You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

St. Olaf Mens Track and Field Second at Emory Classic

Mark Bresnan
April 3, 2001

The St. Olaf men's track and field team traveled to Atlanta last weekend, and their long trip was rewarded by ideal weather, several fine performances, and a runner-up finish in an outstanding 23-team field.

The Oles took 27 athletes to Emory University and despite their inability to prepare on a track in snowy Northfield, the Oles scored 87 points to place behind defending Division III outdoor co-champions Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. Several schools from around the nation filled a field that featured several Division I, II and NAIA squads.

The Oles crowned two champions, led by sophomore Marcus Hansen's (Billings, Mont.) 44.52 meter toss in the discus. The All-MIAC thrower also heaved 15.05 meters to take second in the shot. Eric Droher (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) led the pole vault field, soaring over 4.10 meters with fewer misses than teammate John Gensmer (So., Mounds View, Minn.), who took third.

Corey Dingels (Jr., Gibbon, Minn.) led the way in the jumps, finishing second in the long (6.87m) and sixth in the high (1.93m). Tri-captain Jon Berg (Sr., Robbinsdale, Minn.) tossed the javelin 48.22 meters on his first attempt to take fourth. Dan Streit (Sr., Madison, Wis.) took a surprising third in the hammer throw, with a fine mark of 38.44 meters. Taking advantage of cool temperatures and calm conditions, third-place finishes by Oles Joel Tortomasi and Peder Arneson highlighted a weekend of mixed performances by the distance and middle distance crew. Tortomasi (So., Beloit, Wis.) marched through 10,000 meters in a solid 32:56, and Arneson (FY, Montivideo, Minn.) streaked to a 15:13 in the 5,000, missing the runner-up by one-hundredth of a second. Tri-captain Mark Bresnan (Sr., Indianola, Iowa) was fifth in the 1500 (4:02.45), and Andrew Cole (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) took eighth in the 800 (1:57.73). Josh Steffen (Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis.) was a strong third in the steeplechase with a time of 10:21.

Ryan Noreen (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.) led the sprinters to a fine weekend, taking 7th in the 400 meters with a 49.74 clocking. Noreen also teamed with Dingels, Gaute Johnsen (So., Norway) and first-year Matt Johnson (Richfield, Minn.) to finish 4th in the 4X100 relay. Their time of 43.18 was the fastest by an Ole quartet since the school record was set in 1995.

Back in the Midwest after a successful venture south, the Oles will next travel to Luther College for the Norse Relays on April 7.

Contact Pat Buresh at 507-786-3315 or buresh@stolaf.edu.