1998 Cobber Women's Track & Field Meet Results

Concordia Women Win MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship
End St. Thomas Streak at Nine
March 7, 1998
Paul Johnson, SID, College of St. Catherine
MIAC Women's Track and Field Indoor Championships
University of Minnesota Fieldhouse; March 6-7, 1998

The Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers ended the University of St. Thomas' nine-year reign as the MIAC track and field champions, by bringing home the indoor title Saturday afternoon. Concordia's 1988 team was the last team to beat St. Thomas until today.

Final team standings came down to the last event on the track, the 4 x 400. Only one point separated the top three teams. Concordia won with 140 points, Gustavus was second with
139.5, and the Tommies finished third with 139.

Three MIAC meet records were broken on Saturday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse including the shot put record broken by Misty Bahr of Hamline and the Gustavus 800-meter (Erica Stone, Sara Ridge, Laura Carlson, and Megan Mullins) and 1600-meter (Carlson, Stone, Stacy Horner, and Mullins) relays. MIAC automatic qualifiers for the Division-III national championship March 13-14 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., are Bahr in the shot put and 20-lb weight throw and April Felt of Gustavus and Concordia's Laura Utke also in the 20-lb weight.

The final team results are as follows: Concordia 140.0, Gustavus 139.5, St. Thomas 139.0, St. Olaf 88.5, Macalester 64.0, Carleton 50.0, Hamline 48.0, St. Benedict 48.0, Bethel 41.0, St. Catherine 17, St. Mary's 3.0, Augsburg 2.0.

Preview: 3/2/98
MIAC 1998 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP
Paul Johnson, St. Catherine SID
The 1998 MIAC Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship will be
contested this weekend Friday-Saturday, March 6-7 at the University of
Minnesota fieldhouse. The St. Thomas men and women will seek to extend
their streaks of consecutive MIAC indoor championship wins to 14 and 10
respectively.

Returning Individual All-Americans for the men include Aaron Smith (shot
put, Jr, Jackson, Wis.) of Gustavus and for the women Busola Akinwale (long
jump, Sr, Richfield) of Carleton, Misty Bahr (shot put and 20-lb weight,
Sr, Int'l Falls) of Hamline, April Felt (20-lb weight, So, Fridley) of
Gustavus, and Jayna Mathieu (1500, Jr, Brainerd) of St. Olaf. The NCAA
Division III Championship will be held at Brandeis University in Waltham,
Mass., March 13-14.

Events are scheduled 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday and 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Saturday. The pentathlon will be contested at St. Olaf Thursday, March 5.
Current performance rankings, meet entries and results may be accessed on
the Web at Apple Raceberry Jam.

Admission is $5 per day for adults and $2
per day for students. Programs cost $1.00 and include heat sheets.

SPECIAL Note
Results will be available each night on the web at Apple Raceberry Jam.

St. Catherine is the host institution for the championship. If you
have any questions or would like further information, contact Paul Johnson,
Sports Information Director at 612/690-8778 or E-mail at
phjohnson@stkate.edu.

(See Also 1997 Meet Results Men Women )

Click here for Complete Friday - Saturday Results

WOMENS Pentathlon March 5th

1 Doreen Bechtold - St. Thomas     3040
2 Kate Bednarzyk - St. Thomas     2960
3 Sarah Severson   - Concordia     2916
4 Katie Bestul, Fr, St. Thomas     2879
5 Andrea Thompson, Jr, St. Olaf    2683
6 Kelly Tan, So, Carleton          2657
7 Sandra Helquist, So, Carleton    2500
8 Emily Menden, Fr, St. Thomas     2494
9 Melinda Goodwin, Jr, Macalester 2350
10 Emily Rankin, Fr, Concordia      2260
11 Jennifer Fettig, Fr, Concordia   2123
12 Karin Jolivette, Jr, St. Olaf    2120
13 Kristine Lamm, Fr, Macalester    2103
14 Kelly Mattison, Fr, St. Olaf     2089
15 Emily Fordyce, Bethel 1992

Records: Andrea Thompson of St. Olaf shattered the old 800 meter
record with a new time of 2:26.89. The previous record was 2:29.84 set by
Tracy Berntsen of Concordia in 1994.

Individual champions and Concordia finishers (See Also Cobber Roster)

55 Meter Dash

1 Holly Harris, So, Macalester 7.39 NCAA Provisional
5 Sonya Smith, Concordia , 7.53

200 Meter Dash
1 Erica Stone, So, Gustavus 26.31
6 Sonya Smith, Concordia 27.11

400 Meter Dash
1 Laura Carlson, So, Gustavus 59.64 NCAA Provisional

600 Meter Dash
    1 Mollee Ludtke , Sr, Concordia            1:38.09
     7 Julie Engh , Concordia                   1:40.70
   14 Leta Prochnow , Jr, Concordia            1:43.89

800 Meter Run
    1 Jayna Mathieu, Jr, St. Olaf             2:19.78
     4 Mollee Ludtke , Sr, Concordia            2:21.34
    5 Julie Engh , Concordia                   2:22.84
     8 Marnee Bergenheier, Fr, Concordia       2:24.54

