. One of Christian's RBI was a lead-off solo home run in the seventh, her fifth of the year. Bre Twait (2-for-3) scored twice.

Kelsey Kittleson

Kittleson (2-for-3) continued to swing a hot bat in game two, producing two of Luther's seven hits, including a home run to left center field, that gave the Norse a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Kittleson's homer was her fourth of the season.

Erin Crist provided an insurance run in the seventh with a two-out, pinch-hit RBI double down the right field line.

Kim Lambert lowered her ERA to 0.69 after throwing a one-hit shutout. Lambert's shutout is her eighth of the year. She struck out 12 of the 24 batters she faced. The Cardinals only hit was a single in the first inning.

The two wins increases Luther's overall record to 25-4. St. Mary's falls to 9-17.

The Norse, 6-1 in the Iowa Conference, will return to league action on Wednesday, April 21, when they will host nationally ranked #14 Central College (6-2, 20-7) at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be video streamed weather permitting.

Over the Fence for Baseball

Ben Schott Celebrates Home Run in the 4th

The Luther College baseball team wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 9-6 victory over Viterbo University here in Decorah.

The Norse jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second frame and never trailed the rest of the way. Viterbo pulled to with in one run (7-6) after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Norse responded with two runs in the bottom half of this same frame to secure the win.

Mitch Obey Homers in the 7th

Ben Schott and Mitch Obey provided five runs with their sixth and third home runs of the year respectively. Schott hit a two-run blast that just missed the score board on its way by in right center field in the fourth. Obey hit a two-run shot in the seventh to left field, over the arborvitae, and landed near a group of Norse track athletes who were practicing throwing the javelin. Schott's third RBI of the day came with a single in the sixth. Schott finished the day 2-for-4.

Matt Bruhn and Mark Webber also went 2-for-4 at the plate. Jeff Riddle, Steve Beckman and Kevin Bradley were all 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Norse coaching staff used six different pitchers. Darin Schneider (2-0) was credited with the win. Schneider held Viterbo scoreless in two innings of work, allowing two hits and walking one. Augie Lindmark(3) was credited with the save.

Mark Weber

The win gives Luther an overall record of 15-13. The Norse completed their non-conference schedule with a mark of 12-4. Viterbo falls to 21-15-1.

Luther will return to Iowa Conference action this weekend when it will host the University of Dubuque. The first game (1x9) of the three-game series will take place on Friday at 3:00 p.m. On Saturday, the two teams will play a double header (2x7) beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Softball Travels to Florida for Spring Break

The Luther College softball team spent spring break in Clermont, Florida competing in the National Training Center Spring Games. The Norse finished the ten game stretch with seven victories and three additional wins earned by the JV squad. The tough competition and game experience will be great preparation for the level of play the Norse will face in the tough IIAC league.

Although the week was primarily spent on the ball diamond, the team found time to enjoy Disney World’s Magic Kingdom through the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program. In return for completing a service project, all members of the team were presented with a voucher to enjoy a day at a Disney theme park. The coaches and players assisted in collecting items for a local food bank earlier this year as their volunteer project.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting Dot Richardson. Richardson is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in softball along with being the executive and medical director of the National Training Center. She took time to sign autographs and take pictures while also giving a motivational speech to the team. It was a unique experience the team won’t soon forget.

Upon returning Decorah, the team swept UW-Stout in a non-conference double header, and took one game from conference opponent University of Dubuque before rain cancelled the second game.

