The men’s track team hit the road this past Friday for the Simpson Kip Janvrin Invitational meet. The meet did not keep track of team scores due to the large size of the meet, hosting 44 teams across all NCAA athletic divisions.
The team took major strides this weekend by competing against higher athletic divisions. 
“Everytime were given the opportunity to go out there run our race or get a mark, we have to take advantage of that,” senior hurdler Danny Bornstein said.
Junior distance runner Karsten Zielinski, took Bornstein’s words to heart, taking full advantage of the race, shaving twenty-one hundredths of a second off of his personal best in the 3000 meter steeplechase setting the season best time for the Vikings. 
“Every time we get to compete against a lot of really good teams, people improve, whether it’s a new personal best or simply getting to face people who push them to be better. This definitely helps us as we prepare for conference because I think it helps people work on what they need to do and how they need to improve for that conference competition,” Zielinski said.
Mason Wright, a senior triple jumper and long jumper, performed under the pressure of high level competition at this weekend’s meet, finishing in the top eight in both of his events.
“Whenever we get a chance to go out there and do what we can it is always a step in the right direction. You’re not always going to break personal records, but you can always find positives in your performance that you can build off of,” said Wright.
Junior sprinter Ian Rothery, believes this meet will help them as conference is approaching.
“This definitely helps us going forward, we know what things we do well already that we can maximize. I know all the guys are really excited for conference in a few weeks and until then, we are going to take advantage of opportunity the best we can,” Rothery said.
The boys have one meet left until the CCIW conference championship. They will be on the road again for the Don Church Invitational at Wheaton College.