SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s track & field team sits in second place with 43 points after seven events scored Friday at the MIAC Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of St. Thomas. The Gusties earned two conference titles, broke two MIAC meet records, while four more advanced to the finals Saturday.
“We saw personal bests across the board today with everyone going out and competing their best,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said.
Michael Hensch (Sr., North Branch, Minn.) highlighted day one of the meet by winning both events he competed in. He set a new school and MIAC Championships meet record of 200-07 (61.13 meters) in the hammer throw, beating his own school record and the previous meet record of 60.62 meters set in 2011. Hensch also won the discus with a throw of 156-04.
“For him to go in and set a conference record, school record, and beat the reigning NCAA champion, you can’t speak highly enough about his composure,” Bahr said.
Taylor Rooney (So., Andover, Minn.) also impressed on day one, smashing the school and meet record in the 110 hurdles with a preliminary time of 14.09, breaking his own school record and the MIAC meet record of 14.36, set in 2001. Rooney also earned All-Conference in the high jump with a second-place 6-5.5 leap, and advanced to the finals in the 100-meter.
“Its impressive for a sophomore to do these things,” Bahr said. “He’s a true team player by helping the team get more points because he is capable of doing it. To me his maturity is the key to his success and that has made a big jump from his first year.”
Andrew Stumbo (So., Boone, Iowa) also earned All-Conference, taking third in the 10K with a time of 31:40.18. Noah Johnson (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) advanced to the finals in the 800-meter, taking second in the prelims with a time of 1:55.94. Bridger Pavelka (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) also advanced to the finals in the 1500-meter.
“Andrew, Noah, and Bridger all ran a smart race,” Bahr said. “Noah in particular is really learning the event this year after struggling a bit through the season. I was very pleased with Andrew showing some great composure through his 6.2 mile race. Along with Andrew Puett (Sr., St. Michael, Minn.) scoring in the disc and Xander scoring in the long jump.”
Here are the top Gusties marks from Friday:
Prelims
100 meters
- Taylor Rooney – 11.10 *advances to final
200 meters
- Matthew Montplaisir – 23.31
400 meters
- Wyatt Quirring – 50.82
800 meters
- Noah Johnson – 1:55.94 *advances to final
1500 meters
- Bridger Pavelka – 4:09.03 *advances to final
110 hurdles
- Rooney – 14.09 *advances to final (won by 1.22) *MIAC Championships record
Finals
10000 meters
- Andrew Stumbo – 31:40.18
High jump
- Rooney – 6-5.5
Long jump
- Xander DuMoulin – 21-6.75
Discus
- Michael Hensch – 156-04
8. Andrew Puett – 142-02
Hammer
- Hensch – 200-07 *MIAC Championships record
4×800 relay
- Ben Madigan, Max Bauer, Nick Olfert, Dylan Gast – 7:57.21
The MIAC Championships continue at 2 p.m. Saturday.