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Mens Indoor Track and Field takes Second at MIAC Championships

Pat Buresh
March 8, 2001

The St. Olaf men's track and field team capped off a season of promising performances with an explosion at the MIAC indoor championships. The Oles scored in seventeen of twenty events to place second, eighteen points behind St. Thomas. Coach Bill Thornton praised his team's effort, noting that the team was projected to finish fourth in the eleven-team field.

Balance and depth anchored a strong run at the Tommies, who have never lost an indoor conference meet. The Oles garnered eleven All-MIAC awards, and nine more performances received honorable mention recognition. Their three-day total of 140 points was a team record and pushed St. Olaf well ahead of third-place Concordia's 114.

The Oles continued their recent run of success in the pentathlon, as Corey Dingels '02 (Gibbon) edged teammate Jon Berg '01 (Robbinsdale) for second place, automatically qualifying for the national championships with a high jump of 6'10.25". Dingels went on to win individual titles in the high jump and long jump, place fifth in the triple jump, and team with Ryan Noreen '03 (Bloomington), Matt Wieland '02 (Stillwater), and Mark Bresnan '01 (Indianola, IA) to set a new school record in the 4X400 meter relay, taking second in 3:21.81. Dingel?s winning long jump of 7.23 meters (23'8.75") was named the meet's outstanding performance.

Led by Bresnan and Mark Sullivan '03 (West Bend, WI), St. Olaf dominated the middle distance and distance events. Sullivan kicked off the Friday session with an electrifying second-place finish in the 5000 (15:19) and took third in the meet's final individual event, the 3000 (8:54). Bresnan won his third straight indoor 800 meters (1:55.55) and added another victory in the 600 yards (1:13.13). Andrew Cole '02 (Mankato) edged teammate Jeff Boerner '02 (Rockford) for fourth in the 800 after taking fourth in the 1500 (4:06.00) and leading off the third-place distance medley relay squad the previous day. Rob Hillard '03 (Columbia, MO) set the pace in the 1000 and hung on for second place (2:34.31).

Noreen continued a breakthrough year for the Ole sprint squad, placing third in the 400 (50.24) and sixth in the 200 (22.90). Field events were another strength, as Marcus Hanson '03 (Billings, MT) placed second in the shot put with a heave of 15.16 meters (49'9") and Eric Droher '02 (Owatonna) edged teammate John Gensmer '03 (Mounds View) for fourth place in the pole vault to complement Dingel?s domination in the jumps.

Other scorers included Mark Murakami '02 (Chicago, IL), eighth in the pentathlon, and Jared Anderson '03 (Zumbrota, MN), eighth in the high jump. The Ole 4X200 meter relay of Gaute Johnsen '03 (Norway), Wieland, Jon Pearce '01 (Lawrence, KS), and Erlund Johnsen '03 (Norway) took fifth (1:33.31).

Dingels and Bresnan will compete at the NCAA Division III indoor championships March 9-10 in Oshkosh, WI. Dingels was fourth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump at last year's championships and will compete in both events. Bresnan took seventh in the 800 at the 2000 NCAA meet outdoors, but has never competed in the indoor championships.

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