BISMARCK, ND – With one more meet on the schedule before the Northern Sun Indoor Championships, the University of Mary men's and women's track and field team will be hosting the Marauders Tune-Up on Saturday, Feb. 22. Field events will begin at 11:00 am with track events starting at noon from the UMary Fieldhouse and Wellness Center.

Live results from the Marauders Tune-Up can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
It was a great weekend for the Marauders at both the SDSU Classic and Maverick Premier on Feb. 14 and 15.

For the men at the SDSU Classic, Xavier Ifill won the 200m dash invitational with a personal best of 21.50. Raheem Taitt-Best won the 400m dash invitational with a season-best mark of 47.52. Record-breaking performances were had by Osvaldo Cano in the 600m dash (1:21.02) and the 4x400m relay team of Cano, Osiel Cano, Ifill, and Tiatt-Best (3:13.33).

At the Maverick Premier #1, Lucas Kupfer won the high jump for the first time in his career at 1.96m. The following day, Will Mickelson won the high jump at 1.99m.

On the women's side, the Marauders took home eight victories at the SDSU Classic. Sakena Massiah won both the 200m dash (24.19) and 400m dash (54.74) with record-breaking times in both. Elizabeth Acheson won the 800m run with a record-breaking time of 2:06.62.

The following day, Tionce Walrond won the 200m invitational at 24.28. Morgan Hertz won the 400m dash with a personal best of 56.92. Hertz, Massiah, Kelescia Downes, and Tayen Werner won the 4x400m relay at 3:44.23.

The Distance Medley Relay team of Terez Wycklendt, Gabriella Apelian, Elizabeth Acheson, and Alyssa Becker won the event at 11:41.64. Becker also won the 5000m run with a personal best of 16:30.86.

SCHOOL RECORDS
This season, seven Marauders and a relay team have set new school records. In the season-opening Mike Thorson Open, Hayden Von Wald's long jump of 7.55m broke Luxon Glor's record that had stood since 2017.

At the Marauders 2025 Indoor Opener, both Xavier Ifill and Morgan Hertz set new school records in the 300m dash. Ifill's time of 34.78 broke Brendon Hoyte's record that had stood since 2023. Hertz finished with a time of 40.62 to break Rikki Schmidt's record that had lasted since 2012.

Sakena Massiah knocked down two program records at the UND Open. Her time of 24.36 in the 200m dash broke a record that teammate Tionce Walrond set last year. Massiah then notched a 55.04 time in the 400m dash, breaking Abbey Zastrow's record that had stood since 2019.

Laila Cleare broke a school record at the Bison Open. Her time of 7.43 in the 60m dash was narrowly better than the time current assistant coach Arianna Passeri set the record with last year – 7.45.

UMary had a great outing at the SDSU Classic with five records falling over the weekend. On Friday, Sakena Massiah broke her own record in the 200m dash with a time of 24.19, cutting 0.17 seconds off her career best. Elizabeth Acheson joined her on the record-breaking front that day with a 2:06.62 in the 800m dash. Her previous school record that she set last year was 2:08.43.

On Saturday, Massiah did it again, this time in the 400m dash. She ran a 54.74, 0.3 seconds faster than the record she had set earlier this season. Osiel Cano entered the record books with a 1:21.02 in the 600m dash. The record was previously held by Tony Wood (2008) and current assistant coach Joseph Patchen-Mills (2024) at 1:21.65.

Cano was a part of the record-setting 4x400m relay alongside Osvaldo Cano, Xavier Ifill, and Raheem Taitt-Best. They ran a 3:13.33, breaking the record of 3:14.73 that was set last year.

