The Gustavus Adolphus men’s track and field team captured four titles en route to a third place finish at the 2007 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held last weekend at Saint John’s University in Collegeville. Saint John’s won the team title with 225 points, followed by St. Thomas with 178. The Gusties were a distant third with 94 points.
The Gusties picked up their first conference title Friday afternoon as Andy Klaers (Sr., Loretto, Minn./Delano) won the hammer throw with an NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 171 feet. Klaers also took second in the discus Friday with a throw of 162-8, also an NCAA provisional qualifying effort.
The other three championship efforts came Saturday as Drew Hood (Jr., Mankato, Minn./West) won the pole vault (15-4 1/4), Alex Zupan (Sr., Monona, Wis./Monona Grove) won the 3000 steeplechase (9:31.60) and Tanner Miest (Sr., Willmar, Minn./New London-Spicer) won the 110 hurdles (14.58). For Miest, it was his third straight MIAC outdoor crown in the event after placing second as a freshman. His time of 14.58 seconds was just 0.05 seconds off the Gustavus school record he set at last year’s MIAC Championships.
Tyler Geyen (So., Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) made it a 1-2 Gustavus sweep in the 110 hurdles, crossing the line just behind Miest in a time of 15.10. Geyen also took eighth in the 400 hurdles, stopping the clock in 56.32.
Luke Weyandt (Sr., Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) scored in three field events on the weekend, placing sixth in the discus Friday (144-6) and adding a fifth in the javelin (163-8) and a seventh in the shot put (44-4) on Saturday.
Also scoring in three events for the Gusties was Cole Carlson (Fr., Mora, Minn.). Carlson took third in the 400-meter dash (48.94), fifth in the 200 (22.76) and then ran on the sixth-place 4×400 meter relay team with Ben Treichel (Jr., Webster, Wis.), Adam Caulfield (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.), and Jake Fourre (Fr., Corcoran, Minn./Buffalo). The quartet finished with a time of 3:21.45. Treichel also finished fifth in the 400 (49.35).
Gustavus also picked up points in the other two relays, placing fourth in the 4×100 Saturday and sixth in the 4×800 Friday. The 4×100 team of Dan Marti (Sr., Sleepy Eye, Minn.), Aaron Gibson (Fr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Jeff Fowler (Fr., Jackson, Minn./Jackson County Central), and Ray Wilson (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace) stopped the clock in 42.67 seconds, while the 4×800 team of Chris Ward (Sr., Mapleton, Minn./Maple River), Chris deLaubenfels (Jr., Mount Vernon, Iowa), Fourre, and Zupan crossed the line in 8:00.79.
Brian Anderson (Fr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) also contributed a point by placing eight in the shot put with a heave of 43-10 1/2.
Final selections for the 2007 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be announced Sunday, May 20. This year’s championships will be held at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh May 24-26.