Cobbers Love The Outdoors

ST. PAUL, Minn. (5/09/15)—Cobbers love the outdoors.

One look at the final team standing of the MIAC Championship Meet and you can see why Concordia loves the outdoors.  The Cobbers used the strength of their field events to finish second for the third time in the last four years.

During those same four years, the Cobbers don't have a single top 5 finish at the MIAC Indoor Meet.

Not only did Concordia finish in second place in the final team standings at the conference outdoor meet, they also pushed perennial champion St. Thomas all the way to the finish line. The Cobbers ended with 129.50 total team points which was just 17.50 shy of the Tommies. CC was 22 points clear of third place St. Olaf. The 129.50 team points is the most since the 2001 season.  

The second-place finish also continues the Cobbers' streak of top 6 finishes at the conference outdoor meet. CC has now placed in the top 6 in 26 consecutive MIAC Outdoor Championship Meets.  

Concordia had three of their four event wins come in field events and had 10 top five finishes in those events. The Cobbers recorded 80.5 of their 129.50 total team points in field events.

The three best field events were the shot put, discus and javelin where CC had 11 athletes score 58 total team points.

Seniors Cherae Reeves and Hillary Birchem posted event wins in two of the three point-yielding events. Reeves continued her strangle hold on the MIAC shot put by winning her fourth straight conference title in the event. She won the shot put with a mark of 46-06.25. That distance won the event by almost two feet. Reeves has a season-best mark of 47-05.25 which is currently the sixth farthest in NCAA Division III.            

The shot put yielded four athletes scoring 21 team points. Olivia Johnson was third with a distance of 43-04.25 while Birchem was sixth at 41-06.00 and Mandy Mercil was seventh with a distance of 41-02.50.

The discus also produced four CC athletes in the top 8. Birchem led the crew by winning the event with a mark of 157-02. That distance is just three inches off her season best which is currently the fifth farthest in DIII.

Mercil recorded her second top 8 finish by coming away with a season-best mark of 126-08 and finished fifth. Freshman Bailey Hovland also had a season-best mark as she finished in sixth place with a distance of 123-03. Junior Ashley Thompson posted her first-ever top 8 finish at the MIAC Meet by coming away with a distance of 121-03 and placing eighth.

Concordia had three athletes finish in the top 4 of the javelin - and not surprisingly Reeves and Johnson were right in the middle of the point getters. Reeves was third in the event with a mark of 127-08 and Johnson was fourth at 123-01. Sophomore Mikayla Forness led the javelin contingent as she claimed the No.2 spot with a top throw of 129-09.

Rochelle Hickerson was the top Concordia jump athlete at the meet. She backed up her win in the long jump at the MIAC Indoor Meet by winning the event at the outdoor competition as well. Hickerson flew 17-10.75 in her third attempt to win the event by over seven inches. She has a season-best distance of 18-05.25 which is currently No.22 in the nation and on the bubble for a national meet berth.

Hickerson was also one of the top track athletes at the meet for CC.  She crossed the line in 12.29 in the 100 meters and finished in third place. Her time in the finals is a career best and the second fastest in school history.

Hickerson also scored points in the 200 meters by placing sixth with a time of 26.54.  

Concordia had three athletes score in the high jump. Emma Peterson cleared 5-03.25 and finished in second place. Anna Skow-Anderson was fifth in the event after posting a height of 5-01.25. Freshman Vanessa Johnson also cleared the same height but was seventh in the final standings.

Peterson also had one of the top 5 finishes in track events for the Cobbers . She ran a 1:04.33 in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles and placed third. Her time was a career best and sixth best in program history.

Freshman Hannah Lundstrom served notice that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the next three years in the 200 and 400 meters. Lundstrom was the only event winner in the track events for Concordia. She sped to a season-best time of 25.68 in the 200 meters and won the event by .38 of a second. Her finishing time is the fourth fastest in program history and in the ballpark of the 15-year-old school record of 25.00.

Lundstrom followed up her win in the 200 meters by placing third in the 400 meters. She crossed the line in a season-best time of 57.43 which is the third fastest in CC history.

Concordia will now try to better their national qualifying marks when they compete at the Wis.-La Crosse Last Chance Meet on Thursday, May 14.    