NATIONAL STANDINGS
Here is where the Marauders' NCAA qualifying athletes currently stand in Division II:

Hayden Von Wald (long jump) – 5th (7.55m)
Elizabeth Acheson (800m) – 5th (2:06.62)
Jorgen Paulson (long jump) – 8th (7.49m)
Alyssa Becker (5000m) – 9th (16:30.86)
Alyssa Becker (3000m) – 10th (9:27.61)
Sakena Massiah (400m) – 10th (54.74)
Laila Cleare (60m) – 13th (7.43)
Sakena Massiah (200m) – 14th (24.19)
Tionce Walrond (200m) – 16th (24.20)
Tayen Werner (400m) – 17th (55.28)
Raheem Taitt-Best (400m) – 18th (47.46)
Diego Andres-Dougan (60m hurdles) – 18th (7.99)
4x400m Women's Relay (Kelescia Downes, Tayen Werner, Morgan Hertz, Sakena Massiah) – 18th (3:44.23)
Women's DM Relay (Terez Wycklendt, Gabriella Apelian, Elizabeth Acheson, Alyssa Becker) – 19th (11:41.64)
Tia Horning (60m hurdles) – 24th (8.64)
Women's DM Relay (Terez Wycklendt, Morgan Hertz, Elizabeth Acheson, Kristine Kalthoff) – 25th (11:52.58)
4x400m Men's Relay (Osiel Cano, Osvaldo Cano, Xavier Ifill, Raheem Taitt-Best) – 26th (3:13.33)
Kristine Kalthoff (3000m) – 28th (9:39.06)
Tionce Walrond (60m) – 32nd (7.55)
Xavier Ifill (200m) – 33rd (21.50)
Kenny Moxey Jr. (heptathlon) – 34th (4,798)
Jorgen Paulson (200m) – 35th (21.51)
Laila Cleare (200m) – 36th (24.44)
Elizabeth Acheson (mile) – 38th (4:52.85)
Taylor Weidner (long jump) – 38th (5.75m)
Jerrica Pachl (high jump) – 42nd (1.67m)
Alyssa Becker (mile) – 43rd (4:53.68)
Jorgen Paulson (60m) – 44th (6.79)
4x400m Women's Relay (Tayen Werner, Mara Bruno, Gabriella Apelian, Morgan Hertz) – 45th (3:50.94)
Anna Bruno (long jump) – 46th (5.71m)
Kelescia Downes (400m) – 64th (56.51)

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
This season, a UMary track and field athlete has been named the NSIC Athlete of the Week three times. Following the season-opening Mike Thorson Open, Tionce Walrond was named the track athlete of the week. Walrond had won the 200m dash and at the time was second in the nation in the event with a time of 24.20.

Hayden Von Wald joined her as the field athlete of the week following his record-breaking long jump of 7.55m in the season-opener. The school record had stood since 2017. This past weekend, Von Wald was named field athlete of the week a second time after a jump of 7.49m at the Maverick Premier #2. It was the best distance of any NCAA athlete at the event.

MARAUDERS TUNE-UP ORDER OF EVENTS | FEB. 22, 2025
10:30 am          National Anthem
11:00 am          Field Events
                Long Jump (women, men to follow)
                        Triple Jump follows Long Jump (women, men to follow) 
                High Jump (men, women to follow)
                Weight Throw (men, women to follow)
                        Shot Put (After Weight Throw) (men, women to follow)
                        Pole Vault (men, women to follow)
            
1:00 pm            Anticipated time for the Shot Put and Triple Jump to Start* TBD by Official

12:00 pm         Running Events (women followed by men)
12:00 pm         60m Hurdles- Prelims                   
                            60m Dash- Prelims                          
                             Mile                                                                 
                             60m Hurdles – Finals
                             60m Dash – Finals
                             300m Dash                                                              
                             400m Dash                                                              
                             600m Dash                                                                
                             800m Run
                             200m Dash                                  
                             1000m Run
                             3000m Run                       
                             4x400m Relay
3:00 pm            End of Meet     
                                           
AFTER THE ACTION
Marauders fans should make plans to stop to Buffalo Wild Wings following all home track and field meets. With two convenient Bismarck locations and great food and drink specials, it's easy to see why Buffalo Wild Wings is the preferred post-game hangout of Marauders Track and Field! 

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