MIAC Outdoor Meet Preview

MIAC Championship Meet preview courtesy of Matt Higgins - MIAC Office

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) spotlight will shine on Collegeville, Minn., Friday and Saturday as Saint John's University will host the 2016 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Clemens Stadium. The conference meet will open with the University of St. Thomas aiming to win a fifth-straight MIAC title, while the host Johnnies and the rest of the league will try to prevent UST from making a half-decade atop the standings.

Not only was the 2015 title the fifth in a row for St. Thomas, it was also the program's 33rd overall MIAC outdoor championship. Since 1983, only the Tommies and Saint John's have hoisted the championship trophy, with St. Thomas winning 28 titles in that 33-year span, with the Johnnies winning the other five, most recently in 2011.

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A year ago, UST received a significant challenge from Hamline. The Tommies pulled out a fourth-straight crown with 164.5 points, with the Pipers on their heels with a score of 138.5. St. Olaf rounded out a strong top-three with 118 points. Carleton (88) edged Concordia (83) for fourth, Saint John's was sixth with 75 points and Gustavus and Bethel shared seventh place with 56 points each. Macalester (31), Augsburg (25) and Saint Mary's (23) rounded out the 2015 MIAC outdoor standings.

Two of the top individual stars from last year's MIAC outdoor meet are back in search of further honors. Hamline's Tom Larson was named the 2015 Outstanding Track Athlete after winning his second-straight title in the 100-meter dash, and he was also the 200-meter dash champ last season. Larson's coach, Paul Schmaedeke, was named Outdoor Coach-of-the-Year for leading the Pipers to their runner-up finish. Macalester's Logan Hovie received the 2015 Outstanding Performance-of-the-Meet award after winning the high jump for the third-straight season, and this year, he'll try to make it a career sweep of the event.

There are five other returning champions back to defend their event titles, not including Carleton's Jack Buckner who successfully defended his decathlon title last weekend. St. Thomas' Matt Schauer will try to win the shot put championship for the third-straight season, Saint Mary's Morris Dennis is the reigning champ in the 400-meter dash, St. Olaf's Paul Escher hopes to add a second-straight 1,500-meter run title to his outstanding senior season, Hamline's Anthony Tyler will try to repeat in the discus and Saint John's Raymond Twumasi will try to win another title in the triple jump, this time in front of the home fans.

The star power doesn't stop there, though, as each team has high hopes for outstanding times, distances and heights from their top athletes. Augsburg will roll out a trio of outstanding sprinters - Emmanuel Egbujor, Barinedum Kordah and Undre-Smith Brewer. Bethel has a pair of talented rookies in Carl Klamm and Evan Hatton eager to make their MIAC debuts. Carleton brings back decorated distance and middle-distance runners Hart Hornor and Jerry Cook-Gallardo, respectively.

Concordia has a junior-led nucleus that includes pole vaulter Eddie Clifton and middle distance runner Matthew Lillehaugen. Distance runner Thomas Knobbe and thrower Sam Fischer are two of Gustavus' top athletes heading into the MIAC meet. Hamline has a host of talent back, including thrower Chase Duwenhoegger and Dylan Olson in the hurdles. In addition to Hovie, Macalester will rely on Jack Schultenover in the sprints and Sean Hayes in the Javelin. The host Johnnies will once again rely on runner Thomas Feichtinger, and rookie Max Martin lead a talented group of SJU athletes in the hurdles.

Saint Mary's is excited about the possibilities for Jovan Newsum in the distance events in addition to Dennis and fellow sprinter/middle distance runner Brandon Krogman. St. Olaf again has a remarkable crew of distance runners led by Escher and Jake Campbell, and Kevin Skrip returns in the middle distance events as well. The defending champion Tommies have Schauer back in the throws, sprinter Brian Jarvey, jumper Evan Cross and multi-event athlete Connor O'Neill as they try to extend their MIAC-title streak.

The 2016 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships begin Friday at 2 p.m. The meet will conclude Saturday, with field events beginning 2 p.m. and track to follow at 3 p.m. Saturday's final event begins at 6:30 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.

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 Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict and their coaches and staff for their efforts to host the event.

CONCORDIA
A Year Ago
• 5th place | 83 points

Athletes to Watch
• Eddie Clifton (Jr. | All-MIAC Honorable Mention at the 2016 MIAC Indoor Meet in the pole vault; Ranked 5th in the pole vault (14-05.25) this season)
• Matthew Lillehaugen (Jr. | All-MIAC Honorable Mention at the 2016 MIAC Indoor Meet in the 1000 meters; ranked 8th in the MIAC in the 800 meters and 11th in the 1500 meters heading into the MIAC Meet )
• Josh Murrey (Jr. | Ranked sixth in the MIAC in javelin this season)
• Jackson Schepp (Jr. | All-MIAC Honorable Mention in the decathlon at the 2016 MIAC Outdoor Meet; ranked 3rd in the high jump, 8th in the triple jump and 12th in the long jump this year)  
• David Supinski (Fr. | Broke the school record in the 600 meters at the 2016 MIAC Indoor Meet; ranked 10th in the 400 meters and 12th in the 800 meters heading into the MIAC Meet)

By the Numbers
• 4:00: Junior Matthew Lillehaugen became the first Cobber track athlete to break the 4:00-minute mark in the 1500 meters since 2011. He is also only the fourth athlete to run a sub 4-minute 1500 meters since 2000.  
• 5: Last year's fifth-place finish at the MIAC Outdoor Meet was the best finish for the Cobbers since 2008.
• 83: In 2015 the Cobbers scored 83 team points which was the most since the 2001 season.

Did You Know?
• Cobber junior Eddie Clifton earned MIAC All-Conference First Team honors in football as a punter. He was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week on Oct. 7.