Two records fall as Track and Field completes two-meet weekend

Sophomore Venice Stewart and freshman Ryne Prigge continued the recent trend of breaking Bemidji State University indoor track and field records as the team completed its two-meet weekend at the Bison Open and the Lake Superior Challenge. The record-breaking marks in the 300-meter dash by Stewart and the 1,000m run by Prigge were two of 13 personal records set Friday and Saturday.

Stewart broke BSU’s 300m dash record with a first-place time of 40.20, breaking Kristi Buerkle’s mark set in 2009. Prigge set the 1,000m run record with a first-place time of 3:00.57, breaking the record of Jayne Dusich that was set in 1991. Dusich was the high school coach for Prigge before she joined the BSU program.

In total, BSU nabbed four event wins with senior Christa Benson and freshman Zoe Christensen joining Prigge and Stewart. Benson brought home a win in the high jump during the pentathlon event Friday night with a personal record mark of 5-feet-04.25-inches. Christensen won the shot put Saturday at the Lake Superior Challenge with a throw of 43-05.00.

Benson finished the pentathlon with a fourth-place finish of 3,430, setting a personal record, hitting the NCAA provisional qualifying mark and finishing second all-time at BSU in the event. She previously hit the NCAA provisional mark early this season at the Dakota Classic in Fargo, N.D.

As a team, Bemidji State finished third among 13 women’s programs in 19 events scored with 74 points on the day.

Bemidji State continues its indoor schedule Saturday, Feb. 9 at the South Dakota State University Classic in Brookings, S.D.