Northfield, Minn. – Following a strong start that saw the Gustavus women’s outdoor track and field in fifth place with 37 points, the Gusties capped the 2014 MIAC Championships with 14 points on day two, dropping them into a tie for eighth place with a two day total of 51 points. This season’s MIAC Championships were held at the Ade Christenson Track and Field Complex on the campus of St. Olaf College.
The University of St. Thomas claimed the MIAC title with 187 points. Carleton College finished second with 114 points, and Concordia rounded out the podium in third with 105.3 points.
The squad’s top performances of the day came courtesy of Mikaela Algren (Fy., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Hayley Solheim (So., Crookston, Minn.). Algren crossed the finish line in 2:17.09 for a fourth place finish in the 800-meter run, and Solheim recorded a toss of 42-feet 9.50-inches for a fourth place showing in the shot put. ‘’
After finishing fifth in the 10,000-meter run on day one, Marit Sonnesyn (So., Plymouth, Minn.) went back to work and posted a sixth place finish in the 5,000-meter with a time of 18:11.96.
Gustie throwers filled three of the top eight positions in the shot put. Rachel Colter (Jr., North St. Paul, Minn.) took sixth (41’ 7.25”), while Sarah Swanson (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) came in eighth (41’ 2.25’).
There was a brief awards ceremony Saturday to honor both the men’s and women’s team champions. The top three individuals in each event and the first-place relay team will automatically earn All-Conference honors, and the fourth- through sixth-place finishers in each open event and second- through sixth-place relay teams will all be named All-Conference Honorable Mention. Complete outdoor track awards will be voted on by coaches and announced in the coming week.