NORTHFIELD, Minn. --The 2016 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships began in full Friday at Carleton College, and the fans in attendance were treated to numerous outstanding performances. Friday's highlights included one meet record and five Carleton Recreation Center records, in addition to one three-time MIAC champion and five repeat champs in their respective events.
In the team races, the St. Thomas women dominated Friday's action to take a commanding lead and its first step toward a 17th-straight MIAC championship. The Tommie men, trying to remain the only team to win a MIAC men's indoor title in the event's 32-year history, were locked in a tight battle with St. Olaf for most of Friday before a late surge gave UST a little cushion after the first full day.
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The St. Thomas women reached triple digits on day one with 100.9 points to open up a 46.2-point lead. Saint Benedict leads a heated race for second place with 54.7 points, Concordia sits in third at 49.9, with St. Olaf (44.0) and Bethel (42.9) rounding out the top five. Carleton is sixth at 31.9, Hamline (25.0) has a slim lead on St. Catherine (23.9) for seventh and Augsburg (22.0), Gustavus (21.0), Macalester (9.0) and Saint Mary's (3.0) round out the women's standings.
The Tommie men led St. Olaf by just a few points late Friday, but surged out to a 102-54 lead over the second-place Oles by the night's final event. Saint John's is just six behind St. Olaf in third at 48 points, with Carleton (47), Hamline (42.0) and Bethel (38.0) right on the Johnnies' heels. Gustavus (33.0) has a five-point lead on Augsburg (28.0) for seventh and Concordia (20.0), Saint Mary's (12.0) and Macalester (5.0) complete the rest of the men's standings after one full day.
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St. Thomas' Emily Gapinski and Carleton's Ruth
Steinke dueled in the mile Friday evening.
(Photo by Matt Higgins, MIAC) |
Hamline's Carolyn Saulsberry delivered one of Friday's top highlights, as she successfully defended her title in the 55-meter hurdles and set a new MIAC meet and Recreation Center record of 8.24 seconds. She won by more than two-tenths of a second, and broke the old record of 8.37, set by Macalester's Kaela Schramm in 2007.
Perhaps the most entertaining event of the night was both the men's and women's mile races, with the defending champion in each successfully claiming a second-straight title. St. Olaf's Paul Escher, the defending national champ in the event, finished in 4:14.70 to break the Recreation Center record and win a spirited men's race just ahead of teammate Joe Coffey (4:15.65) and Saint John's Thomas Feichtinger (4:16.45). In the women's mile, St. Thomas' Emily Gapinski (4:56.39) used a late kick to pull away from Carleton's Ruth Steinke (4:59.09) in a thrilling duel between two of the conference's most decorated runners.
The home fans had plenty to cheer about during the men's 5,000-meter run, as Carleton's Hart Hornor nearly lapped the entire field and won by more than 30 seconds with a Recreation Center record time of 14:28.00. Hamline's Ryan Peterson (14:58.50) and St. Olaf's Paul Timm were second and third, respectively. The Knights also cheered a repeat win for Jerry Cook-Gallardo in the men's 800-meter run, as the sophomore successfully defended his title with a time of 1:54.22, with St. Olaf's Sean Bjork (1:55.95) and Bethel's Carl Klamm (1:57.90) joining him in the top three. Carleton also got a third-place finish from Dwight Alexander (22-0.25) in the long jump.
Augsburg had an outstanding night in the sprints with three victories and four All-MIAC performances. Undre Smith-Brewer starred again with his third-straight men's 55-meter dash title thanks to a time of 6.44 seconds, and Callie Jones won her second-straight MIAC title in the women's 55-meter dash with her time of 7.27 seconds. Manni Egbujor (49.20) and Barinedum Kordah (49.30) went 1-2 for the Auggies in the 400-meter dash, separated by just a tenth of a second, with Egbujor's time breaking the Recreation Center record.
Concordia's Hannah Lundstrom was victorious in the 400-meter dash, as her time of 58.42 edged Carleton's Reilly Simon (58.79) and St. Olaf's Abby Stets (59.34), and Lundstrom also added a third-place finish in the 55. The Cobbers also had an outstanding showing in the high jump, with Emma Peterson (5-4.25) finishing first by nearly four inches and Vanessa Johnson (5-0.5) finishing in a tie for second place.
