Veterans And Surprises Lead To Unexpected Finish

MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/07/15)—Five MIAC All-Conference performances and six All-MIAC Honorable Mention performances paved the way for an unexpected tie for sixth-place finish at the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet.

The sixth-place finish is up five places from last year's 11th-place finish at the conference meet. The sixth-place finish is the best at an indoor conference meet for the Cobbers, who are a perennial top 3 finisher at the MIAC Outdoor Meet, since the 2009 season.

Concordia's All-Conference honors were paced by returning veterans, some newcomers and a newcomer to an event. Senior Cherae Reeves continued her dominance in the shot put as she won the event for the second straight indoor season. Reeves put up her best mark of the MIAC Meet in her very last attempt. She posted a distance of 47-07.00 and won the event by less than a foot.

The other veteran who earned All-Conference honors was Anna Skow-Anderson. Skow-Anderson claimed second place in the pentathlon on Thursday with a career-best total of 2,800 points. It is the first time she has earned all-conference honors at an indoor meet.

Senior Rochelle Hickerson won the long jump on Friday. It marked her very first long jump competition at a conference meet. She just started competing in the event this year and vaulted all the way to the No.1 spot in the league with a jump of 18-02.50. That is a career best mark for Hickerson and fourth best in the history of the program. It is also the farthest distance by a Cobber athlete since the 2003 season.

Hickerson also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the 60-meter dash by placing fifth with a time of 8.01. That time puts her in the No.3 spot on the school's all-time record list.    

Freshman Vanessa Johnson and sophomore Emma Peterson were the two newcomers to make their marks at the meet. Both athletes placed in the top 3 in the high jump. Johnson recorded a second-place finish in her very first MIAC Meet. She cleared a season-best height of 5-05.25. That tied for the top height in the event but Johnson placed second because of misses at lower heights. Johnson's finishing height also ties for the third best jump in school history.

Peterson just recently joined the track and field team after completing the season with the Cobber women's basketball team. She needed little time to get ready for the MIAC Meet and posted a career-best height of 5-04.25 and placed third in the high jump. Peterson's mark puts her tied for seventh on the school's all-time list in the high jump.   

Two of Peterson's teammates on the basketball squad also played a big part in Concordia's success at the conference meet. Olivia Johnson advanced to the finals of the shot put and placed fourth in the event won by Reeves. Johnson, who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Meet in the discus last spring,  came away with a career-best mark of 43-05.75. It is the fifth farthest throw in school history.  

Mikayla Forness, who was also on the CC women's basketball team, recorded a career best mark in the pentathlon on Thursday. She scored 2,701 and finished in fifth place.

Another first-year athlete made a splash at her very first conference meet. Hannah Lundstrom earned a pair of All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. She placed sixth in both the 200 and 400 meters. Lundstrom ran a 26.61 in the 200 meters and a 60.92 in the 400 meters. Both times are career bests and both make the school's all-time top 10 list. Her time in the 200 is the third fastest in school history and her mark in the 400 is the ninth fastest.  

The Concordia 4x400-meter relay team that featured four Cobber conference award winners also earned MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. The quartet of Lundstrom, Skow-Anderson, Peterson and Forness won the first section of the event in spite of being seeded dead last. Concordia placed sixth in the 4x4 with a time of 4:11.08.

Reeves will be the team's lone representative at the upcoming NCAA National Indoor Meet. Reeves currently sits in the No.3 spot on the national list and will compete at the NCAA Meet on Mar. 13-14 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The rest of the team will wait until Mar. 28 to resume competition when they participate in the St. Ben's Indoor/Outdoor Invite at St. John's.
                          
COBBER NOTABLES

MIAC CHAMPION:
Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 18-2.5 (5.55m)
Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 47-7 (14.50m)

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE (places 1-3 + 1st place relays only):
1st – Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 18-2.5 (5.55m)
1st - Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 47-7 (14.50m)
2nd – Pentathlon – Anna Skow-Anderson – 2800 points
2nd – High Jump – Vanessa Johnson - 5-5.25 (1.66m)
3rd – High Jump – Emma Peterson – 5-4.25 (1.63m)

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION (places 4-6 & relay places 2-6):
4th – Shot Put – Olivia Johnson - 43-5.75 (13.25m)
5th – 60 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 8.02
5th – Pentathlon - Mikayla Forness – 2701 points
6th – 200 Meters - Hannah Lundstrom – 26.61
6th – 400 Meters – Hannah Lundstrom – 60.92
6th – 4x400 Relay – Hannah Lundstrom, Anna Skow-Anderson, Emma Peterson, Mikayla Forness – 4:11.08

OTHER SCORERS (places 7-8)
7th – 200 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 26.67
7th – Shot Put – Hillary Birchem – 40-7 (12.37m)
8th – 60 Hurdles - Vanessa Johnson – 9.48 (9.39 prelims)

NCAA NATIONAL QUALIFYING
(Top 17 make the NCAA meet field/Top 50 can be declared as potential participants):
Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 47-7 (14.50m) – NCAA #3 rank
Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 18-2.5 (5.55m) – NCAA #19 tie rank
Shot Put – Olivia Johnson - 43-5.75 (13.25m) - NCAA #24 tie rank
High Jump – Vanessa Johnson - 5-5.25 (1.66m) - NCAA #26 tie rank
High Jump – Emma Peterson – 5-4.25 (1.63m) - NCAA #47 tie rank

COBBER ALL-TIME LIST PERFORMERS:
60 – Rochelle Hickerson – 8.02 – ALL-TIME #3
200 - Hannah Lundstrom – 26.61 – ALL-TIME #3
High Jump – Vanessa Johnson – 5-5.25 (1.66m) – ALL-TIME #3 tie
200 – Rochelle Hickerson – 26.67 – ALL-TIME #4
60 Hurdles – Vanessa Johnson – 9.39 – ALL-TIME #4
Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 18-2.5 (5.55m) – ALL-TIME #4
Shot Put – Olivia Johnson – 43-5.75 (13.25m) – ALL-TIME #5
High Jump – Emma Peterson – 5-4.25 (1.63m) – ALL-TIME #7 tie
400 – Hannah Lundstrom – 60.92 – ALL-TIME #9
60 - Hannah Fordahl – 8.37 – ALL-TIME #11
High Jump (pentathlon) – Anna Skow-Anderson – 5-2.25 (1.58m) – ALL-TIME #11 tie
Shot Put – Hillary Birchem – 40-7 (12.37m) – ALL-TIME #12

PERSONAL RECORDS:
60- Rochelle Hickerson (prelims & finals), Hannah Fordahl.
200- Hannah Lundstrom, Rochelle Hickerson.
400- Hannah Lundstrom.
800- Anna Skow-Anderson (pentathlon), Marissa Andersen (pentathlon).
60 Hurdles- Vanessa Johnson (prelims), Marissa Andersen (pentathlon), Mikayla Forness (pentathlon), Anna Skow-Anderson (pentathlon).
Long Jump- Rochelle Hickerson, Vanessa Johnson.
High Jump- Vanessa Johnson, Emma Peterson, Anna Skow-Anderson (tie) (pentathlon).
Shot Put- Olivia Johnson, Hillary Birchem (prelims & finals), Hannah Fordahl.
Pentathlon- Anna Skow-Anderson, Mikayla Forness, Marissa Andersen.