MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championship Meet Preview

MIAC Championship Meet preview courtesy of Matt Higgins - MIAC Office

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Last season, the University of St. Thomas made it a perfect 30-for-30 at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Tommies won their 30th conference championship, and continued a stranglehold on the MIAC title as the only team to ever capture the MIAC men's indoor championship.

Now, the 2015 MIAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships are about to begin with St. Thomas looking to win title No. 31 in a row, while the other 11 teams all enter with hopes that this will finally be the year someone other than UST hosts the trophy at the end. The 2015 meet will be hosted by Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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St. Thomas won its 30th-straight title in 2014 by a margin of 60 points over second-place St. Olaf, 186 to 126. Hamline was a close third, also cracking triple digits with 115.5 points. Saint John's was fourth on its home track with 79 points, and Bethel (69.5) edged Gustavus (63.5) by six points for the final spot in the top five. Carleton was seventh (48.5), Concordia (35.5) finished just ahead of Augsburg (32) for eighth and Macalester (22.5) and Saint Mary's (two) rounded out the 2014 standings.

Two of last year's top three award-winners are back, led by St. Olaf senior star Grant Wintheiser. A year ago, Wintheiser set MIAC meet records while winning the mile and 3,000-meter runs, and received the Men's Outstanding Track Performance Award. Wintheiser has also won three Athlete-of-the-Year awards in cross country, and is the 2014 Division III cross country national champion. Hamline Head Coach Paul Schmaedeke received the 2014 Coach-of-the-Year award after guiding the Pipers to a top-three finish. The other two top awards (field athlete, performance) were both claimed by Gustavus senior Cameron Clause for his MIAC meet record in the pentathlon.

In addition to Wintheiser, who won't run the mile but will aim to win his third-straight MIAC 3K title, there are six other athletes back attempting to defend MIAC titles in their respective events, led by St. Thomas' Brian Jarvey in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Augsburg Undre Smith-Brewer is the defending champ in the 60-meter dash, Hamline has two defending champs back in Will Warmka (600-meter run) and Mark Volker (pole vault), Saint John's Thomas Feichtinger will try to win another title in the 800-meter run and St. Olaf's Jake Campbell is back to defend his 5,000-meter run championship.

The Tommies have high hopes to continue their amazing reign at the top, led by the return of Jarvey in the sprinting events. Junior sprinter will join Jarvey after five top-four finishes as last year's MIAC indoor and outdoor meets, and the team will be led in the field by All-American pole vaulter Connor O'Neill, thrower Matt Schauer and jumper Michael Witschen.

St. Olaf - the 2013 national champ in cross country and runner-up last fall - is loaded in the running events behind Wintheiser and Campbell. James McFarlin is back to lead the Oles in the sprints, along with junior Kevin Skrip, and Paul Escher will anchor the team in the middle-distance events.

Hamline has a pair of MIAC champs back in Volker and Warmka, and Tom Larson will lead in the sprinting events after taking home the MIAC's top track award at last year's outdoor championships. The Pipers also have Eric Hansen back in the hurdles and Isaac Kruse running middle distance. Speaking of middle distance, Saint John's will again be led by Feichtinger who is the defending 800 champ and has the MIAC's top time in the 1,000-meter run. Joe Koll and Raymond Twumasi will help the Johnnies in the jumping events and Ryan Kuester enters the meet as the team's top sprinter.

Bethel will be led by a balanced nucleus this season, starting with thrower Bryce DeBoer, who is seeded No. 1 in the weight throw and No. 3 in the shot put. Matt Berens is back to lead the Royals in the middle distance events, Cody Britt will contend in the pole vault, and Patrick Klamm is the team's No. 1 sprinter. Gustavus will try to replace Clause with sophomore Sean O'Connell in the multi-event competition. Jesse Scheiterlein lead Gustavus in the throws, Thomas Knobbe is the team's top distance runner and Scott Williams will run the hurdles for Gustavus.

Carleton has a lot to be excited about, as Colby Seyferth enters with the MIAC's No. 1 ranking in the 200, 400 and heptathlon. Distance runners Hart Hornor and Jonah Barry are also back for the Knights, and rookie Jerry Cook-Gallardo has the MIAC's top time in the 800. Concordia will have the luxury of hosting and competing on its home track, and the team also welcomes back talented sprinter Ben Vickstrom and jumper Brandon Zylstra. The hometown Cobber fans are also excited about Josh Murrey in the pole vault, Jackson Schepp in the jumping events, and junior athlete Gabe Wright.

Augsburg has high hopes in the sprints with defending 60-meter champ Smith-Brewer back, and he's joined by Barinedum Kordah who is looking for further success in the sprints and long jump. School-record holder Sean Adams will also represent the Auggies in the multi-event competition. Macalester has school record-holder and MIAC outdoor champ Logan Hovie back in the high jump, and he'll be joined by rookie sprinter Jack Schultenover and senior distance runner Joe Giamberdino. Saint Mary's is also set in the distance events with Aaron Haley and Jovan Newsom both back, along with senior thrower Tyler Kircher.

The 2015 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships begin Thursday with the multi-event competitions. The women's pentathlon (Heat Sheet - Live Results) starts at 2 p.m. with the men's heptathlon (Heat Sheets - Live Results) beginning 15 minutes later. The heptathlon finishes up Friday morning at 10:30 a.m., with Friday's field events set to start at 2 p.m. and track to follow at 4 p.m. Saturday's final session starts with 10:15 a.m. field events and 12:30 p.m. track events.
 
Saturday's final event begins at 3:40 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.

The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2015 Indoor 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.

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 Concordia College and their coaches and staff for their efforts to host the event.