Saint John's Max Martin (7.98) claimed the men's 55-meter hurdles title ahead of Hamline's Dylan Olson (8.04) and UST's Nick Hasler (8.09). In the women's hurdles, a pair of St. Catherine teammates followed Saulsberry's record performance, as Shakeela Wells-Johnson (8.45) was second and teammate Brittany Moore (8.48) was third.
The women's 800-meter run was one of the night's closest finishes, as Bethel's Erin Alpers (2:16.00) edged St. Thomas' Aimee Junget (2:16.02) at the finish line in a photo finish. Saint Benedict's Olivia Dengel (2:17.59) finished third. Bethel got another win in the women's 5K, as Mollie Gillberg (17:57.65) seemed to get stronger throughout the race, with Augsburg's Taybri Irving (18:02.87) edging Saint Ben's Kiley Green (18:04.54) for second place.
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The men's 1-mile run was one of Friday's highlights.
(Photo by Matt Higgins, MIAC) |
The Tommies had several standout performances in the field, led by two more top-three finishes by Bailey Cook. The senior soared to a victory in the women's long jump with a distance of 17-4.25 and tied for second in the high jump (5-0.5) day after finishing third in the pentathlon. UST's Connor O'Neill (15-3) and Evan Kiel (14-11) also went 1-2 in the men's pole vault. UST also had Michael Witschen (23-1.25) and Evan Cross (22-7.25) claim the top two spots in the long jump, and the women had Allison Mellin (48-3.5) and Olivia Graham (48-2.75) finish second and third, respectively, in the weight throw.
Speaking of the weight throw, a pair of Gustavus student-athletes tossed their way to MIAC titles in the events, as the Gusties swept the men's and women's title. Sarah Swanson won the women's weight throw with a distance of 50-9.25. In the men's competition, Sam Fischer had an impressive throw of 57-11.75 to defeat defending champion Bryce DeBoer of Bethel (55-9), with Hamline's Travis Jacobson finishing third (54-7.5).
Friday's action concluded with the distance medley relay, and things ended on an exciting note with both races decided by less than three seconds. St. Olaf won the women's title with a time of 12:39.28, just ahead of Bethel (12:41.71) and St. Thomas (12:41.98). Saint John's ran to victory in the men's race with a time of 10:30.82 to beat Bethel (10:31.88) by a second, with St. Olaf in third (10:32.05).
Prior to the start of Friday's session, the men's heptathlon finished up with its final three events, and each of the top four finishers eclipsing the old Recreation Center record score. Concordia's Jackson Schepp won the title with a score of 4,558 points to defeat Carleton's Jack Buckner (4,483 points) and St. Thomas' Preston Huddleston (4,459 points).
The 2016 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships continue with Saturday's final session, which 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. Thursday and Friday's All-Conference performers are listed below, with the Honorable Mention (4-6 individual, 2-6 relay) available in the results.
