2017 MIAC Indoor Meet Preview
MIAC Championship Meet preview courtesy of Matt Higgins - MIAC Office
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In the 32-year history of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships, only the University of St. Thomas has hoisted the trophy. This weekend, the Tommies will try to make it 33 MIAC titles in as many years, and they'll get to try to extend one of the conference's most impressive streaks on their home track.
The 2017 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at St. Thomas' Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex in St. Paul, Minn., with the Tommies looking to stay perfect in the conference indoor world, while the rest of the league aims to finally end UST's run at the top.
A year ago, Head Coach Steve Mathre's team made it 32 in a row as St. Thomas pulled away with 166 total points. St. Olaf continued its strong performance of late, finishing second with 105 points, and Saint John's scored 90 to edge Hamline (88) by just two points for third. Carleton finished fifth with 81 points, Bethel had 62 points in sixth. Augsburg scored an even 50 points to finish seventh and Gustavus (48), Concordia (45), Saint Mary's (25) and Macalester (20) rounded out the rest of the 2016 standings.
This season, there have already been plenty of standout performances, school records broken, and times and marks that rank among the best in the nation, and the MIAC men are just getting warmed up. The 2017 Indoor Championships is expected to see those times go even lower, and the marks go even higher as the league's best compete for conference titles, All-Conference honors and moments that will last a lifetime.
The Tommies have plenty of reason to be optimistic their streak will continue, with another deep and talented lineup. Leading the way will be senior Connor O'Neill, who enters as the top seed in three events, including top 13 national marks in the heptathlon and pole vault. Senior thrower Micah Hausman is expected to continue a strong season in both the shot put and the weight throw, and Nick Spann enters as the MIAC's top seed in both the long and triple jump events.
St. Olaf is again expected to be strong in the middle distance and distance races as they eye another top-two finish and hope to be St. Thomas' chief competitor. Jacob Eggers and Joe Coffey are back to lead another talented crop of runners for Head Coach Phil Lundin. Nick Woods leads the Oles in the field events, as he leads the team's efforts in the throwing events (shot put, weight throw).
Saint John's and second-year Head Coach Jeremy Karger-Gatzow have high hopes for another top-three finish behind the return of distance runner Ryan Bugler – the outdoor national champ in the steeplechase – sophomore hurdler Max Martin and jumping specialist Raymond Twumasi. Hamline is loaded in the field events once again, and similarly strong on the track, as the Pipers eye another strong MIAC performance. Eric Dols and Travis Jacobson lead an especially strong group of Hamline throwers in the shot put and weight throw, and Isaac Kruse is the top returner on the track after a school-record time in the 600 last week.
Carleton again has a strong team with versatile strength, led by middle distance runner Jerry Cook-Gallardo, who is enjoying an outstanding junior season after All-American honors in the 800 a year ago. Multi-event star Jack Buckner is also back, and Ben Withbroe gives the Knights a talented senior in the 600, 800 and relays. Bethel's sprinters have been dominant thus far in 2017, and sophomores Carl Klamm (400) and Karl Olsen (200) both lead the MIAC and rank in the top eight nationally in their events. The Royals also have high hopes for their relay teams, particularly in the 4x400.
Augsburg's stars have been shining bright lately as All-American sprinter Emmanual Egbujor is back in top form alongside three-time MIAC 60-meter champ Undre Smith-Brewer, and versatile Barinedum Kordah is fresh off breaking the school long jump record. Gustavus hopes for a strong track showing after a much-improved cross country season, with runner Kyle Frederickson, hurdler Trevor Maxwell and thrower Michael Hensch leading the Gusties into the conference meet.
Concordia was ninth a year ago, but the Cobbers have serious cause for optimism with school-record holder Matthew Lillehaugen back on the track, defending MIAC heptathlon champ Jackson Schepp eyeing a repeat title and school-record sprinter David Supinski looking for a breakout performance. Saint Mary's is excited about the prospects of national cross country qualifier Jovan Newsum in the distance events, school-record sprinter Brandon Krogman and fellow sprinter Kyle Lichttenegger, who shattered the Cardinal record in the 60. Macalester has high hopes in the middle distance events thanks to senior Lachlan Hinwood (mile, 1,500) and Henry Harper (3k) and junior Jack Schultenover leads the Scots in the sprinting events.
The 2017 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 4 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.
The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2017 Indoor Championships, complete with venue and admission information, the event schedule, and it will be updated with entries, heat sheets and links to follow the results live as they become available. Results, recaps, and multimedia coverage of the championships will be available throughout the event. There will be live results available for all events, and fans can also find entries and heat sheets on the MIAC's event page as they become available.
Admission for the event is $8 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 the University of St. Thomas coaches and staff for their efforts to host the event.