NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Carleton College hosted the 2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Multi-Event Championships Thursday and Friday in Northfield, Minn., and the hometown fans had plenty to cheer about as a pair of Knights - Amelia Campbell and Jack Buckner - captured conference championships in the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively.
Campbell's win in the heptathlon was her second in a row, and nearly matched her MIAC-record score from a year ago, as she held off another decorated athlete - St. Olaf's Dani Larson - to repeat as the champ. Buckner prevailed in one of the wildest two-day decathlons in recent MIAC memory, as he moved up from fifth all the way to first to emerge atop an field that filled with intrigue throughout the two days.
| HEPTATHLON RESULTS | DECATHLON RESULTS |
Campbell's full versatility was on display in her second-straight heptathlon victory, as she finished first or second in six of the seven events, and she was among the top three in all seven. Her winning point total of 4,970 helped her beat St. Olaf's Dani Larson (4,510), who won the MIAC Indoor pentathlon title in March, by 460 points.
Campbell had the top mark in the 100 hurdles (14.81) and long jump (16-8), she was second in the shot put (36-9), 200-meter dash (25.91), javelin (114-5) and 800-meter run (2:20.58). After capturing the MIAC title in the event a year ago, Campbell went on to win the national title and Division III Field Athlete-of-the-Year honors as well.
Larson's second-place showing saw her record the top marks in the high jump (5-5), 200 (25.75) and 800 (2:20.03), and she was third in the 100 hurdles (15.49). Concordia's Mikayla Forness racked up 4,275 points to finish third and she recorded the top mark in the javelin throw (127-0) and was third in the 800 (2:20.88). Saint Benedict's Megan Sundstrom (4,116), St. Thomas' Bailey Cook (4,097) and Concordia's Anna Skow-Anderson (3,963) occupied the 4-6 spots in the standings, respectively.
Buckner saved his best effort for day two, as he leapt from fifth all the way to first to claim the MIAC decathlon title. Just 19 points separated the top three after Thursday's action, but two of the top three didn't finish Friday's events and Buckner leapfrogged the rest to claim the title with 5,958 points. Buckner recorded the top mark in the javelin (171-5), was No. 2 in the discus (104-1), third in the high jump (6-0), fourth in the pole vault (12-2.5), fifth in both the long jump (20-4.25) and 1,500-meter run (4:49.51), sixth in the 400-meter dash (53.01), seventh in the 100-meter dash (11.90) and 11th in both the shot put and 110-meter hurdles.
A pair of Cobbers followed in the standings, as Joe Hendrickson was the runner-up with 5,881 total points, and Gabe Wright finished third with a score of 5,770. Hendrickson's highlights came in the discus (106-0) where he finished first, and he was second in the 1,500 (4:29.98) and third in both the 110-hurdles (16.30) and javelin (147-3). Wright posted the best time in the 110-hurdles (15.93), was second in the high jump (6-1.25) and third in the pole vault (12-6.25) and 1,500 (4:36.85).
St. Thomas' Preston Huddleston took fourth with 5,735 points, Jackson Schepp of Concordia was fifth with 5,630 to give the Cobbers three of the top five, and Carleton got another top-six performer as well as Evan McNeil finished sixth with a total of 5,412. He was one of the leaders for much of the event, but was assessed a violation in the 1,500 and still had enough points to finish sixth. The top three individuals in each event will automatically earn All-Conference honors, and the 4th-through-6th place finishers will be named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Though the multi-event competitions kicked off the conference meet Thursday and Friday at Carleton, the rest of the 2015 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held May 8-9 at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2015 Outdoor Championships with complete details for next weekend's event.
| 2015 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships |