A Pair Of Event Wins On Day 1

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (3/04/16)—A pair of event wins on the first day of the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet has Concordia in third place heading into the final nine events of the competition.

Hannah Lundstrom and Emma Peterson supplied the individual event titles for the Cobbers as CC finished the opening day with 49.9 team points which is 4.8 points behind second-place St. Benedict.

Lundstrom continues to step to the forefront of the three shortest races in the MIAC in 2016. Lundstrom won the 400 meters on Friday with a season-best time of 58.42. Her finishing time was 0.21 of a second faster than her previous season best and the third fastest 400 in school history.

Lundstrom's night wasn't over as she went on to earn All-Conference (top 3 finishers in each event) in the 55-meter dash. Lundstrom qualified for the finals in a time of 7.49 and bettered that with a mark of 7.44 in the finals which earned her third place. Her time is a season best and only .10 of a second off of the school record set in 2004.

Peterson captured her first-ever MIAC title in the high jump and collected her second consecutive All-Conference award in the indoor high jump. Peterson won the 2016 event with the same height she posted for a third-place finish last year at 5-04.25. Her winning height is a season best and was almost four inches better than teammate Vanessa Johnson who finished second in the event for the second straight season.

Johnson cleared 5-0.50 and was a part of four CC athletes to score team points in the event. Freshman Jenna Stilwell posted a height of 5-0.50 and was in fifth place while senior Anna Skow-Anderson was tied for sixth at 4-10.50. Both Stilwell and Skow-Anderson earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors for their fourth-through-sixth place finishes.

The only other Cobber athlete to finish in the top 10 on Day 1 was junior Mandy Mercil who placed ninth in the weight throw. She qualified for finals with a distance of 44-01.50 which wound up being her finishing mark for her six attempts.

Mercil's finishing distance was a major step up from her previous season best mark. She qualified for the event with a throw of 37-03.00 and was seeded 20th heading into the championship meet.

Senior Melissa Uhrich and freshman Sarah Kuball ran in the indoor mile. Uhrich clocked a season-best time of 5:41.48 and was 19th while Kuball crossed the line in 5:50.30 and was 21st.

The Concordia Distance Medley Relay team of Brianna Gruenberg, Mikayla Forness, Maria West and Sarah Curran ran a 13:01.45 and finished in ninth place.

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1
1. St. Thomas - 100.9
2. St. Benedict - 54.7
3. Concordia Moorhead - 49.9
4. St. Olaf - 44.0
5. Bethel - 42.9
6. Carleton - 31.9
7. Hamline - 25.0
8. St. Catherine - 23.9
9. Augsburg - 22.0
10. Gustavus - 21.0
11. Macalester - 9.0
12. Saint Mary's - 3.0

WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will finish off the MIAC Indoor Meet on Saturday starting at 111:30 a.m. at Carleton. Lundstrom will try and earn her third All-MIAC honor of the meet when she competes in the 200-meter dash which is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.  Senior Olivia Johnson will try to earn her second MIAC All-Conference honor in two different sports when she participates in the shot put at 2:00 p.m.