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Bresnan Places Second at Nationals

Mark Bresnan
March 12, 2001

St. Olaf senior Mark Bresnan (Indianola, Iowa) finished second in the 800 meter run at the Division III indoor championships in Oshkosh,Wisconsin last weekend, earning eight team points to cap an outstanding season for the men's track squad. Bresnan teamed with junior Corey Dingels to represent the Oles, who finished in a tie for thirteenth place; the top MIAC team in the field.

Entering Saturday's final with the fourth-best qualifying time, Bresnan hung at the back of the pack for the first half of the race, moving into third with 200 meters remaining. He passed another athlete in the final lap, but could not catch champion Chris Horvat of Wisconsin Steven's-Point, who led wire to wire and finished in 1:52.39. Still, Bresnan's time of 1:52.87 was the second fastest indoor mark in school history and his runner-up finish bettered his seventh-place performance at last year's outdoor meet.

In recognition of a spectacular conference performance, Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) was named central region athlete of the year at the awards banquet on the eve of competition. Though he hoped to continue the season's success in the long jump and high jump, Dingels struggled to find his rhythm and failed to place in either event. Still, his best mark of 6.86 meters fell just five centimeters short of qualifying for the seven-person finals in the long jump.

Also recognized was Coach Bill Thornton, who earned the central region coach of the year honor for guiding his team's outstanding performance this winter. The Oles placed second at the MIAC championships, setting a new school record for points scored.

The Oles will begin their outdoor season at the Emory University Invitational in Atlanta on March 31.

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