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 |
Women's Team Scores
1. St. Thomas - 100.9
2. Saint Benedict - 54.7
3. Concordia - 49.9
4. St. Olaf - 44.0
5. Bethel - 42.9
6. Carleton - 31.9
7. Hamline - 25.0
8. St. Catherine - 23.9
9. Augsburg - 22.0
10. Gustavus - 21.0
11. Macalester - 9.0
12. Saint Mary's - 3.0
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Men's Team Scores
1. St. Thomas - 102
2. St. Olaf - 54.0
3. Saint John's - 48.0
4. Carleton - 47.0
5. Hamline - 42.0
6. Bethel - 38.0
7. Gustavus - 33.0
8. Augsburg - 28.0
9. Concordia - 20.0
10. Saint Mary's - 12.0
11. Macalester - 5.0
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Women's All-Conference Performers
(Top 3 individuals, 1st place relay teams)
Pentathlon
1. Madison VanWylen, St. Olaf, 3,194 points
2. Megan Sundstrom, Saint Benedict, 3,087 points
3. Bailey Cook, St. Thomas, 3,061 points
Long Jump
1. Bailey Cook, St. Thomas, 17-4.25
2. Alicia Evenson, Saint Benedict, 17-1.5
3. Carolyn Saulsberry, Hamline, 17-0.5
High Jump
1. Emma Peterson, Concordia, 5-4.25
T2. Vanessa Johnson, Concordia, 5-0.5
T2. Bailey Cook. St. Thomas, 5-0.5
Weight throw
1. Sarah Swanson, Gustavus, 50-9.25
2. Allison Mellin, St. Thomas, 48-3.5
3. Olivia Graham, St. Thomas, 48-2.75
5,000-meter run
1. Mollie Gillberg, Bethel, 17:57.65
2. Taybri Irving, Augsburg, 18:02.87
3. Kiley Green, Saint Benedict, 18:04.54
Mile run
1. Emily Gapinski, St. Thomas, 4:56.39, x2
2. Ruth Steinke, Carleton, 4:59.09
3. Jenny Walz, St. Thomas, 5:10.39
55-meter hurdles
1. Carolyn Saulsberry, Hamline, 8.24, M, R, x2
2. Shakeela Wells-Johnson, St. Catherine, 8.45
3. Brittany Moore, St. Catherine, 8.48
400-meter dash
1. Hannah Lundstrom, Concordia, 58.42
2. Reilly Simon, Carleton, 58.79
3. Abby Stets, St. Olaf, 59.34
800-meter run
1. Erin Alpers, Bethel, 2:16.00
2. Aimee Junget, St. Thomas, 2:16.02
3. Olivia Dengel, Saint Benedict, 2:17.59
55-meter dash
1. Callie Jones, Augsburg, 7.27, x2
2. Megan Maki, St. Thomas, 7.40
3. Hannah Lundstrom, 7.44
Distance Medley Relay
1. St. Olaf, 12:39.28
(Abbey Schnaith, Hayli Marquette, Suzie Hoops, Piper Bain)
Full Women's Results |
Men's All-Conference Performers
(Top 3 individuals, 1st place relay teams)
Heptathlon
1. Jackson Schepp, Concordia, 4,558 points, R
2. Jack Buckner, Carleton, 4,483 points
3. Preston Huddleston, St. Thomas, 4,459 points
Weight Throw
1. Sam Fischer, Gustavus, 57-11.75
2. Bryce DeBoer, Bethel, 55-9
3. Travis Jacobson, Hamline, 54-7.5
Pole Vault
1. Connor O'Neill, St. Thomas, 15-3
2. Evan Keil, St. Thomas, 14-11
3. Derek Huntley, Gustavus, 14-11
Long Jump
1. Michael Witschen, St. Thomas, 23-1.25
2. Evan Cross, St. Thomas, 22-7.25
3. Dwight Alexander, Carleton, 22-0.25
5,000-meter run
1. Hart Hornor, Carleton, 14:28.00, R
2. Ryan Peterson, Hamline, 14:58.50
3. Paul Timm, St. Olaf, 15:00.24
Mile run
1. Paul Escher, St. Olaf, 4:14.70, R, x2
2. Joe Coffey, St. Olaf, 4:15.65
3. Thomas Feichtinger, Saint John's, 4:16.45
55-meter hurdles
1. Max Martin, Saint John's, 7.98
2. Dylan Olson, Hamline, 8.04
3. Nick Hasler, St. Thomas, 8.09
400-meter dash
1. Manni Egbujor, Augsburg, 49.20, R
2. Barinedum Kordah, Augsburg, 49.30
3. Morris Dennis, Saint Mary's, 49.46
800-meter run
1. Jerry Cook-Gallardo, Carleton, 1:54.22, x2
2. Sean Bjork, St. Olaf, 1:55.95
3. Carl Klamm, Bethel, 1:57.90
55-meter dash
1. Undre Smith-Brewer, Augsburg, 6.44, x3
2. Ryan Kuester, Saint John's, 6.54
3. Anthony Ekholm, St. Thomas, 6.56
Distance Medley Relay
1. Saint John's, 10:30.82
(Lukas Buehler, Max Martin, Thomas Feichtinger, Ryan Bugler)
Full Men's Results |
Key - M=Meet Record, x2=Repeat Champion, x3=3-time champ, R=Recreation Center Record
| 2016 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships |