The Gustavus track and field team will have three female and two male competitors representing the Gustavus three crowns at the 2011 MIAC Multi’s on May 5-6. The women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon will be held at the Manitou Track and Field complex located on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. this Thursday and Friday.
On the women’s side, last season’s MIAC heptathlon champion Janey Helland (Mapleton, Minn.) will look to defend her title and become the first ever repeat champion in school history. Helland won the heptathlon competition last season with a score of 4,508. She enters the meet with an NCAA automatic qualifying score of 4,735 after taking fifth place at the Drake Relays. Her mark at Drake is currently tops in the MIAC.
Joining Helland will be fellow senior Laura Secor (Stillwater, Minn.) and junior Erica Roelofs (Vernon Center, Minn.). Secor is no stranger to the MIAC heptathlon, finishing eighth with 3,560 points last season and seventh with 3,686 points her sophomore year. She ranks ninth in the heptathlon with a mark of 3,135, which she scored at the Wartburg Select on April 1. Erica Roelofs will be making her debut appearance at the MIAC Multi’s.
The men’s squad will feature senior Carl Stenoien (Underwood, Minn.) and freshman Matt Flotterud (Cannon Falls, Minn.). Stenoien is back in the decathlon after passing on the event last year. In his sophomore year, he finished ninth with 5,290 points. Stenoien ranks second in the decathlon entering the meet, recording a score of 5,373 at the Wartburg Select. Matt Flotterud will look to score points in his rookie season in the black and yellow. Flotterud enters with the fourth best score in the MIAC at 4,725.
The MIAC Multi’s will begin on Thursday, May 5, with the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400-meter run portions of the decathlon, and the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-meter dash segments of the heptathlon. The men’s 100-meter dash will kick off the decathlon at 12:30 p.m., while the 100-meter hurdles will start the heptathlon at 12:00 p.m.
The competitions will conclude on Friday, May 6, with the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500-meter run of the decathlon, and the long jump, javelin, and 800-meter run of the heptathlon. Day two will begin with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles at 10:00 a.m., and the heptathlon long jump at 12:00 p.m. Individual scores will count towards their respective team scores at the upcoming MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in St. Peter, Minn. on May 13-14.
Decathlon and Heptathlon Heat Sheets