College Track and Field: Lelwica wins MIAC decathlon title – Brainerd Dispatch

COLLEGEVILLE — Max Lelwica is a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion.

The St. John’s University senior and 2021 Brainerd graduate showed out at the MIAC Championship May 1-2 and placed first in the decathlon with 6,905 points at Carleton’s Laird Stadium.

Lelwica finished just 27 points off the St. John’s record set by Maguire Peterson at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships.

Lelwica will get one last chance to break that mark at the NCAA Division III Championships May 22-24 in Geneva, Ohio.

Lelwica is the fifth Johnnie to win the decathlon at the MIAC championship. It’s also his first MIAC title in any event.

“It was a pretty gloomy day, but that’s almost nice because then the sun doesn’t beat you down over the course of the two days,” Lelwica said. “My buddy and I had been training all throughout the fall and preparing the whole year just for this big meet. It was fun to go out with my teammates and compete. It’s a long two days, but it’s a lot of fun. I was just trying to score points for the team because it’s always close between us and Bethel.”

Lelwica posted personal bests in four events and won six of the 10. On the second day, Lelwica won the 110-meter hurdles, discus and pole vault, while placing second in the 1500 run to clinch the title.

Saint John’s University Athletics

“Right before the last event, the 1500, I asked my coach who I needed to stick with just to score points,” Lelwica said. “Thankfully, by then, it didn’t matter quite what I ran in terms of winning the MIAC. However, I was trying to get our school record.

“It feels good to get a payoff for the hard work you put in and I’m just very thankful it came together. It’s easy during the decathlon for stuff to go wrong just because there’s so much going on.”

He ran a 15.17 in the 110 hurdles and threw a personal best 39.29 meters in the discus. He tied for first in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 4.2 meters. He threw 46.48 meters in the javelin to place fourth — his worst finish.

During the first day of competition, Lelwica ran a personal best 11.39 in the 100 dash for third. He followed it with a personal best 6.48 meters in the long jump to win. He won the high jump at 1.89 meters and the 400 dash with a personal best time of 50.31.

Michael Abdella / SJU

He collected third in the shot put with a throw of 11.83 meters.

“I had a really solid Day One, which is usually my weaker point,” Lelwica said. “I was in the lead after Day One and felt like if I came out and took care of business on Day Two, I should be able to get it done because I’m a better Day Two performer. I tried not to think about it too much and just stayed focused on the task at hand.”

His favorite event in the decathlon is the hurdles.

“I get that question a lot and I usually answer with just whatever is going well because it’s kind of hit or miss,” Lelwica said.

Lelwica said it was Mike Degen who recommended he try the decathlon in college. Degen’s son, Mitch, graduated from Brainerd in 2022 and is currently a thrower for St. John’s. Degen won the javelin with a first-place 58.46 toss.

“He thought I would do very well at it,” Lelwica said. “When I toured here and talked to the coaches, they told me they’ll take anyone interested in it. They’ll never force us to do anything, but for the decathlon, you have to want to put the work in to do it because it’s so many events. I’ve never been a top-end athlete and just been decent at a bunch of things and I went into college right away thinking I was going to try this out.”

Paul Middlestaedt, (320) 293-5566

The biggest learning curve for Lelwica we43 the hurdles, high jump and pole vault.

“The vault has been tough, but learning the events wasn’t as tough for me as just getting faster,” Lelwica said. “I was pretty slow coming out of high school and didn’t have a ton of athleticism. I was just a jumper and learned a lot on how to get faster and more powerful.”

Lelwica was fifth in the heptathlon in the MIAC Indoor Championships Feb. 27-March 1. He placed ninth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships March 14-15.

Before the Indoor Championships, Lelwica won the Wartburg Invite with 5,063 points in the heptathlon.

Lelwica will graduate with a degree in biochemistry and plans to go to medical school after taking a gap year. He was a three-sport athlete at Brainerd High School competing in soccer, basketball and track and field

“I’ve had really good coaches here at St. John’s and they’re willing to work with me,” Lelwica said. “I’ve learned a lot from them. My teammates and coaches have given me the right regimen and kind of helped me figure out things, so I can apply them.”

CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.

Year: Senior
School: St. John’s University
Sport: Track and field
Major: Biochemistry
High School: Brainerd class of 2021
Highlights: He won the MIAC Decathlon with 6,905 points and collected personal bests in four events.