Two days after opening the season at Mankato, the Marshall track and field team found itself back in the same spot on Monday while competing in an indoor triangular at Minnesota State University-Mankato.
In the girls' competition, host Mankato West finished in first with a score of 67. Marshall was 14 points back in second, and Shakopee was third with 35 points.
The Mankato West boys team narrowly beat out Marshall for first place, finishing with 57 points to Marshall's 55.5. Shakopee took third with 43.5 points.
"West is always one of the dominant teams in our section," said Marshall boys coach Mike Jacobs. "Today I thought 'let's go after it' because we have a lot of veteran people and have had some really outstanding times early in the year.
"We fell just a notch short, but I was happy with our effort. A lot of the kids, especially the distance runners, had tired legs. That's a lot of competing for them in just a few days. Their effort wasn't lacking at all, but maybe if we face (West) again when we're more fresh, maybe we would have been more capable of beating them."
Marshall senior speedster Beau Bofferding won all three of his events, taking the 60-meter dash in 6.99 seconds, the 200 dash in 23.56 seconds and the 400 dash in 52.29 seconds.
Marshall had a 1-2-3 finishing in the 1,600 run, with Chad DeAustin posting a career-best time of 4:38.19 to take top honors. Tanner Bukowski came in second (4:46) and Andrew Bell was third (4:57).
The Tigers also had first-place finishes in the 1,600 relay and the 4x800 relay. Sam Marshall, DeAustin, Hunter Peterson and Grant VanKeulen combined for a time of 3:40.8 in the 1,600 relay, and Bell, Larson, Peterson and VanKeulen ran the 4x800 in a time of 8:49.0.
Jacobs said on Saturday in Mankato, the team identified an abundant supply of 400 runners for the relays and so he decided to have Bofferding concentrate on his three individual events Monday instead of running a relay, which Jacobs said allowed the Tigers to get a bit more punch in their scoring.
In the field events, Andre Kack followed his first-place finish in the shot put on Saturday with another on Monday with his throw of 42 feet, 9.5 inches. In the high jump, Peterson took second with a leap of 5-6. And in the pole vault, Austin Leek got second place with a height of 10-6, and Drew Tykwinski cracked a career best of 10 feet.
Jacobs said he's encouraged by what he's seen from his competitors in the field events at this early stage in the season.
"Andre Kack has had two outstanding meets in a row for us," Jacobs said. "He looks like he's the real deal to replace some of the throwers that we lost last year.
"And Drew Tykwinski with his 10-foot jump, now that's two jumpers over 10 feet for us. That was his career best. Nine feet was his best last year."
Marshall first-year girls track head coach Marie Sample also felt good about her team after Monday's competition. The squad had four first-place finishes and several top-three finishes.
"It's really hard when you have a meet Saturday and then have to come back and compete two days later," Sample said. "A lot of the kids have Sunday off and then boom, they get hit again with another competition on Monday. But I thought the girls did a great job.
"We have a lot of girls who have been out sick with stomach issues or other illnesses and other ladies have stepped right in. That's the type of stuff I've been seeing from these young ladies. We're trying to create an atmosphere that the girls want to be a part of. We're only two weeks in right now, but we're moving in the right direction."
Sophomore Sydney Griffin was one of the girls who stepped into a new role to help the team. She was asked to step into the 400-meter dash, and though hesitant at first, she put in a strong performance once she took the track, finishing in second with a time of 1:10.26.
Junior Sarah Andersen had a hand in two of Marshall's first-place finishes. She won the long jump with a leap of 16-2.5 and was part of the winning 4x400 relay team along with Griffin, Jenna Christianson and Megan Vogl (4:31.72).
"Sarah Andersen has just been doing awesome," Sample said. "I've been her coach in cross country the last few years, but I didn't realize the kind of athlete she was.
"This kid can do anything, and she's willing to do anything. She's a positive person that the girls like being around and it's fun to see her have success."
Marshall's relay team of Becca Fedde, Christianson, Haley VanKeulen and Maddie Verschaetse won the 4x800 with a time of 10:39.52. Brianna West added a win in the high jump for the Tigers, clearing the bar at 5-0.
The Tigers will try to keep their positive momentum rolling in their first outdoor meet of the season on April 3 when the team travels to Montevideo.
Boys Team Scores: 1. Mankato West 57; 2. Marshall 55.5; 3. Shakopee 43.5.
MARSHALL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
60m: 1. Beau Bofferding 6.99.
200m: 1. Bofferding 23.56.
400m: 1. Bofferding 52.29.
800m: 2. Grant VanKeulen 2:04.82, 3. Tanner Bukowski 2:11.25, 4. Mike Larson 2:13.26.
1,600m: 1. Chad DeAustin 4:38.19, 2. Bukowski 4:46.0, 3. Andrew Bell 4:57.
60m High Hurdles: 4. Danny West 9.58.
60m Intermediate Hurdles: 3. West 9.64.
4x200m Relay: 3. Sam Marshall, Drew Tykwinski, Ryan Schultz, Brian Lee Rose 1:45.
1,600m Relay: 1. Marshall, DeAustin, Hunter Peterson, VanKeulen 3:40.8.
4x800m Relay: 1. Bell, Larson, Peterson, VanKeulen 8:49.0.
Pole Vault: 2. Austin Leek 10-6, 5. Drew Tykwinski 10-0.
High Jump: 2. Hunter Peterson 5-6, 4. Ryan Schultz 5-2.
Shot Put: 1. Andre Kack 42-9.5, 5. Brock Baumgarn 39-6.
Girls Team Scores: 1. Mankato West 67; 2. Marshall 53; 3. Shakopee 35.
MARSHALL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
60m: 4. Kendra Soupir 8.89, 5. Amber Amick 9.19.
200m: 6. Elizabeth Roseland 32.18.
400m: 2. Sydney Griffin 1:10.26, 4. Claire Buysse 1:12.13.
800m: 3. Becca Fedde 2:34.65, 4. Haley VanKeueln 2:40.97, 5. Megan Vogel 2:44.42.
1,600m: 3. Rose Andersen 6:01.76.
60m Intermediate Hurdles: Jessica Oaxaca 11.26, 4. Shelby Maes 11.43.
60m High Hurdle 2. Maes 11.79, 3. Oaxaca 11.97.
4x200m Relay: 2. Brittany Andreas, Amber Amick, Claire Buysse, Sarah Andersen 2:01.47.
4x400m Relay: 1. S. Andersen, Griffin, Jenna Christianson, Vogl 4:31.72.
4x800m Relay: 1. Fedde, Christiensen, VanKeulen, Maddie Verschaetse 10:39.52.
High Jump: 1. Brianna West 5-0, 3. S. Andersen 4-6.
Pole Vault: 2. Rachel Miller 7-6.
Long Jump: 1. S. Andersen 16-2.5, 3. Griffin 14-5; 4. Verschaetse 14-2.5.
Shot Put: 6. Haley Bennett 27-2.
Triple Jump: 2. Griffin 31-6.5, 4. Christianson 30-11.5, 5. Verschaetse 30-3.