Men's Outdoor Track & Field

2024 MIAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set to get underway on Friday, as eleven men's teams from around the league will compete in the two-day meet held at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

| 2024 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships | Video | Real-Time Results |

The MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships officially kicked off last week with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon competitions held at Carleton College. This weekend's action will begin on Friday afternoon with field events starting at 2:00 p.m. and track events beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday's events are scheduled for a noon start with the final set of events - the women's and men's 4x400 relay - running at 5:10 p.m.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
The MIAC has a homepage dedicated to the 2024 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, complete with the event schedule, entries, heat sheets, and links to follow the action via webcast and real-time results. Results and recaps of the Championships will be made available throughout the event.

All tickets for the Championships will be sold and purchased online. There will not be cash sales at the venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device at any time, including while at the venue. Tickets can be purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. Adult admission is $12; the price for youth (ages 6-18) through college students is $2. Children aged 5 and under and MIAC pass holders will be admitted for free.

| CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE | ACCEPTED ENTRIES | MEET PROGRAM |

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. Saint John's is the defending champion on the men's side. The Johnnies won their 14th conference title in 2023. In addition to team awards, the top three finishers in each event will automatically earn All-Conference honors, while the fourth-through-sixth place finishers will be named Honorable Mention.

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.

STAT PACK
The top times and distances from around the MIAC as of Wednesday, May 8 can be found here.

IN THE POLLS
Bethel ranks No. 4 in the nation in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday, May 7.

Three MIAC teams are ranked in the top 10 of the latest USTFCCCA's regional rankings, released on Tuesday, May 7. Bethel (No. 4), Saint John's (No. 9), and St. Olaf (No. 10) all earned top-10 billing, while all eleven MIAC squads rank among the top 30.

NATIONAL NOTABLES
Bethel junior Jayson Ekiyor (Dayton, Minn. | Providence Academy) ranks ninth in NCAA Division III this season with a 110-hurdles time of 14.24 (4/13).

Bethel sophomore Landen Liu (Blaine, Minn. | Centennial) ranks fifth in NCAA Division III with a 100-meter dash time of 10.34 (4/13) this season.

Bethel sophomore Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. | Providence Academy) ran the 12th-fastest 200-meter time in Division III this season with a 21.09 on 4/13. His 400-meter time of 47.20 (4/6) ranks 15th in the country.

Bethel senior Jacob Parent (New Richmond, Wis.) ranks fourth in Division III this season in both the 200-meters (20.90, 4/13) and 400-meters (46.71, 4/6).

Bethel graduate student Josh Sampson (Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View) ranks 12th in NCAA Division III this season with a 110-meter hurdles time of 14.29 (3/15). His 400-meter hurdles time of 53.12 (5/3) ranks 18th in D-III.

Bethel graduate student Joel Smith (Shoreview, Minn. | Mounds View) leads NCAA Division III with a 400-meter hurdles time of 51.30 (4/6) this season.

Bethel junior Josh Thomsen (North Oaks, Minn. | Mounds View) ranks 19th in NCAA Division III with a 110-meter hurdle time of 14.39 (5/3).

Bethel's 4x400-meter relay team of graduate student Joel Smith (Shoreview, Minn. | Mounds View), sophomore Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. | Providence Academy), graduate student Josh Sampson (Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View), and senior Jacob Parent (New Richmond, Wis.) leads NCAA Division III with a time of 3:09.27 (4/13).

Bethel's 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. | Providence Academy), graduate student Josh Sampson (Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View), first-year Victor Lelinga (New Brighton, Minn. | Mounds View), and senior Jacob Parent (New Richmond, Wis.) ranks fourth in NCAA Division III with a time of 3:11.79 (4/24).

Carleton senior Ian Mortensen (Seattle, Wash. | Shorecrest) ranks eighth among D-III competitors in the decathlon with a score of 6,525.

Carleton sophomore Gabe Nichols (Grove City, Penn.) ran the 14th-fastest 1,500-meter run at the Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/24 with a time of 3:48.51.

Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. | Wadena-Deer Creek) recorded the tenth-best discus throw in Division III at 51.95 meters (170' 5") on 5/3. He also tallied the 13th-best shot put distance in Division III this season on 5/3 with a throw of 16.56 meters (54' 4").

Concordia senior Wade Rhonemus (Foley, Minn.) logged a decathlon score of 6,416 on at the MIAC Multi-Event Championships on 5/2-3, good for the 16th-best score in Division III this season.

Hamline senior Austin Schloeder (Buffalo, Minn. | Rockford) vaulted a distance of 4.82 meters (15' 9.75") on 4/24, good for 18th in NCAA Division III this season.

Saint John's senior Kevin Arthur (Champlin, Minn. | Champlin Park) ran the ninth-fastest 100-meter dash time in Division III this season with a 10.38 on 4/24.

Saint John's junior Max Lelwica (Brainerd, Minn.) recorded a decathlon score of 6,432 at the MIAC Multi-Event Championships on 5/2-3, good for the 13th-best in NCAA Division III this season.

Saint John's junior Jackson McDowell (Centennial, Colo. | Arapahoe) is tied for the 17th-best high jump clearance in D-III this year at 2.05 meters (6' 8.75") (4/12).

St. Olaf senior Will Kelly (Golf, Ill. | Glenbrook South) has the sixth-best 3,000-meter steeplechase time in NCAA Division III this season at 8:52.99 (4/24).

