St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s indoor track and field team had a strong showing in its final regular season meet on Friday at the Pre-MIAC Meet held at the Leonard Center on the campus of the Macalester College. The Gusties turned in the top score at the five-team competition, recording 135.5 points to edge second place Hamline who scored 129.5 points. The meet served as the squad’s last outing before the upcoming MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships set to take place next weekend.
Gustavus benefited greatly from its track competitors who recorded a total of six individual finishes inside the top three. In the 3,000-meter run, Gustavus filled out the podium with Thomas Knobbe (Fr., Decorah, Iowa) winning the race with a time of 9:08.78. Evan Jones (Fr., Pella, Iowa) finished runner-up behind his classmate with a time of 9:08.84, and Paul Nordquist (So., Edina, Minn.) came in third with a time of 9:12.01.
The Gusties took the top two spots in the 60-meter hurdles. Scott Williams (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) crossed the finish line in 8.84 to win the race, while Jordan Lovestrand (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.) turned in a time of 8.86 to take second.
Tanner Davenport (Sr., Ham Lake, Minn.) rounded out Gustavus’s top competitors on the track by finishing second in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:38.59.
In the field events, Blair Riegel (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) and Cameron Clause (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) led the way. Riegel won the triple jump with a distance of 43-feet 9.25-inches and finished second in the long jump with a mark of 21-feet 4.75-inches. Cameron Clause added a second place finish after going over the bar at 15-feet 5-inches in the pole vault.
Gustavus will be back in action next weekend when it competes in the 2014 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The MIAC meet will be held March 6-8, at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.