Ames Angle Highlights Weekend Storylines

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (2/14/26)---Pick any storyline from the weekend for the Cobbers and all would be headline worthy.

In no particular order you have:
- Kyla Nygaard "breaking" the school record in the 800 meters and jumping into the Top 15 of DIII at Friday's SDSU Jackrabbit Conversion Classic
- Ashley Nelson jumping into the Top 5 of the MIAC in the 5K at the SDSU Meet
- Emily Rengo winning the 200 meters and finishing second in the 60 meters at the CSB Valetine's Day Open on Saturday
- Londyn Ames climbing into rarified air in program history in the 1000 meters
- Teammates Gracie Gallagher and Miranda Travis posting career-best marks in the shot put and climbing into the Top 7 of the conference

Any of those stories would be the top highlight on any given weekend but we can only choose one so will go with the Ames angle.

Ames, who is a member of the Cobber cross country team and a longer distance runner, unleashed a time of 3:01.59 on Saturday and won the event by almost a full 6-seconds.

To make Ames' feat even more special, it puts her in the No.3 spot on the Cobber list behind All-Americans Josie Hermann and Heather Schuster and in front of Hall of Famer Chris Fredrick. That's what you call impressive company.

Nygaard continued her record-setting senior season by bettering the program record in the 800 meters on Friday at SDSU. Nygaard clocked a 2:12.99 on the 3000-meter track which people tell us converts to a 2:14.52 on a 200-meter track which is used at the MIAC Meet.

If you convert her time, it doesn't break the school record of 2:13.48 set by Heidi Brenden in 2001, but if you don't convert and take the NCAA time it does break the record.

Nelson posted a career-best mark in the 5000 meters on Friday by clocking a 17:55.29. That time would be a program record, but we think you have to convert the time which puts it at 18:03.57 and the No.2 time in school history.

On Saturday, Rengo led a group at the CSB meet which saw Concordia earn four event wins and another four second-place marks.

Rengo had one of each as she was first in the 200 meters at 25.91 and second in the 60-meter dash with a season-best time of 7.87. Her mark in the 200 meters is No.3 in the MIAC this year, while her time in the 60 meters is only .02 of a second off of her own school record.

Ames and Josie Brown had the other individual event wins for the Cobbers. Ames' victory came in her breakout run in the 1000 meters, while Brown claimed the title in the 400 meters with a time of 59.11. Her time is No.5 in the conference and sixth fastest in school history.

Distance runners Kelyn Henry-Perlich and Brooklyn Hart had runner-up finishes on Saturday. Henry-Perlich was second behind Ames in the 1000 meters and Hart was second in the 5K.

Henry-Perlich clocked a 3:07.35 in the 1K and still owns the No.6 time in the MIAC this year. Hart's mark is a season-best and puts her into the top 15 of the conference.

Gallagher and Travis went 2-3 in the shot put to lead the field athletes. Gallagher finished with a distance of 40-10.50 and Travis was third at 40-07.50 giving CC two athletes above the 40-foot mark.

The final Top 3 finish in the field events came courtesy of Ellie Machayya who placed third in triple jump with a mark of 32-05.00. That is a season-best mark and should get her into the conference meet.

The 4x4000-meter relay team of Brown, Rengo, Emma Warner and Nygaard sealed the weekend by racing to a winning time of 4:00.85 which is only 1.38 of a second off their season-best mark.

Concordia will create more confusion when they head back to the UND conversion track for the UND Tune-Up Your Calculators Meet on Friday, Feb. 20.       

COBBER NOTABLES:
SDSU Indoor Open
South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
February 13, 2026

COBBER ALL-TIME LIST:
800 – Kyla Nygaard – 2:14.52c (2:12.99) – All-Time #3
3000 – Kelyn Henry-Perlich – 10:31.75c (10:26.36) – All-Time #8
5000 – Ashley Nelson – 18:03.57c (17:55.29) – All-Time #2

PERSONAL RECORDS:
800- Kyla Nygaard
3000- Kelyn Henry-Perlich
5000- Ashley Nelson

COBBER NOTABLES:
CSB/SJU Valentines Open
St. John's University, Collegeville, MN
February 14, 2026

COBBER ALL-TIME LIST:
200 – Emma Warner – 26.41 – All-Time #5
400 – Josie Brown – 59.11 – All-Time #6
1000 – Londyn Ames – 3:01.59 – All-Time #3
60 Hurdles – Kaili Malvey – 9.62 – All-Time #13
Long Jump – Kaili Malvey – 17-0.5 (5.19m) – All-Time #19
Pole Vault – Aftyn Hahn – 8-9 (2.67m) – All-Time #19
Shot Put – Gracie Gallagher – 40-10.5 (12.46m) – All-Time #15
Shot Put – Miranda Travis – 40-7.5 (12.38m) – All-Time #19
Shot Put – Kaycee Endreson – 39-0.25 (11.89m) – All-Time #26

PERSONAL RECORDS:
60- Alice Zulu, Annalise Gerlach
200- Emma Warner
400- Josie Brown
600- Addie Dahl
1000- Londyn Ames, Addie Dahl
60 Hurdles- Kaili Malvey (prelims & finals)
Long Jump- Kaili Malvey
Triple Jump- Ellie Machayya
Pole Vault- Aftyn Hahn
Shot Put- Gracie Gallagher, Miranda Travis, Kaycee Endreson, Gracie Hartl
Weight Throw- Miranda Travis