Kangas, Rugloski & Relays Lead The Way At The MIAC Meet

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (5/13/23)---Concordia used four All-Conference, and five All-Conference Honorable Mention performances to come away with a 7th-place team finish at the MIAC Championship Meet.

The Cobbers finished the meet with a total of 55 points, which was only three points shy of sixth place.   

While seniors Allyson Kangas and Emily Rugloski posted Cobber Top 5 marks on the 2-day meet, it was a pair of relays that provided the excitement. Kangas finished second in the hammer throw and Rugloski was sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase as the two led Concordia by example. The Cobber 4x100-meter relay team came out of nowhere to post a Top 3 finish and the 4-x400-meter relay team led for almost the entire race before coming home with a Top 5 finish.  

Kangas and Peyton Selle were the top individual finishers for the Cobbers at the meet. Kangas came through with a 2nd-place finish in the hammer with a distance of 163-02. That mark is not only a season-best for Kangas, but also the top distance of her college career. It also moves her into the No.3 spot on the school's all-time list.

Selle scored team points for Concordia in three different events. She was second at last weekend's heptathlon and duplicated that finish in the javelin with a personal-best distance of 125-09. That mark is the 12th farthest in school history. Selle's other "point getter" came in the long jump. She put up a distance of 17-02.25 on her third attempt which got her into the finals and wound up being her best mark of the event.

Rugloski had one of the longest days of any Cobber on Saturday as she ran both the steeplechase and 5000 meters. Rugloski's Top 5 Concordia time came in the steeplechase where she clocked a personal-best time of 11:32.35. That mark is the fourth fastest in school history. Rugloski also recorded a Top 20 finish in the 5K when she crossed the line in 19:11.55.

The other Top 6 individual performances that earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors were turned in by Drew Frolek, Emily Rengo and Regan Anderson – and all three posted career-best marks to finish in fifth place.

Frolek crossed the line in a time of 2:17.87 in the 800 meters which was good for the fifth-place finish and the No.9 time on the CC all-time list.

Rengo raced to a time of 26.08 in the 200. Her 5th-place performance was also the 12th fastest in program history. Rengo also scored team points in the 100 meters in her first career conference outdoor meet. She ran a 12.55 in the sprint final and was seventh in the event.

Anderson backed up Selle's PR in the javelin with a career-best mark of her own in the event. Anderson saved her best for last when she unleashed a throw of 113-11 on her sixth, and final attempt of the competition.

The two relays started and finished Saturday with thrilling finishes for Concordia. The 4x100-relay team of Maddie Guler, Rengo, Kyla Nygaard and Mary Wunderlich came through with their best time of the season to finish third in the very first track event on Saturday. That finishing time is the fifth fastest in program history.

Guler, Meg Shercliffe, Nygaard and Frolek closed out the 2023 MIAC Meet by leading for three of the four legs of the 4x4. The quartet posted a season-best time of 3:39.27 which was good for fourth place and No.12 on the school's all-time list.

UP NEXT: A group of Cobber athletes will participate in the Wis.-La Crosse NCAA Qualifier Meet on Thursday, May 18, while Peyton Selle will tray and qualify for national in the heptathlon at the Mount Union Last Chance Meet on May 17-18.