The Gustavus women’s track and field team is the current leader with 56.5 points following day one of competition at the 2011 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships being held on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College May 13-14 in St. Peter, Minn. Concordia sits in second place with 46 points, while St. Thomas is in third with 40.5 points.
Seniors Janey Helland and Sam Broderius led the Gusties on the opening day. Helland, who repeated as the MIAC’s heptathlon champion last weekend, recorded three finishes in the top-five. She successfully defended her title in the long jump, winning with a leap of 18-4.5 to three-peat as champion in the event. Helland also finished third in the javelin with a toss of 122-0 and fifth in the high jump after clearing 5-1.25.
Sam Broderius also successfully defended her two-time title in the shot put, recording a toss of 45-1.75 to win her third consecutive shot put title. The mark was Broderius’ career-best.
Sarah Baker also earned All-Conference honors by finishing runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 18-1.
The Gusties placed two runners in the top-10 in the 10,000-meter run, as Beth Hauer took sixth with a time of 37:26.54, and Brooke Beskau placed eighth with a time of 38:07.41.
“I’m excited to see us compete tomorrow,” said Head Coach Dale Bahr. “We had some really good performances today and the door is open for us to make a run in day two.”
Day two of the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will begin with the men’s javelin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 in St. Peter.