Track and field teams primed for MIAC Outdoor Championships at Macalester

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men’s and women’s track and field teams will head to Macalester College on Friday and Saturday for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The meet will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10 at Macalester Stadium, with field events starting at 2 p.m. and track events at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The final day of the meet will get going with field events at noon and track events at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

All tickets for the meet will be sold online through HomeTown Ticketing. Single-day adult tickets are $12 (plus fees) and student tickets are $3 (plus fees). Children five and under do not require a ticket. Student tickets are available for individuals currently enrolled in college, high school, middle school, and elementary school (ID required where applicable). Live video and live results will also be provided throughout the meet.

 

MEN’S PREVIEW

Coming off a runner-up performance at the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, the St. Olaf men’s track and field team will look to improve on last season’s third-place finish at the outdoor conference meet. The Oles carry 19 top-five seeds into the meet at Macalester, including three No. 1 seeds.

Junior Kevin Turlington is the pre-meet favorite in the 5,000-meter run (14:11.84) and 10,000-meter run (30:03.73), as he goes in search of his first individual conference championship. Senior Andrew Skemp is the No. 2 seed in both events and has finished as the runner-up in the 10,000-meter run in each of the last two seasons. Junior Gael Manzur Strandlund is also a top-five seed in both of those events, with senior Sean Hartney seeded fourth in the 5,000-meter run (14:41.01).

St. Olaf’s 4×800-meter relay enters the meet with the top seed time (7:34.14), while the 4×400-meter relay is seeded second (3:18.56). Individually, juniors Cullen Moore and Lance Nemecek are the No. 2 (1:51.98) and No. 3 seed (1:52.20) in the 800-meter run.

After winning the MIAC title in the one-mile run indoors, Hartney is the second favorite in the 1,500-meter run (3:50.02), followed by junior Ignatius Fitzgerald as the No. 3 seed (3:53.17). Fitzgerald is also seeded second (9:01.70) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:01.70), followed by classmate Jack Deaver as the No. 3 seed (9:20.75).

Sophomore Max Albertson, who won the event indoors earlier this year, is the No. 2 seed in the long jump (7.14m) and is the No. 4 seed in the triple jump (13.68m). Also in the field events, first year Kale Kardonsky is the No. 3 seed in the shot put (15.50m) and senior Andrew Cogley is seeded fifth in the high jump (1.90m).

WOMEN’S PREVIEW

The St. Olaf women are also coming off a runner-up team finish at the MIAC Indoor Championships and finished fourth last year at the outdoor conference meet. The Oles will head to Macalester with 14 top-five seeds in the conference.

After winning a pair of indoor conference titles and being named the MIAC Women’s Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the Year, junior Isabel Wyatt is the No. 1 seed in the 800-meter run (2:12.19), an event she won indoors this year and outdoors last year.

Senior Alison Bode is the No. 1 seed in both the 5,000-meter run (17:04.08) and 10,000-meter run (35:44.49), as she goes in search of her first individual conference title. Junior Lauren Walda is right behind Bode in the seed list in the 5,000-meter run (17:05.92), while senior Sofia Carlson is also in the top five in fifth (18:06.11). In the 10,000-meter run, first year Arabella England is the No. 2 seed to Bode (39:22.55) and senior Cate Gleason holds the No. 5 seed (39:48.29).

Senior Sophie Abernethy leads five top-10 seeds for the Oles in the 1,500-meter run as the No. 1 seed (4:37.23), with junior Ella Landis seeded fourth (4:45.80). Abernethy was the conference runner-up in the one-mile run indoors this year.

Junior Ashlyn Jore holds St. Olaf’s highest seed in the field events as the No. 3 seed in the long jump (5.50m), while first year Logan Paulsen is seeded fourth in the discus throw (41.34m) and sophomore Mara Larson is seeded fourth in the high jump (1.59m).

St. Olaf is the defending conference champion in the 4×800-meter relay (no seed time) and has the No. 4 seed in the 4×400-meter relay (4:05.20). Junior Grace Moeller is also seeded fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:42.50).