MANKATO, Minn. (Feb. 20, 2026) - The Buena Vista women's indoor track & field team had three individuals capture a top-5 finish and set one school record on Friday at the Maverick Open hosted by Minnesota State-Mankato. It was the team's final competition before next weekend's A-R-C Championships.
Junior
Megan Bakke placed fifth in the 1,000-meter run with a new personal best and school record clocking of 3:06.01. Her time breaks a 33-year old record held by Jody Larson at 3:10.54. The last time Bakke ran the race was back at the Dennis Young Classic in 2024 where she ran 3:19.23 - a mark that was ranked sixth on the program's top-10 list.
Freshman
Hailey Hearting set a new personal best time of 1:01.13 in the 400m and took fifth overall and only one second back of the top-3. She also set a new PR in the 60m prelims as well as the long jump where she placed 10th
Sophomore
Ava Mills kept the string of top-5 finishes going by also coming in fifth in the high jump, clearing 1.49 meters. She also sat a new PR in the 400m where she placed 14th.
Senior Karley Ruis-Genovese sat a new personal best in the 800m run at 2:28.78 and is now ranked ninth on the all-time list.
In the field events, junior
Payton Schermerhorn took sixth in the shot put with a new season best heave of 12.55m.Â
Next up for the team is the A-R-C Championships next Friday and Saturday in Decorah and hosted by Luther College.
