Calls From Home: Amundson leads Northland on collegiate track

May 30—Northwestern alumna Journey Amundson capped her senior season of track and field at Macalester College with a trip to the Division III NCAA Championships on Saturday.

Amundson marked a leap of 11.81 meters (38 feet, 9 inches) in the triple jump, finishing in a tie for 14th and improving upon her 18th seed.

Amundson reached 11.96 meters on April 29 at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational and won both horizontal jump events at this year's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships with a long jump of 5.54 meters (18 feet, 2 1/4 inches) to win by a half-inch, and a triple jump of 11.92 meters (39 feet, 1 1/4 inches), which was a record for Bethel University's facility in Arden Hills, Minnesota.

* North Dakota State sprinter Kendra Kelley (Cloquet) took part in the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on Thursday in Sacramento, California, running 44th in the event with a 24.04 second clocking.

Kelley was at least partially responsible for 30 points for the Bison at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which took place in Fargo, placing in the top three in the 100, the 200 and the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.

The sophomore ran an 11.70 to finish third in the conference in the 100, then clocked 23.69 in the 200 to take second in that event. With Kelley listed second in both relays, the Bison finished second in both relays.

The NDSU women won their conference title and needed all of Kelley's efforts, finishing with 253.83 points with South Dakota not far behind at 240.5.

* Wisconsin thrower Sam Coil (Moose Lake/Willow River) also took part in the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, finishing 16th in the hammer throw on May 24. The senior's best effort was 66.35 meters (217 feet, 8 inches). He didn't advance, but still had a strong outdoor season.

Coil, a graduate student, netted the Badgers five points at the Big 10 championships with a fourth-place finish in the event, marking 65 meters exactly in the event at the University of Indiana.

Coil won the event and recorded a personal best of 67 meters (219-10) at the Beach Invitational on April 14-15 in Long Beach, California.

Jake Brill (Northwestern) started 22 games in the outfield for Central Michigan, posting a .292 batting average with two homers and 15 RBIs. The junior also stole 10 bases for the Chippewas.

* Peter Hansen (Duluth Marshall) finished the season at Bradley with a .235 batting average with one home run and 16 RBIs.

The sophomore started 27 games for the Braves, primarily at first and second base.

* Maddux Baggs (Duluth Marshall) served as a role player for Augustana in his junior season, making 34 of his 40 appearances for the Vikings as a substitute.

At the plate he was 7-for-36, and he made only one defensive error on 41 attempts.

* Justin Sedin (Northwestern) was the leading hitter for Wisconsin-Stout this season, posting a .438 average and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.363. He also led the Blue Devils in home runs (eight) and RBIs (23). The junior first baseman was named first-team All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

* Kole Paulsen (Northwestern) hit .369 over 35 games at Itasca Community College. He posted three home runs and 23 RBIs for the Vikings, including three-hit games in both ends of an April 29 doubleheader vs. Minnesota North-Hibbing.

* Carter Kalin hit .317 for the Vikings in 21 games, including four doubles and 13 RBIs.

Keegan Poppenberg (Esko) capped his golf career at Minnesota-Crookston by finishing 41st in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference meet held April 21-23 in Blue Springs, Missouri.

He shot 82-77-84 to finish 27-over in the 53-hole event. The Golden Eagles were seventh of 10 teams.

* Trent Meyer (Northwestern) finished 45th at 26-over for Wisconsin-Green Bay at the Horizon League golf championships in Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida from April 23-25.

* Sam Baker (Cloquet) played in 10 tournaments for Florida Gulf Coast University, with his best finish of the spring season being a tie for 57th at the Aggie Invitational at Texas A&M on April 10-11 ater rounds of 74-75-77 in the 54-hole event. Baker finished 68th in the Atlantic Sun conference championship in Mobile, Alabama on April 25-26 after three consecutive rounds of 77. The Eagles were ninth of 14 teams.

Ellie Gandy (Grand Rapids/Greenway) had four goals as a midfielder in her first season on the Wisconsin-Stout women's lacrosse team, including one in her first collegiate game on March 1 at Augsburg.

Senior outfielder Gabriella Blomdahl (Hermantown) hit .175 and started 25 games for Minnesota Crookston. She had a pair of doubles and recorded 35 putouts. Blomdahl was 2-for-3 with a double in an April 27 loss to Bemidji State.

* Chesie McLaughlin (Superior) was 5-for-21 on the season for Minot State. The sophomore played in 17 games and started five.

* Freshman Ruby Moore (Northwestern) was deployed as a super sub for West Texas A&M, as she appeared in 49 games and started three. She was 7-for-18 at the plate but stole 10 bases on 11 attempts. Her team went all the way to the Super Regionals in Division II but was eliminated in a pair of games at Texas-Tyler. Moore served as a pinch runner in game one of the series and did not appear in game two.

* Olivia Diver (Cloquet) started 31 games, primarily at second base, for Minnesota Morris in her senior year, hitting .238 with two home runs and four doubles in 80 at-bats. Younger sister Sophie Diver made her first collegiate appearances for the Cougars, getting her first collegiate hit on April 28 in a game against North Central.

* Elise DeGraef (Superior) hit for a .226 average with four RBIs for Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. DeGraef also pitched for the Blue Angels, going 2-12 with a 7.70 ERA in 70 innings. She struck out 26 batters. Teammate Kaylee Baker, also from Superior, hit .204 in 24 games, including a 2-for-4 day with an RBI on March 6 vs. Rivier.

* Natalee Sigfrids started in 16 games as a freshman at St. Catherine University and played in 11 more, posting a .217 batting average with three doubles and seven RBIs in 60 at-bats.

Joe Rudd (Duluth) announced earlier this spring that he is transferring his swimming career from St. Thomas across the river to the University of Minnesota.

Rudd was named to the All-Summit League team after his sophomore season. He was second in the conference in the 200-yard breaststroke, breaking his own program record in the event.