ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to compete at the MIAC Indoor Championships this weekend, hosted by Macalester College at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. The heptathlon and pentathlon take place Thursday and Friday, while the field and track events are Friday and Saturday. Last season, the Gustie men took ninth place with 41 points, while the women took 11th with nine points.
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The MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships begin Thursday with the multi-event competitions. The women’s pentathlon starts at 2 p.m. with the men’s heptathlon beginning 20 minutes later. The heptathlon finishes up Friday morning at 10 a.m., with Friday’s field events set to start at 3:30 p.m. and track to follow at 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s final session starts with 10:15 a.m. field events and 1 p.m. track events.
Saturday’s final event begins at 4:05 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 4th-through-6th place finishers in each open event and 2nd-through-6th place relay teams will all be named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Last Time Out
The Gustavus men and women both competed at the Maverick Invite at Minnesota State Mankato last Friday, each competing well against Division II competition.
The Gustie men recorded five individual first place finishes. Taylor Rooney (Fy., Andover, Minn.) continues to improve upon his 60-meter hurdle time, turning in a season-best time of 8.14, which is tied for fourth best in Division III. Four other Gusties earned top crowns, including Ben Madigan (Jr., Kohler, Wis.), Ryley Sandberg (Sr., Polk City, Iowa), Andrew Stumbo (Fy., Boone, Iowa), and Jeremy Gilbertson (Fy., Maple Grove, Minn.).
Madigan notched the top-time in the 600-meter run at 1:24.31. Sandberg crossed the finish line in the 1,000-meter run at 2:34.61, a career-best indoor time. Stumbo won the mile run with a time of 4:28.32. Finally, recently fresh off an injury, Gilbertson finished 15 seconds ahead of the closest competitor for first place at 8:59.49.
Sadie Klug (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) and McKayla Stowell (Jr., Le Sueur, Minn.) turned in the top finishes for the Gustie women, each coming away with runner-up times. Klug finished at 5:21.08 in the mile run, while Stowell 7.76 time in the 60-meter dash is a career-best indoor time and the seventh-best in Division III. For her performance, Stowell was named MIAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week.