Junior Jesse Middendorf broke the 33-year-old school record in the 800 meters at the Ron Masanz Classic. It is also the fifth fastest in DIII this year.
Junior Jesse Middendorf broke the 33-year-old school record in the 800 meters at the Ron Masanz Classic. It is also the fifth fastest in DIII this year.
Posted: May 01, 2021

33 Years In The Making

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/01/21)---Junior Jesse Middendorf used the sunshine and 80-degree weather to break the school record in the 800 meters at the Ron Masanz Classic hosted by MSU Moorhead on Saturday.

Middendorf was one of two Cobber event winners at the meet as he added the outdoor 800 record to his indoor 800 school mark which he set earlier this year.

Middendorf tore through the two laps around the oval in a time of 1:51.27. That won the race, which featured NCAA Division I and II and top NAIA athletes, by almost a full three seconds. His time broke the 33-year-old old Cobber program record by .67 of a second. The old mark was set in 1988 by Greg Defor.

Middendorf's winning time drops his MIAC-leading mark in the event. He is now tied for fifth in all of Division III and that record-setting time should punch his ticket to the NCAA DIII Championship Meet in Greensboro, N.C.  

Cal Wright was the other event winner for the Cobbers on Saturday. He was the only athlete to break the 50-second barrier in the 400 meters and won the race with a finishing time of 49.71.     

Wright still owns the top time in the MIAC in the 400 this season. He posted a 48.64 at the SJU Meet on Apr. 10 which is the fastest by a MIAC athlete this year and No.23 in the nation.

The other top track finish on Saturday was turned in by senior Munir Isahak who broke the 4-minute barrier in the 1500 meters for the first time in his career. He finished third in the event with a time of 3:59.79. That mark is the fastest run by a CC athlete since 2017 and is the 12th best in program history. It is also ninth fastest in the conference this year.

Concordia's top even on the field side came in the shot put where freshman Cooper Folkestad and senior Jacob Steiner recorded a 2-3 finish. Folkestad was second with a distance of 50-02.00 while Steiner was less than an inch behind with a final mark of 50-01.25. Both distances were just shy of season bests for the two. Folkestad is currently No.3 in the MIAC with a mark of 51-0.00 and Steiner is fifth at 50-05.00.

Folkestad was also eighth in the discus while Steiner posted an 11th-place finish in the hammer throw. Folkestad earned his second Top 10 finish at the meet with a throw of 137-01. Steiner had a mark of 140-01 in the hammer.       

The other Top 5 field finishes for CC were turned in by Wade Rhonemus who continues to prepare for the MIAC Decathlon next weekend. Rhonemus was fourth in the javelin with a distance of 141-10 and fifth in the pole vault at 13-05.75. His height in the pole vault is a career best.
  
UP NEXT: Rhonemus will compete in the MIAC decathlon on May 6-7 at Carleton while the rest of the Cobbers head to Vermillion, S.D to compete in the USD Tune-Up on Friday, May 7 at 2:30 p.m.