NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Another outstanding outdoor track and field season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) will take center stage at its main event - the 2014 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The two-day meet will be held Friday and Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

From a team perspective, St. Thomas will try to capture both the men's and women's championships yet again to extend a pair of impressive streaks. The Tommie women are looking to complete a decade at the top, as Head Coach Joe Sweeney's team seeks their 10th-straight MIAC outdoor title, while Head Coach Steve Mathre and the St. Thomas men's team will attempt to win their third-straight outdoor crown, and sixth in the last seven years.

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A year ago, St. Thomas celebrated victories on its home track, as the men's team captured its 31st title all time, and the women secured championship No. 29. The Tommie women have won 29 of the 32 MIAC outdoor titles, with Concordia winning two and St. Olaf winning one, while the Tommie men also lead the league with 31 championships. Macalester has the second-most at 22, Hamline has 14 and Saint John's - the last non-UST men's team to win in 2011 - has 12.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW
The women's outdoor meet was certainly entertaining in 2013, as the Tommies were seriously challenged by the Cobbers. UST claimed its ninth-straight title with 140.5 point and a 28.5-point victory over runner-up Concordia (112). The Oles were just eight points behind the Cobbers with 104, and the Blazers also hit triple digits with an even 100. Hamline finished out the top five with 93.5 points. Gustavus (83) came in sixth, Carleton was seventh (73) and Bethel (47.5) beat out Macalester (47) for eighth by a half-point. Augsburg (39.5), St. Catherine (13.5) and Saint Mary's (6) rounded out the rest of the standings.

There are several standout women's individuals entered in the meet, starting with St. Thomas sprinting star Mallory Burnham, who was the Outstanding Women's Track Athlete at the 2014 Indoor meet. She enters the outdoor meet as the defending champion and No. 1 seed in the 100 hurdles, and she also has the MIAC's top time in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well.

Fellow Tommies Kayla Goeman and Angela Tipp hope to defend their titles in the 800-meter run and 400-meter dash, respectively, and Erin Statz (10,000-meter run) and Abby Baier (pole vault) are also seeded first in their events. UST is also the MIAC's defending champ in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay races.

Carleton already has enjoyed success, as Indoor Outstanding Field Athlete Amelia Campbell continued her spectacular season with a win in the heptathlon last weekend, with a new MIAC-record score. Campbell is also seeded first in the long jump. Teammate Ruth Steinke is seeded first as she attempts to defend her title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Collette Celichowski is seeded first in the 1,500-meter run and Kao Sutton is seeded first in the discus and second in the shot put. The Knights are also the defending 4x800-meter relay champions.

The 2013 women's runner-up, Concordia, again has high hopes in the field events, with a pair of stars leading the way. Hilary Thompson is back to defend her championships in the long jump and triple jump. She has the MIAC's best mark in the triple jump this season, and is seeded second behind Campbell in the long jump. Thrower Cherae Reeves is back as well, seeded first in the shot put, in search of more MIAC success.

The host school will pay particular attention to the high jump, as the Oles' Dani Larson has the top mark in 2014, and returns as the defending champ. On the track, Bethel's Courtney Fregau is seeded first in the 400, Saint Benedict's Allison Kosobud has the top time in the 800, Macalester's Kimber Meyer leads the field in the 5,000-meter run and Hamline's Marolyn Saulsberry is seeded first in the 400-meter hurdles. In the field, Gustavus' Elizabeth Weiers is seeded first in the hammer throw and Saint Mary's Abi Osborne has the MIAC's top mark in the javelin this season.

MEN'S PREVIEW
On the men's side, UST and SJU were again the top two outdoor teams, with the Tommies claiming their second-straight outdoor title on their home track. UST won with 186 points, while the runner-up Johnnies scored 116. Bethel joined that duo in the top three with a solid 103.5-point showing, and St. Olaf (93.5) and Hamline (86) rounded out the top five. Carleton (80) edged Gustavus (72.5) for sixth with Concordia (45.5) in seventh. Macalester (37.0), Augsburg (25.0) and Saint Mary's (9) completed the outdoor standings.

The defending-champion Tommies got off to a great start last weekend at the MIAC multi-event competitions as senior star Maxwell Dunne captured his third-straight conference championship in the decathlon. He also finished first as a rookie, giving him four top-two showings in his four years. The Tommies also have high hopes for star thrower Bryan Thell, who is the defending shot put champ, and seeded first in both the shot put and hammer throw. Brian Jarvey also returns as the defending champion in the 400-meter dash, and he has the MIAC's top time in that race in 2014. Charlie Pechous is also back to attempt to defend his long jump title from a year ago.

Saint John's is aiming for another outstanding performance in 2014, and the Johnnies have several reasons to be optimistic. Thomas Feichtinger returns as the defending champion in the 800-meter run, and he has the top time in the MIAC in 2014 in the 800. Teammate John Subialka is also eyeing a second-straight title in the 10,000-meter run, and he's seeded fourth in the race in 2014. The Johnnies are also the defending champs in the 4x800-meter relay race.

Host St. Olaf should again be strong in the distance events after winning the Division III Cross Country Championships in the fall. The 2014 Indoor Outstanding Track Athlete Grant Winthesier is expected to delight the home crowd, as he returns to defend his 5,000-meter run title, and the two-time MIAC cross country champ is seeded first in both the 5K and 10K in 2014. Wintheiser leads a deep, talented field of Oles in the distance and middle-distance events.

Carleton's Marcus Huderle will try to add to his legacy, as the two-time defending MIAC champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase enters the 2014 Outdoor meet with the top time in his event yet again. Bethel brings back a pair of defending relay champs in the 4x100 and 4x400 races, and the Royals' Mark Rice is seeded first as he aims to defend his championship in the 400-meter hurdles.

Speaking of hurdles, the 110-meter defending champion is also back, as Hamline's Eric Hanson returns to try to defend his title. Hanson has the top time in the race in 2014. The Pipers also have high hopes for sprinting star Tom Larson, who is seeded first in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Finally, Macalester's Logan Hovie returns to the outdoor meet in search of more success after an impressive showing in 2013. The Scots jumper not only won the high jump title a year ago, but his effort was named the Outstanding Performance-of-the-Meet. Hovie returns to the high jump seeded first, with the best mark in the MIAC in 2014.

CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN FRIDAY
The 2014 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships began with last weekend's multi-event competitions at Carleton. The full event will begin Friday at St. Olaf with field events beginning at 1 p.m. and track events starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's action will start with field events at 12 p.m. and the track events will begin at 1 p.m. The full schedule of events is available online.

Saturday's final event begins at 4:40 p.m., and there will be a short awards ceremony following the conclusion of the meet to honor both team champions. The top three individuals in each event and the first-place relay team will automatically earn All-Conference honors, and the fourth- through sixth-place finishers in each open event and second- through sixth-place relay teams will all be named All-Conference Honorable Mention.

The MIAC has a web page dedicated to the event, and complete results, recaps, and multimedia coverage of the championships will be available on that site throughout the event. There will be live results (MEN - WOMEN) available for all events courtesy of Apple Raceberry Jam. The entries for the meet (MEN - WOMEN) and heat sheets (MEN - WOMEN) are available on the MIAC's web site as well.  

Admission for the event is $7 for adults and $3 for students per day, with children ages 5 and under admitted free. MIAC passes will be honored. The MIAC would like to thank St. Olaf College and its coaches and staff for their efforts as the host school.

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