Men's Tennis

This past week the Luther men’s tennis team traveled to Orlando, FL
for their annual spring break trip. The Norse competed in six dual
matches against teams from across the nation. The men’s team ended
the week with a 6-0 record along with a few days by the pool and a
whole lot of fun. The men’s first match was against Lawrence
University; the Norse quickly took care of business with a 9-0
victory. Sophomore Scott Sundstrom had a battle at #1 singles coming
away with a third set victory. In the second match of the day the men
faced-off against North Central (IL) and came away with a 7-2 victory.
Junior Harry Whiteley and Senior Mark Mateski battled hard at the #1
and #2 singles spots but both came up just short.
In the second day of action the Luther men’s tennis team faced off
against fellow regionally ranked opponent Grinnell College along with
Colby College. In the morning match against Grinnell, the men found
themselves down 2-1 after doubles and losing the first sets at the
first 3 singles positions. The Norse fell at the #1 singles position
going down 3-1 before picking up wins at #4 and #5 singles which
squared the match at 3 all. Senior Utsab Rijal battled back after
losing the first set 6-1 to a third set victory. The Norse were up
4-3 but the match was quickly evened after Junior Max Piepkorn fell at
#6 singles in a third set. The match came down to Harry Whiteley who
won the second set after dropping the first set at love. Harry
prevailed in a third set tie-breaker winning the match for the Norse.
In the second match of the day the men took on Colby College and
secured a 7-2 victory with big wins coming from Harry Whiteley and
Utsab Rijal in third set breakers at the #1 and #2 singles positions.
In the final day of competition the Norse took on regional foe Calvin
College along with Olgethorpe University. The men prevailed in both
matches beating Calvin 7-2 and Olgethorpe 5-4. All in the all, the
week in Florida was an amazing experience for our guys. The men had
the chance to play some good competition along with enjoying some time
for fun and relaxing.

Women's Tennis

The Luther women’s tennis team just returned from their annual spring
break trip to Orlando, FL. The women competed in 5 matches and walked
away with a 4-1 record with their only loss coming at the hands of
Div. I Murray State. The women started off the break facing off
against fellow regionally ranked Kalamazoo College. The women got off
to a great start in doubles gaining the early 2-1 lead with wins
coming at #2 and #3 doubles. The women also had great success in
singles winning at every spot except #1 singles earning a 7-2 victory
over Kalamazoo.
In the second day of action the Norse faced off against Grinnell
College in the morning followed by Colby College in the afternoon.
The women started the match against Grinnell with singles and jumped
out to a convincing 6-0 lead and followed up their singles play by
sweeping the doubles competition and earning a 9-0 victory. In the
second match of the day the women fought to a 6-3 victory over Colby
College. The Norse earned impressive wins from #1 and #2 doubles and
earned straight set wins at #1, #2 , #3 and #6 singles. Following the
two straight days of competition the ladies had Wednesday off to enjoy
the sun and the pool!
On Thursday and the last day of competition the women took the court
against regionally ranked Calvin College and Div. I foe Murray State.
In the opening match against Calvin the women battled hard in all
three doubles matches securing wins at #2 and #3 doubles. In singles
action Fran Fairfield managed to pull out a straight set win 6-1, 7-5
at #2. Cami Czech and Katie Nichols also secured straight set wins at
#5 and #6 singles respectively. At #3 singles Alana Humpal fought
hard to win her three set battle after dropping the second set. In
the last match of the trip the women’s team faced off against Murray
State. Murray State jumped out to a 1-0 lead after doubles with wins
at #1 and #3 doubles, however, Luther was able to pull out a win at #2
doubles in a tiebreaker. The women battled hard up and down the
line-up but came up just short in all 6 singles matches. Brynne
Zinnecker and Katie Nichols lost tough matches in third set breakers.
The last two days of the trip were spent pool side and at the outlet
mall. All in all it was a great trip filled with good competition and
a lot of fun.

Norse Track is Gearing Up!

The Luther Track & Field team opens their outdoor season on Monday, April 5th. The Norse will travel to Dubuque for the Loras Twilight meet, with field events starting at 4 PM and running events at 5 PM. It will be a good opportunity to return to competition after a great block of training following the completion of the indoor season. The Luther squad finished up their indoor season with Dani Meirick competing in the 800m run at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet was hosted by DePauw University of Greencastle, Ind. March 12-13. Meirick qualified by running a school record of 2:15.44 at the Pointer Qualifier the previous Saturday. In her first appearance at the indoor national meet, Meirick finished fifth in her preliminary heat with a time of 2:17.07.