COBBER NOTABLES
MIAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS --- May 8-9, 2015, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
TEAM: 2nd place, 129.5 points

MIAC CHAMPION:
200 Meters - Hannah Lundstrom – 25.68 (25.37 prelim)
Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 17-10.5 (5.45m)
Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 46-6.25 (14.18m)
Discus Throw – Hillary Birchem – 157-2 (47.91m)

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE (places 1-3 + 1st place relays only):
1st - 200 Meters - Hannah Lundstrom – 25.68 (25.37 prelim)
1st – Long Jump – Rochelle Hickerson – 17-10.5 (5.45m)
1st - Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 46-6.25 (14.18m)
1st - Discus Throw – Hillary Birchem – 157-2 (47.91m)
2nd – Javelin Throw – Mikayla Forness – 129-9 (39.56m)
2nd tie – High Jump – Emma Peterson – 5-3.25 (1.61m)
3rd – 100 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 12.29
3rd – 400 Meters – Hannah Lundstrom – 57.43
3rd – 400 Hurdles – Emma Peterson – 64.33
3rd – Shot Put – Olivia Johnson - 43-4.25 (13.21m)
3rd – Javelin Throw – Cherae Reeves – 127-8 (38.92m)
3rd – Heptathlon – Mikayla Forness – 4275 points

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION (places 4-6 & relay places 2-6):
4th – 4x100 Relay – Greta Walsh, Chelsey Petrich, Hannah Lundstrom, Rochelle Hickerson – 49.59 (49.23 prelim)
4th – Javelin Throw – Olivia Johnson – 123-1 (37.53m)
5th – 4x400 Relay – Hannah Lundstrom, Katie Rosenfeldt, Anna Skow-Anderson, Mikayla Forness – 4:00.53
5th – High Jump – Anna Skow-Anderson - 5-1.25 (1.56m)
5th – Discus Throw - Mandy Mercil – 126-8 (38.62m)
6th – 200 Meters - Rochelle Hickerson – 26.54 (26.01 prelim)
6th – Shot Put – Hillary Birchem – 41-6 (12.65m)
6th – Discus Throw – Bailey Hovland – 123-3 (37.56m)
6th – Heptathlon – Anna Skow-Anderson – 3963 points

OTHER SCORERS (places 7-8)
7th – Shot Put – Mandy Mercil – 41-2.5 (12.56m)
7th tie – High Jump – Vanessa Johnson - 5-1.25 (1.56m)
8th – Discus Throw - Ashley Thompson – 121-2 (36.95m)

COBBER ALL-TIME LIST PERFORMERS:
100 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 12.29 – ALL-TIME #2
200 Meters – Hannah Lundstrom – 25.37 (prelims) – ALL-TIME #2
400 Meters – Hannah Lundstrom – 57.43 – ALL-TIME #3
4x100 Relay – Greta Walsh, Chelsey Petrich, Hannah Lundstrom, Rochelle Hickerson – 49.23 (prelims) – ALL-TIME #4
400 Hurdles – Emma Peterson – 64.33 – ALL-TIME #6
Heptathlon – Mikayla Forness – 4275 points – ALL-TIME #6
200 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 26.01 – ALL-TIME #7
Javelin Throw – Cherae Reeves – 127-8 (38.92m) – ALL-TIME #9

PERSONAL RECORDS:
100- Rochelle Hickerson (prelims & finals).
200- Hannah Lundstrom (prelims), Rochelle Hickerson (prelims), Mikayla Forness (heptathlon), Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon), Marissa Andersen (heptathlon).
400- Hannah Lundstrom (prelims & finals).
800- Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon), Marissa Andersen (heptathlon).
100 hurdles – Mikayla Forness (heptathlon), Marissa Andersen (heptathlon), Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon).
400 Hurdles – Emma Peterson (prelims & finals).
3000 Steeplechase – Anna Sneltjes.
High Jump- Marissa Andersen (heptathlon).
Discus Throw – Mandy Mercil, Bailey Hovland.
Javelin Throw – Cherae Reeves.
Heptathlon – Mikayla Forness, Anna Skow-Anderson, Marissa Andersen.