St. Olaf sophomore Ignatius Fitzgerald (Missoula, Mont. | Hellgate) ranks 15th in D-III for the 3,000-meter steeplechase this season with a time of 9:00.16 (4/24).

St. Scholastica junior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. | Cambridge-Isanti) ranks 15th in the shot put (16.47 meters, 54' 05") (4/12) and 18th in the discus (50.17 meters, 164' 7") (5/1) this season.

DEFENDING THE CROWN
Bethel sophomore Adam Hokanson (Shakopee, Minn.) is the defending MIAC champion in the shot put with a winning distance of 15.06 meters in 2023.

Bethel senior Jacob Parent (New Richmond, Wis.) won the 400-meter dash in 46.76 at last year's conference championship meet.

Bethel graduate student Josh Sampson (Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View) won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.38 at the 2023 MIAC Outdoor Championships.

Bethel graduate student Joel Smith (Shoreview, Minn. | Mounds View) won the 2023 conference championship in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.01.

Saint John's senior Kevin Arthur (Champlin, Minn. | Champlin Park) won the 2023 MIAC title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.46. Arthur also won the 200 in 21.20.

Saint John's senior Joe Charbonneau (New Richmond, Wis.) is the defending MIAC champion in the pole vault with a winning distance of 4.60 meters in 2023.

Saint John's junior Zach Schaffer (Chaska, Minn.) won the long jump at the 2023 MIAC Outdoor Championships with a leap of 6.98 meters.

St. Olaf senior Will Kelly (Golf, Ill. | Glenbrook South) is the defending champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, having won in 2023 with a time of 8:56.03.

St. Scholastica junior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. | Cambridge-Isanti) won the discus at the 2023 MIAC Outdoor Championships with a throw of 49.39 meters.

St. Scholastica senior Calvin Boone (St. Paul, Minn. | Highland Park) ranks 18th in NCAA Division III with a 1,500-meter time of 3:49.00 (4/24).

AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg sophomore Mohammed Bati (Dodola, Ethiopia | GAP School) broke his own program record in the 5,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 14:28.17 to place fifth overall and third among NCAA Division III participants at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on 5/1. Bati's time ranks third in the MIAC and 48th in NCAA Division III at this point in the season.

Bethel graduate student Josh Sampson (Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View) won the 400-meter hurdles at Hamline's Meet of the UnSaintly on 5/3 with a time of 53.12. It was just the second time in his collegiate career that Sampson raced in the event. His time ranks 18th in NCAA Division III this season.

Carleton senior Ian Mortensen (Seattle, Wash. | Shorecrest) won the MIAC decathlon with 6,525 points at the MIAC Multi-Event Championships on 5/2-3. He is the seventh Knight to win the MIAC decathlon and his score ranks third-best in program history.

Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. | Wadena-Deer Creek) placed second in the shot put and third in the discus at the NDSU Tuneup on 5/3. Folkestad's shot put distance of 16.56 meters (54' 4") ranks 13th in NCAA Division III this season, while his personal record discus distance of 51.95 meters (170' 5") is 10th in the country.

Gustavus first-year Nick Brauer (Mankato, Minn. | East) set the 1500-meter school record last week at Minnesota State, taking second in the meet with a time of 3:50.53. His mark is the best in program history, the third-best in the MIAC, and currently ranks 35th in NCAA Division III.

Hamline senior Austin Schloeder (Buffalo, Minn. | Rockford) vaulted a distance of 4.82 meters (15' 9.75") to place second in the event at the Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/24. Schloeder's pole vault distance leads the MIAC this season, ranks 18th in NCAA Division III, and is the third-best distance in Hamline program history.

Macalester junior Riley Hodin (Buffalo, N.Y. | Amherst Central) won the triple jump with a distance of 13.72 meters (45' 0.25") at the Meet of the UnSaintly on 5/3. He also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 6.27 meters (20' 7").

Saint John's senior Kevin Arthur (Champlin, Minn. | Champlin Park) recorded a personal-best time of 10.38 seconds to win the 100-meter dash prelims on 4/24 at the University of Minnesota's Gary Wilson Invitational. The time is good for second in the MIAC and ninth in NCAA Division III this season. Arthur went on to win the 200-meter dash in 21.71 seconds with a -2.5m/s headwind and served as the second leg of the Johnnies' 4x100-meter relay team that placed first in 41.20 seconds. The relay's time leads the MIAC and ranks 22nd in Division III.

Saint Mary's junior Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill. | New Trier) picked up a first-place finish at Hamline's Meet of the UnSaintly on 5/3, winning the 200 with a time of 21.54. Bulwa was also a member of the Cardinals' winning 4x100 relay team.

St. Olaf senior Will Kelly (Golf, Ill. | Glenbrook South) ran the MIAC's fastest time this season in the 5,000-meter run at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on 5/1, clocking in in second place on 14:20.34. The time trailed only an NCAA Division I runner from St. Thomas and ranks 30th in NCAA Division III this season.

St. Scholastica junior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. | Cambridge-Isanti) won both the shot put and discus events at the Ole Open on 5/4. Beseth's winning toss in the discus flew 50.10 meters (164' 4") and then he had a distance of 15.52 meters (50' 11") in the shot put. On 5/1 at the Maverick Open, he broke his own school record in the discus throw with a toss of 50.17 meters (164' 7"), which now ranks 18th in the nation.

FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Men's Outdoor 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.

| 2024 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships | Video | Real-Time Results |