Stepping Up In Big Spots

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (5/11/18)---The saying goes that, "big athletes step up in big moments" and that is exactly what senior Bailey Hovland did in the first day of the MIAC Championship Meet.

Hovland won the hammer throw on the very last attempt and also finished second in the discus as she helped the Cobbers end the day with 29 team points which is good for fourth place heading into the final day on Saturday.

Hovland was the only Cobber individual to score team points on Friday at Carleton. She picked up 10 points for her win in the hammer and eight more for her runner-up finish in the discus.

The other team points on Friday were earned by the 4x800-meter relay team of Sara Whiteman, Colleen Vought, Elizabeth Vought and Maria West who ran a season-best 9:51.81 and placed fifth. The Cobbers were seeded 10th headed into the race.

Concordia is in fourth place with 28 team points after the first full day of the conference championship meet.    

Hovland continued to show why she has developed into the top thrower in the conference this season. She qualified for the finals with a distance of 157-05 but then fouled in her first two attempts in the finals. She was in second place heading into the final round of the day but then came up with the event winner on her final try. Hovland unleashed the hammer a distance of 173-07 which broke the conference meet record and also bettered her own school record which she set twice during the season.

Hovland's hammer mark is also the 13th farthest in Division III this season which should earn her a spot in the NCAA National Meet.

Hovland then moved over to the discus area and once again waited until her final attempt to move to the top of the competition. She put up a distance of 131-03 in the prelims which qualified her for the finals.

Hovland then tried to duplicate her hammer throw scenario as she fouled on her first two tries of the finals. She came close to the hammer-discus double but her final attempt fell just short with a distance 133-03.

The other outstanding individual event performance of the day came from West who won her heat in the 1500 meters and qualified for the finals of the race. West ran a 4:59.99 in the first prelim heat and won the race by .23 of a second. It is the first time in her career that she has qualified for the finals in the 1500 meters at the conference meet.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will finish off the MIAC Championship Meet when they take to the Carleton track on Saturday, May 12 at 2 p.m.