Wade Rhonemus crosses the line in the 60M dash with a PR time of 7.36. He went on to win the MIAC heptathlon. (Photo courtesy of St. Olaf SID)

Posted: Feb 23, 2024

MIAC Champion & School Record For Rhonemus

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (2/23/14)---On Friday, Wade Rhonemus turned Concordia into Multi-Event University.

Rhonemus used the strength of indoor career-best marks in all three events on Day 2 of the MIAC Heptathlon to win the competition and break the Concordia school record.

Rhonemus entered the final day of the heptathlon in second place and proceeded to rattle off PRs in the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meters to finish with a total of 4,967 points. That mark won the conference title by 70 points. It also broke the Cobber program record of 4,884 points, which was set by Jackson Schepp in 2017.

Rhonemus joins Concordia women's track and field athlete Peyton Selle as conference champions in the two indoor multi-event competitions in 2024. Selle won the MIAC pentathlon on Thursday. It marks the first time since 2005 that athletes from the same school captured multi-event titles at the same MIAC Indoor Meet.

Rhonemus, who becomes the first Concordian to win the MIAC heptathlon since Matt Bye in 2020, entered Friday with 2,636 points. He opened Day 2 by clocking a time of 8.74, which was .06 seconds faster than his previous PR mark in the event. His time was good for 804 points, which kept him within striking distance of the leader.

Rhonemus made his move in the pole vault – the sixth event of the competition. Rhonemus cleared an indoor PR height of 14-05.25. That mark earned him 731 points and vaulted him into the lead (pun intended).

Rhonmus needed to run a time of 2:50.00 in the 1000 meters to break the school record in the heptathlon and have a shot at qualifying for the national meet. His previous PR in the 1000 meters was 2:50.91.

Determined to not let the chance slip away, Rhonemus stayed with the race leaders the whole way and they pulled him to a finishing time of 2:47.15. That time was good for 796 points an MIAC championship and a new school record.

Rhonemus finished the heptathlon by scoring at least 600 points in six of the seven events and posted over 700 points in four events.

His top event on Thursday was the opener where he recorded 759 points by clocking a 7.36 in the 60-meter dash. That time was also a personal best for Rhonemus.

Concordia had one other athlete compete in the heptathlon. Freshman Joey Molstre finished with a total of 3,827 points placing 11th in the event. His top-scoring event came in the 60-meter dash where he crossed the line in 7.54 seconds and posted 700 points.