By Megan Gaard, MIAC

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships got off to a competitive start Friday at St. Olaf in Northfield. Despite St. Thomas' lead on both the men's and women's side, several top finishes from other teams kept things close after one day of action.

On the men's side, St. Thomas sprinted out to a lead with 65 points, but with success in the javelin and 10,000-meter run, St. Olaf positioned themselves in striking distance, as the Oles sit second with 50 points. Saint John's finished the day in third with 37 points followed by Carleton with 29. Hamline ranked in fifth place after day one with a score of 23, a few points ahead of Augsburg at 20. Bethel earned 17 points, good enough for seventh after day one. Rounding out the bottom, Concordia finished with 15 points just ahead of Macalester, with 10 points and Gustavus, who scored 7.0, and Saint Mary's didn't score.

| MEN'S RESULTS | 

For the women, St. Thomas proved to be the team to beat racking up 73 points. Carleton's dominance in the field events landed them 48 points, good enough for second place. Not far behind was Hamline with 39 points, Concordia with 38.3, and Gustavus with 37. St. Olaf rounded out 6th place with 27.5 points. Saint Benedict earned 16.3 points sneaking ahead of Bethel with 15.5. St. Catherine ended the day with 7.3 points just ahead of Macalester at 7.0 and Saint Mary's who earned 3.0 points.

| WOMEN'S RESULTS |

Day one consisted primarily of field event finals and preliminary sprints, runs and relays. Finals in these events will take place on Saturday when the meet concludes.

WOMEN'S RESULTS
St. Thomas senior, Mallory Burnham started the meet off strong by capturing a meet record in the 100-meter hurdles prelim with a time of 14.20. She will enter Saturday's final as a favorite to win. In Pole Vault, Abby Baier set the bar high with a height of 11-2.25 (3.41m) securing her a first-place finish. Erin Statz  from St. Thomas  secured a victory in the 10,000 meters with a time of 37:06.04. The Tommies will look to extend their MIAC Championship winning streak to 10 straight years on Saturday.

With a distance of 168-7 (51.38m), Gustavus' Elizabeth Weiers finished ahead of the rest in the hammer throw. Weiers entered the meet as the number one seed. St. Olaf high jumper Dani Larson topped all her competitors with a height of 5-5 (1.65m).

Carleton's dominance in the field events secured them a second place finish after day one. Seeded number one in the long jump, Carleton's Amelia Campbell confirmed her ranking with a first place finish thanks to a distance of 18-8.5 (5.70m). Fellow Knight Kao Sutton took first place in the discus throw with a distance of 143-5 (43.72m). In the 4x800 Meter Relay, Carleton's Winona Rachel, Ellie Wilson, Ruth Steinke, Colette Celichowski won by a wide margin, finishing in a time of 9:10.61, just over 14 seconds ahead of the second place finisher.

MEN'S RESULTS
On the men's side, St. Thomas laid the foundation for success in day one of competition.  In shot put, Matt Schauer recorded a throw of 50-8.25 (15.45m) to solidify a first place finish. With 65 points and a first place lead, the Tommies set themselves up well for day two.

Dan Slaughter from St. Olaf won the javelin throw with a distance of 194-5 (59.26m). Teammate Phillip Meyer  finished the 10,000 meter run in 32:03.81 for a first place victory. The Oles compiled several top finishes, positioning them as a contender on Saturday on their home track.

In long jump, Augsburg's  Barinedum Kordah jumped into first place with a distance of 22-9.75 (6.95m.) Saint John's 4X800 team of Willie Versen, Kyle Rossow, Ryan Bugler, Thomas Feichtinger outran the competition finishing in 7:44.88. 

CHAMPIONSHIPS CONCLUDE FRIDAY
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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