NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The 2016 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships started Thursday at Carleton College with the women's pentathlon and the start of the men's heptathlon, and the opening act certainly set the stage for an outstanding weekend of track and field.
St. Olaf's Madison VanWylen was in sixth place after three events, but she finished first in each of the last two - the long jump and the 800 meter run - and rallied to claim the 2016 MIAC pentathlon title. VanWylen's winning score was 3,194 which gave her the title in an extremely close contest as just 140 separated the top four competitors.
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VanWylen finished third in each of the first two events, as she ran the 55-meter hurdles in 8.90 seconds and cleared 5-1 in the high jump, and she sat in second overall. She then finished 17th in shot put (23-7.5) and fell to sixth to set up her heroic finish. VanWylen went 16-8.75 to finish first in the long jump by more than four inches and she won the 800 (2:22.72) by more than two seconds to rack up 1,374 points over the final two events and claim the pentathlon championship.
Saint Benedict's Megan Sundstrom (3,087 points) and St. Thomas' Bailey Cook (3,061 points) finished second and third, respectively, and also earned All-MIAC honors in the women's multi-event competition. Sundstrom finished in the top six of four of the five events, as she was second in the 800 (2:24.84), fifth in the hurdles (8.97) and long jump (16-0.5), sixth in the shot (30-1) and 11th in the high jump (4-8.25). Cook started strong and won the 55 hurdles (8.67) and high jump (5-2.25) and held the lead after each of the first four events, but finished seventh in the shot (30-1), third in the long jump (16-4.25) and 13th in the 800 (2:48.79) to slide from first to third in the final standings.
The next three finishes - places No. 4-6 - were swept by a trio of Concordia teammates, and each received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. Mikayla Forness was fourth with 3,054 points, Anna Skow-Anderson 2,977 points to finish fifth and Jenna Stillwell was sixth with 2,969 points. Skow-Anderson had the top mark in the shot put (37-3.75), Forness finished in the top five of three events and Stillwell had a top-seven mark in all five.
Speaking of the Cobbers, Jackson Schepp is sitting in first place in the men's heptathlon through the four events that were completed Thursday with 2,536 points, including the top mark in the high jump (6-2.75). Carleton's Jack Buckner impressed the home fans with 2,519 points to sit in second, with a top-six showing in all four events, and St. Thomas' Preston Huddleston had the fastest 55-meter dash (6.85) and the best mark in the long jump (21-0.5) and he sits in third with 2,511 points.
Bethel's James Moyer scored 2,338 points to sit in fourth after four events, Concordia's Joe Hendrickson (2,336 points) is currently in fifth and St. Thomas' Eric Udermann (2,306 points) sits in sixth place. Augsburg' s Sean Adams recorded the best throw in the shot put (39-7.75). The three events left to finish on Friday are the 55-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000-meter run. Those events begin Friday at 10:30 a.m., and the final event is scheduled for approximately 3 p.m.
The 2016 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships continue in full Friday afternoon with field events set to start at 4 p.m. and track to follow at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's final session starts with 11:45 a.m. field events and 1 p.m. track events.
Saturday's final event begins at 4:15 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 4th-through-6th place finishers in each open event and 2nd-through-6th place relay teams will all be named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2016 Indoor Championships, complete with a promotional video, venue and admission information, the event schedule, entries (Men - Women), heat sheets (Men - Women) and links to follow the results live (Men - Women). Results, recaps, and multimedia coverage of the championships will be available throughout the event. There will be live results available for all events courtesy of Apple Raceberry Jam, and fans can also find entries and heat sheets on the MIAC's event page as they become available. Also, connect to the conference on its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages throughout the Championships using the hashtag #MIACITF.
Admission for the event is $8 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 Carleton College and their coaches and staff for their efforts to host the event.
| 2016 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships Home Page |