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Oles win three races at UW-Eau Claire

Lars Finanger
February 18, 2002

On Saturday, February 16, the St. Olaf men's track and field team traveled to Eau Claire for the Border Battle Classic. The meet featured tough competition from UW-Eau Claire, UW- Stout, and the University of St. Thomas. UW-Eau Claire took advantage of a shortened St. Thomas squad that sent individual team members to a different meet, and captured 12 of the meet's 18 events.

The Oles won two individual events and one relay on the afternoon. Andrew Cole (Sr, Mankato, Minn) and Cory Dingels (Sr, Gibbon, Minn) were the lone Oles to capture individual titles. Cole came from behind to win the 1500m in 4:04.48, beating Eau Claire's Kevin Larson by four-hundreths of a second. In a reversal of fortunes, Cole took second in the 800m in 1:58.64 when Larson nipped him at the line, claiming the photo finish victory by one-hundreth of a second.

Dingels leaped to victory in the high jump, posting another NCAA provisional qualifying mark with his 2.05m effort. Dingels also ran the second leg in the 4x400m relay, helping the Oles win the event over the Tommies team. He also took second in the long jump with his 6.82m effort.

Besides Cole and Dingels, the Oles received two other second place finishes. In the 400m, Ryan Noreen (Jr, Bloomington, Minn) finished less than half a second behind the winner in 50.65. Noreen bounced back in the 4x400m relay, running the team's fourth leg and passing a Tommie in the final lap to secure their victory. Peder Arneson (So, Montevideo, Minn) claimed second in the 5000m, crossing the line in 15:20 and finishing less than a second ahead of teammate Kelly Fulton (Fy, Billings, Mont).

The Oles 4x400m relay victory helped end the meet on a positive note. The team of Matt Wieland (Sr, Stillwater, Minn), Dingels, Mark Murakami (Sr, Chicago, Ill), and Noreen narrowly missed a NCAA provisional qualifying time with their 3:22.29 victory.

The Oles will host St. Thomas this Friday, February 22, at 6:00 PM in the Skoglund Athletic Center.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.