Northfield, Minn. – The opening day of the 2013 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships saw records fall and surprise performances as both the Gustavus men’s and women’s teams have put themselves in position to make a run at the podium in day two.
The Gustie women tallied 44 points to end the opening day in fourth place just one point back of third place Bethel (45 pts.). St. Thomas leads on the women’s side with 106 points, while Carleton sits in second with 47 points.
“I’m happy with where we are at after the first day and this is exactly the type of meet we thought it would be,” said Head Coach Dale Bahr talking about where his women’s squad sits after day one. “We scored the points we were supposed to and probably squeaked out a few extra, which was great to see. The women are on course and have set themselves up for what should be a fun second day.”
On the men’s side Gustavus totaled 33 points to end the day in fifth. St. Thomas paced the field with 108 points, St. Olaf sits in second with 82, and Bethel rounds out the top three in third with 43. The Gusties will chase Hamline who has 40 points and sits ahead of them in fourth.
Gustavus senior Allyson Voss (Wausau, Wis.) turned in the team’s top performance of the day by becoming the 2013 MIAC Champion in the pole vault. Voss successfully defended her 2012 title in the event and can now etch her name in the Gustavus history books as the first Gustie to win back-to-back gold medals in the indoor pole vault competition. The Wausau, Wis. native is also the first Gustavus student-athlete to ever win gold twice in the pole vault. Voss cleared 12-feet 4.5-inches to break both the meet record and school record. The former meet and school records were held by Gustie Janna Castellano and were set in 2007. Castellano’s meet record was 12-feet 2-inches while her school record stood at 12-feet 3.5-inches.
Behind Voss on the pole vault finished Nevada Wendlandt (Jr., Maplewood, Minn.) who takes home All-Conference honors after clearing 11-feet 2.25-inches. Kelsey Harms (Fy., Apple Valley, Minn.) also added to the Gustie presence in the event by finishing in a three-way tie for sixth with a height of 10-feet 0.5-inches.
“The vault was huge for us – anytime you can place three in the top eight, that’s a good event,” commented Bahr about Gustavus’ showing in the pole vault. “Ally really pulled herself together today. Last week she broke a pole and you never know how a pole vaulter is going to recover from that. She bounced back, went to a bigger pole, and earned a trip to nationals with her performance.”
The Gustie women also benefited from the All-Conference performance of Rebecca Hare (So., Albany, Minn.) on the track. Hare, who was seeded eighth entering the day, placed third in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:17.63. She finished just ahead of teammate Beth Hauer (Sr., Little Falls, Minn.) who finished fourth in 18:21.93.
The Gustie men started out the day on a high note after Cameron Clause (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) posted a second place finish in the heptathlon with a total of 4,781 points. His score in the heptathlon breaks Gustavus’s school record previously held by Drew Hood set in 2008.
Clause held on to his second place standing from the opening day of the competition, earning All-Conference marks in the heptathlon for the second consecutive season. The junior capped the competition with a third place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (9.08) and a pair of wins in the pole vault with a height of 14-feet 4-inches and the 1000-meter run with a time 2:48.95. Although running nearly raged in the heptathlon, Clause still managed to add a sixth place finish in the long jump with a leap of 21-feet 4.75 inches.
“Outstanding showing by Cameron in the heptathlon this weekend,” said Bahr. “He is currently sitting 10th on the national list after achieving a PR in four events.”
Blair Riegel (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) and Phillip Butler (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) also earned All-Conference distinction for the men. Riegel recorded a leap of 22-feet 6.25-inches to place runner-up in the long jump, while also coming in fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.08. Butler earned a spot on the podium in the 60-meter dash with a third place finish, crossing the finish line in 7.06.
Eric Jorgenson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) rounded out the top male competitors with a sixth place run in the 800-meter with a time of 1:58.05.
“We’ve set ourselves up well after meeting our projections after day one,” commented Bahr on the status of the men’s team. “We’re in good position to finish the job and make a run aat the teams in the middle of the pack.”
Other top performers on the track for the women’s team included Haley Kemper (So., Prior Lake, Minn.) and the distance medley relay. Kemper finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.85, and the DMR comprised of Courtney Branch (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn.), Kemper, Jenny Hendricks (Sr., New Prague, Minn.), and Lyndsi Schwichtenberg (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) added a surprise fifth place finish in 12:53.74.
In the field events, Lauren Rothschiller (Sr., Chaska, Minn.) recorded a distance of 35-feet 4-inches in the triple jump to take fourth, while Leah Brossoit (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) provided an eighth place finish in the same event with a mark of 34-feet 7-inches. Elizabeth Weiers (So., Le Center, Minn.) rounded out the team’s top performers by taking ninth in the weight throw with a toss of 45-feet 3.75-inches.
The three-day meet concludes Saturday, starting with field events at 11 a.m. and track at 1 p.m. Saturday’s final event begins at 4:15 p.m., and there will be a short awards ceremony following the conclusion of the meet to honor both 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.
Saturday’s schedule includes six field events – the men’s weight throw, triple jump and pole vault and the women’s long jump, high jump and shot put. Saturday’s running events include two relays – the 4×200-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay – as well as four individual events. Both the men and women will compete in the 200-meter dash, 600-meter run, 1,000-meter run and 3,000-meter run.The full schedule of events is online here.
The MIAC has a Web page dedicated to the event, and complete results, recaps, and multimedia coverage of the championships will be available on that site throughout the event. There will be live results available for all events courtesy of Apple Raceberry Jam and fans can also find entries and heat sheets on the MIAC’s event page as they become available. Fans can interact about the MIAC Championships on Twitter at @MIAConline and with the hashtag #MIACITF.
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. St. Olaf is offering parking for spectators in several campus lots, including H Lot, Rand Lot and Buntrock Commons. Visit St. Olaf’s event page for complete information, including parking and directions. The MIAC would like to thank St. Olaf College, its coaches, and its staff, for its efforts as the host school.