By John RittenhouseSome members of the Luverne High School track teams received their first taste of competition in 2004 Saturday in Vermillion, S.D.The Cardinals traveled to the Dakota Dome to compete in the United States Track Coaches Association’s Navy Run, Jump and Throw event.Luverne boys recorded five Top-10 performances at the meet, and the girls tallied four finishes in the Top-10."Our kids did a nice job," said Cardinal coach Craig Nelson. "It was a meet with good competition. We competed against a lot of good schools from Nebraska and Iowa."Tim Rust turned in Luverne’s top effort at the meet by placing second in the pole vault. Rust, who placed sixth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.39, cleared 12-0 in the pole vault.Tyler Elbers also picked up a pair of places for the Cardinals. Elbers cleared 6-0 to finish third in the high jump, and covered 19-2 to place seventh in the long jump.Nick Otten also turned in a strong performance by running 1,000 meters in 2:56.2 to place fourth.Maggie Kuhlman came up with the best performances for the Cardinal girls Saturday.Kuhlman, who recorded a 10.3 in the 60-meter hurdles without placing, finished fifth in the high jump (4-6) and triple jump (30-4 1/4).Cassie Pap placed sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 29-6.Pap, Kuhlman, Jenni Christensen and Tera Boomgaarden placed ninth in the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:59.1.Here is a look at the rest of the individual performances turned in by Cardinals during Saturday’s meet.Luverne boysBen Cornish, 17-8 in the long jump, 9-6 in the pole vault, 7-5 in the 60-meter dash; Andres Wellig, 8.7 in the 60; Jordan Siebenahler, 8.6 in the 60 and 1:01 in the 400-meter dash; Scott Goebel, Eric Kraetsch and Thomas Pinkal ran the 1,500-meter run (no times were available); Tony Willers, 38-6 in the shot put; Casey Swenson, Josh Fick and Mike Van Wyhe threw the shot without being measured; Ben Uphoff, 59.9 in the 400; Kraetsch and Pinkal ran the 3,000-meter run (no times were available), Steve Schneiderman, 3:28.1 in the 1,000.Luverne girlsJessica Willers, 10.7 in the 60 hurdles and 1:47 in the 500-meter run; Amanda Kannas, 6:15 in the 1,500- and 13:55 in the 3,200-meter runs; Pap, 14-6 in the long jump; Ramona Taubert, 1:18 in the 400 and no distance available in the long jump; Katie Schneiderman, 1:21 in the 400; Ashley Kraetsch, 1:21 in the 400; Boomgaarden, 3:30 in the 1,500; Marissa Stewart, 31-7 in the shot; Natalie Willers, 25-7 in the shot; Debbie Schneiderman, 21-3 in the shot.
