Jessica Fossum

Skylar Forgey

Abby Fossum

ABERDEEN, S.D. Jessica Fossum was one of two Dakota Wesleyan University track and field athletes to pick up a win in the Tigers first meet of the season last week, and Saturday afternoon she set a school record in DWU s second meet of 2014.

Fossum set the school record in the pentathlon with 2,848 points at the Northern State Open. She and teammate Ariana Arampatzis competed at Northern Friday afternoon in Aberdeen, and the rest of the team competed at the Dordt College Open Saturday in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Fossum, who qualified provisionally for the NAIA Indoor National meet, took third in the pentathlon with 2,848 points. She took third in the 55-meter hurdles in 9.09 seconds, tied for seventh in the high jump with a mark of 4-feet-2 inches and won the shot put with a toss of 32-11.75. Fossum also won the long jump with a mark of 17-feet-2.25 inches and took fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:41.48. The previous school record was 2,630 points.

Arampatzis finished eighth in the pentathlon for DWU. She took seventh in the 55 in 9.56 seconds, tied for seventh in the high jump with a mark of 4-2 and finished second in the shot put with a mark of 32-0.75. Arampatzis also took eighth in the long jump (15-6.25) and ninth in the 800 (3:10.28). She also competed Saturday at Dordt, and took ninth in the pole vault and recorded the second-best mark in Tiger history with a leap of 8-feet-11.5 inches.

Skylar Forgey recorded a personal best and ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 600-meter run at Dordt. She took sixth in 1:46.97 seconds. She also took fourth in the 1,000-meter run in 3:14.73, the third-best time in DWU history. Teammate Jessica Neises finished 14^th in the 600 in 1:51.89, the ninth-best time in school history, and finished 17^th in the 1,000 in 3:31.04 the sixth-best time in Tiger track history. Abby Fossum finished 11^th in the triple jump with a leap of 33-3 – a personal best – and Brenna Martin took 14^th in the weight throw with a toss of 42-1.25. Both marks are the fifth-best in school history.

Ryan Antaya led the DWU men with a seventh-place finish in the weight throw. He recorded a toss of 47-feet-1.5 inches, the fifth-best toss in school history. Isaac Van Essen also recorded a top-10 finish with a ninth-place finish in the long jump. He recorded a mark of 20-2.25. Dan Porter recorded two top-2p finishes for the Tigers. He took 11^th in the triple jump (38-1.5) and 18^th in the long jump (18.5.25). Kellan Willet finished 14^th in the 800 in 2:06.18, Paul Apenhorst finished 15^th 55-meter hurdle prelims in 8.63 seconds and Tyler Volesky finished 20^th in the 600-meter run in 1:30.3.

Up next for the DWU track team is the Dave Little Alumni Meet Saturday, Jan. 25, in Spearfish, S.D.