Rhonemus Goes Postal To Deliver 2nd-Place Finish

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (5/05/23)---Consider the 2023 MIAC decathlon as an on-the-job mailman training for senior Wade Rhonemus.

Rhonemus overcame several weather conditions, including a 2-hour lightning delay, and delivered a career-best performance on Day 2 on his way to a second-place finish in the multi-event competition.   

Rhonemus won two of the five events on Friday on his way to a personal-best score of 6,189 points. That total is ninth best in program history and puts him in the Top 20 of Division III this year with a very good chance to qualify for the national meet.

Rhonemus' two event wins on the second day of the decathlon came back-to-back in the discus and pole vault. He started his double-win window with a career-best distance of 110-09. That mark was over 8-feet farther than his previous PR of 102-00.

Rhonemus followed that by putting up a winning height of 13-09.25 in the pole vault. The two event wins earned Rhonemus a combined total of 1,212 points, pushing him into second place in the overall decathlon competition.

The 673 points earned for his win in the pole vault turned out to be the second-highest point total of the five events on Friday. His other 600-plus-point events came in the day's opener and closer. He clocked a 16.58 in the 110-meter hurdles and recorded 669 points, and then cemented his runner-up finish with a career-best time of 4:40.56 in the 1500 meters. That time   

Rhonemus finished the decathlon by posting a distance of 131-06 in the javelin and a time of 4:40.56 in the 1500 meters. His time in the 1500 was a career-best by over 10 seconds. It also netted him 677 points, his third highest of the 10 events.

Rhonemus earns the Cobbers eight team points for the overall team standings in the MIAC Championship Meet, which takes place next weekend at Bethel.