St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams are set to compete in the MIAC Championships being held May 8-9 on the campus of Macalester College in St. Paul. This weekend’s action will begin on Friday with events starting at 2:30 p.m.
The Gustavus men’s team will look to improve on its fifth place finish in 2014, while the women will look for an improvement on last season’s eighth place finish.
On the track, the Gustie men will look to Sean O’Connell (So., St. Peter, Minn.) and Scott Williams (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) to lead the way. O’Connell ranks fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.33), while Williams ranks fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.78) and sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (56.70).
On the women’s side, Caitlin Fermoyle (Mendota Heights, Minn.) ranks fifth in the3,000-meter steeplechase (11:43.67) and third in the 10,000-meter run (37:38.40). Marit Sonnesyn (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) adds depth in the distance races, ranking second in the 10,000-meter (37:34.82) and 14th in the 5,000-meter (18:40.13).
In the throws are where the Gustie women will look to do their most damage. The reigning MIAC hammer throw champion, Liz Weiers (Sr., Le Center, Minn.), looks to defend her title with top throw in the MIAC so far at 173-feet 11-inches. Sarah Swanson (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) ranks third in the discus (131’ 1”) and sixth in the shot put (41’ 10.75”), while Kaylee Maxon (Sr., New Richmond, Minn.) ranks fourth in the hammer (152’ 6”).
Top-ranked individuals in the field events for the men include Jesse Scheiterlein (Sr., Sartell, Minn.), Nick Carlson (Sr., Fridley, Minn.), and Alex Logan (Jr., Chaska, Minn.). Scheiterlein ranks first in the hammer (165’ 1”), Carlson ranks third in the javelin (178’ 6”), and Logan ranks sixth in the discus (141’ 7”).
From The MIAC
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.
The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2015 Outdoor Championships, complete with venue and admission information, the event schedule, entries, heat sheets 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 Macalester will also team up with the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network to offer a live video webcast of the meet as well. Fans can connect to the conference throughout the meet on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube using the hashtag #MIACOTF.
Admission for the event is $7 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 Macalester College and their coaches and staff for their efforts to host the event.