BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin on Thursday. Twelve women's teams and eleven men's teams from around the MIAC will compete in the three-day meet held Thursday-Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
The MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin on Thursday with the multi-event competitions. The women's pentathlon starts at 2:00 p.m. with the men's heptathlon beginning 20 minutes later. The heptathlon finishes on Friday at 10:00 a.m. Friday's field events start at 2:30 p.m. and track will follow at 4:00 p.m. Saturday's final session starts with 11:00 a.m. field events and 1:00 p.m. track events. Saturday's final set of events - the men's and women's 4x400 relay - will begin at 4:10 p.m.
HANDING OUT THE HARDWARE
MIAC championship plaques will be presented to the first-place women's and men's teams at the conclusion of the meet on Saturday afternoon. Bethel University swept both the men's and women's championships in 2023.
The top three finishers in each event automatically earn All-Conference honors and the 4th-through-6th place finishers will receive Honorable Mention distinction.
Individual awards will be voted on by coaches following the meet and will be announced - along with the complete list of All-Conference and honorable mention recipients - next week.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Augsburg sophomore Allison Hookom (Andover, Minn. | Anoka) ranks 17th in NCAA Division III this season with a 400-meter dash time of 57.18 (2/10).
Bethel sophomore Ellie Hernes (Fairmont, Minn.) ranks eighth in NCAA Division III for the triple jump this year with a distance of 11.87 meters (38' 11.5") (12/8).
Bethel senior Annessa Ihde (Appleton, Wis. | North) ranks 14th in NCAA Division III with an 800-meter time of 2:13.70 (2/3) this season.
Bethel senior AnnaGrace Nelson (Cambridge, Minn. | Isanti) has the 24th-best pentathlon score in Division III this season with 3170 points (1/26).
Bethel graduate student Kelsie Sealock (Plymouth, Minn. | Osseo) recorded the fastest 60 hurdle time in NCAA Division III this season with a time of 8.51 on 2/3.
The Bethel 4x400 relay team of graduate student Kelsie Sealock (Plymouth, Minn. | Osseo), junior Hailey Gregg (Colorado Springs, Colo. | Air Academy), senior Annessa Ihde (Appleton, Wis. | North), and first-year Shalom Sulungaine (Blaine, Minn.) ranks 14th in NCAA Division III this season with a time of 3:54.29 (2/3).
Carleton senior Helen Cross (Nederland, Colo.) has the 13th-fastest 3,000-meter time in NCAA Division III this season at 9:43.85 (2/10).
Carleton junior Sophie McManus (McCall, Idaho | McCall-Donnelly) ranks 19th in NCAA Division III for the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:04.74 (1/26). McManus also ranks 25th in D-III with a 3,000-meter time of 9:52.09 (2/10).
Carleton sophomore Hannah Preisser (Chapel Hill, N.C. | Carrboro) ranks 23rd in NCAA Division III for the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:50.15 (2/10).
Carleton senior Phoebe Ward (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) ranks 18th in NCAA Division III for the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:03.74 (1/26). Ward is No. 20 in D-III for the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:50.15 (2/10).
Gustavus junior Kate Carlson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. | Simley) ran the 17th-fastest 200-meter time in Division III with a 25.05 on 2/9.
Gustavus junior Megan Geraets (Mankato, Minn. | East) is No. 9 in D-III with a long jump distance of 5.65 meters (18' 6.5") on 2/16. She also ranks 13th in NCAA Division III in the 200 meters with a time of 24.94 (2/9). Her 400-meter time of 57.19 (1/26) ranks 20th. Geraets.
Gustavus senior Madi Kes (Jordan, Minn.) ranks 21st in D-III this season with a triple jump distance of 11.50 meters (37' 8.75") (1/13).
Hamline sophomore Molly Meyers (Marshfield, Wis.) ranks 24th in NCAA Division III with a shot put distance of 13.27 meters (43' 6.5").
Macalester first-year Diarra Chatham (Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge) has the 13th-fastest 60-meter dash time in Division III this season with a 7.68 recorded at the M City Indoor Classic on 12/8.
Saint Benedict senior Fiona Smith (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) set a new NCAA Division III record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:50.48 at the Boston University Season Opener on 12/2. Smith ran the third-fastest 3,000-meter time in Division III history with a 9:23.40 at the SDSU Indoor Classic on 2/9. Smith's time of 4:50.21 (2/3) in the mile run ranks fourth in D-III.
The Saint Benedict distance medley relay team of junior Kalli Smith (Maple Grove, Minn.), sophomore Lauren Berg (Bemidji, Minn.), senior Lucy Lyngen (Rogers, Minn. | DeLaSalle), and senior Fiona Smith (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) ranks 21st in NCAA Division III this season with a time of 12:06.38 (2/9).
St. Scholastica senior Lily Beneke (Green Isle, Minn. | Sibley East) ranks 21st in NCAA Division III for the weight throw this season with a distance of 16.95 meters (55' 7.5") (2/10).
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Nine former individual MIAC champions are back in competition this weekend.
Augsburg sophomore Allison Hookom (Andover, Minn. | Anoka) won the 400-meter dash in her MIAC Championship debut in 2023.
Bethel sophomore Ellie Hernes (Fairmont, Minn.) is the defending MIAC champion in the triple jump.
Bethel senior AnnaGrace Nelson (Cambridge, Minn. | Isanti) won the high jump at the 2022 MIAC Championships.
Bethel graduate student Kelsie Sealock (Plymouth, Minn. | Osseo) won the 55-meter hurdles in 2022 and the 60-meter hurdles in 2020.
Bethel junior Sarah Stellmach (Mahtomedi, Minn.) is the defending MIAC champion in the 60-meter dash.
Carleton senior Mary Blanchard (Grinnell, Iowa) won the 1,000-meter run at the 2023 MIAC Championships.
Concordia senior Peyton Selle (Dickinson, N.D.) is the two-time defending champion in the indoor pentathlon, having won the event in both 2022 and 2023.
Gustavus senior Madi Kes (Jordan, Minn.) was the 2022 indoor champion in the triple jump.
Saint Benedict senior Fiona Smith (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) is the two-time defending champion in both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, having won each event in both 2022 and 2023.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg sophomore Allison Hookom (Andover, Minn. | Anoka) claimed the individual title in the 400-meter dash, clocking a time of 59.38 seconds at the Snowshoe Open on 2/16. Hookom recorded her season-best time in the event on 2/10 by clocking in at 57.18 at the Meet of the Hearts.
Bethel graduate student Kelsie Sealock (Plymouth, Minn. | Osseo) led the Royals with an NCAA Division III-leading time of 8.51 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles at the Mark Guthrie Legacy Invitational on 2/3. Sealock ran a personal-best time that now ranks sixth-fastest in Division III history.
Carleton senior Mary Blanchard (Grinnell, Iowa) won the 1000-meter run at the Tostrud Classic on 2/17, finishing the event in a personal-best 2:56.82, more than eight seconds faster than the runner-up. That time is tops in the MIAC this winter.
Concordia sophomore Emily Rengo (Esko, Minn.) tied the program record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.95 at the UND Tune-Up on 2/17. The time matched a 20-year-old Cobber record, represents a college best for Rengo, and is sixth-fastest in the MIAC this season.
Gustavus junior Megan Geraets (Mankato, Minn. | East) led the Gusties to victory at the St. Olaf Invitational on 1/26-27 with a pair of record-breaking times. Geraets set the school record in winning the 400-meter with an adjusted time of 57.19, in addition to claiming a facility record in the 200-meter, winning that event in 25.03. Both times rank tenth in NCAA Division III this season. Geraets also placed second in the long jump with a distance of 5.24 meters (17' 2.25").
Hamline sophomore Molly Meyers (Marshfield, Wis.) took home top honors in the shot put with a college-best distance of 13.27 meters (43' 6.5") at the Tostrud Classic on 2/17. Meyers has won five-of-six shot put events in which she has competed this season, with a runner-up result on 2/10 as the lone outlier.
Macalester first-year Diarra Chatham (Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge) broke the Scots' program record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.68 in prelims at the M City Indoor Classic in December. Chatham finished third overall at that meet and has won all three 60s in which she has competed since, including at the Tostrud Classic on 2/17.
Saint Benedict senior Fiona Smith (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) set a new program record in the 3,000-meter run with the fastest time in NCAA Division III this season at 9:23.40 to win the event - with a 33-second margin of victory - at the SDSU Indoor Classic on 2/9. Her previous record time of 9:25.62 won the national title at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Smith also anchored the CSB distance medley relay squad which clocked the 14th-best time in NCAA Division III this season at 12:06.38.
St. Catherine senior Chando Horvath (Stevens Point, Wis. | SPASH) placed fifth in the shot put and sixth in the weight throw at the CSS Opener on 12/9. Her weight throw distance of 13.93 meters (45' 8.5") ranks tenth in the conference while her shot put of 10.93 meters (35' 10.5") ranks 18th.
Saint Mary's senior Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) won the weight throw with a distance of 15.94 meters (52' 3.75") at the Luther Invitational on 2/3. She also set a season-best distance of 12.14 meters (39' 10") at the UST Opener on 1/12. Both throws rank fourth in the MIAC this winter.
St. Olaf sophomore Lauren Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. | South Side) ran college-best times in three different events over the last month, winning the mile in 5:12.77 at the Ole Opener on 1/20, claiming victory in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:24.46 at the St. Olaf Invitational on 1/26-27, and clocking in at 10:08.50 in the 3,000-meter run at the Meet of the Hearts on 2/10. Walda's 3K time ranks 50th in NCAA Division III this season while her 5K currently sits at No. 27 in the nation.
St. Scholastica senior Lily Beneke (Green Isle, Minn. | Sibley East) set a new personal record with a toss of 16.95 meters (55' 7.5") to win the weight throw competition at the Maday Classic on 2/10. The mark ranks third in school history and 21st on the NCAA qualifying list.
FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Record Book contains annual Conference championship information and MIAC overall and meet record-holders. The information included in the record book is based on available data and research for additional historical documents is ongoing.