1000 Meter Run
    1 Becca Wold, Sr, Gustavus                3:01.28
    2 Barbara Breidenbach , Concordia             3:02.31
   17 Cindy Carstens , So, Concordia           3:17.69

1500 Meter Run
    1 Jayna Mathieu, Jr, St. Olaf             4:49.95
    5 Barbara Breidenbach , Concordia             4:53.02
     7 Heidi Brenden , Fr, Concordia            4:55.13
   25 Cindy Carstens , So, Concordia           5:11.09

3000 Meter Run
1 Megan Auger, So, Macalester 10:37.69
29 Lori Lotthammer , Fr, Concordia 11:49.32

5000 Meter Run
1 Keri Gunderson, Sr, Hamline 18:09.67

55M High Hurdles

1 Busola Akinwale, Sr, Carleton 8.45 NCAA Provisional
4 Sara Grineski, Fr, Concordia 8.60 NCAA Provisional

800 Meter Relay-
1, Gustavus (Stone, Ridge, Carlson, Mullins), 1:45.47 (MIAC Meet Record).
5, Concordia, (Sara Grineski, Sonya Smith, Ruth Moe, Karin McGregor ) 1:48.96.

4X400 Meter Relay-
1, Gustavus (Carlson, Stone, Horner, Mullins), 4:00.68 (MIAC Meet Record, NCAA Provisional).
4, Concordia (Sara Grineski, Sommer Jalbert, Julie Engh , Mollee Ludtke ), 4:08.85.

4X800 Meter Relay-
1, Gustavus (Schmidt, Spong, Shelly, Wold), 9:46.94.
2, Concordia (Kelly Shannon , Marnee Bergenheier, Leta Prochnow , Barbara Breidenbach ), 9:46.99.

Long Jump-
1 Akinwale, Carleton, 18-31/4 (NCAA Provisional).
2, Sarah Severson , Concordia 17-43/4.
3, Karin McGregor , Concordia 16-111/4.

Triple Jump-
1, Sarah Severson , Concordia, 36-0.
5, Karin McGregor , Concordia, 34-113/4.

Shot Put-
1, Bahr, Hamline 46-61/4 (MIAC Meet Record, NCAA Automatic, NCAA Provisional).
4, Becky Kearns , Concordia, 40-101/2 (NCAA Provisional).
6, Nikki Berg , Concordia, 35-81/2.
7, Rachel Aufforth, Concordia, 35-5.

20 Pound Weight Throw-
1, Bahr, Hamline, 54-51/4 (MIAC Meet Record, NCAA Automatic, NCAA Provisional).
3, Becky Kearns , Concordia, 50-03/4 (NCAA Provisional).
4, Laura Utke , Concordia, 48-113/4 (NCAA Provisional).
7, Maria DeBoer , Concordia, 42-81/4.
9 Amanda Glas, Jr, Concordia 41-8 3/4

High Jump-
1, Bland, Gustavus, 5-21/4. 4, Strom, Concordia 5-01/4.
4, Angie Strom, Concordia, 5-0 1/4
8, Rachel Halverson , Concordia, 4-8 1/4.
8, Melanie Roche, Concordia 4-8 1/4.
8, Sarah Severson , Concordia 4-8 1/4.

Pentathlon-
1, Bechtold, St. Thomas, 3040.
3, Sarah Severson , Concordia, 2916.
10 Emily Rankin, Fr, Concordia 2260
11 Jennifer Fettig, Fr, Concordia 2123

Pole Vault-
1, Boatz, St. Benedict, 10-0.
3, Sarah Severson , Concordia, 8-6 1/4.
6, Lori Knapp , Concordia, 8-0 1/2.
7, Jennifer Fettig, Concordia, 7-6 1/2.
8, Amber Novotny, Concordia, 7-6 1/2.

TEAM SCORES

PLACE TEAM POINTS

   1   Concordia            140.0
   2   Gustavus             139.5
   3   St. Thomas           139.0
   4   St. Olaf              88.5
   5   Macalester            64.0
   6   Carleton              50.0
7T   Hamline               48.0
7T   St. Benedict          48.0
   9   Bethel                41.0
10   St. Catherine         17.0
11   St. Mary's             3.0
12   Augsburg               2.0

MIAC Pentathlon
St. Olaf College
March 5, 1998

Estimated time schedule:
Each event starts 30:00 after the conclusion of the previous event.

Women's Schedule
2:30 55 Meter Hurdles
3:30 High Jump
5:20 Shot Put
6:25 Long Jump
8:10 800 Meter

Men's Schedule
3:05 55 Meter Hurdles
4:05 Long Jump
5:50 Shot Put
6:55 High Jump
8:45 1000 Meter

MIAC 1998 TRACK & FIELD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Univ. of Minnesota Fieldhouse
Friday-Saturday, March 6-7*

Schedule of events

(See Also 1997 Meet Results Men Women )

Friday (4:30pm in UM fieldhouse), 3/6/97

4:45            Coaches Meeting
5:30            Long Jump     Men    Final
6:00            Pole Vault    Women Final
6:30            Shot Put      Men    Final
6:30            20lb. Weight Women Final
8:00            High Jump     Men    Final
                Long Jump     Women Final
               (To begin 30 min. after men)

6:00            55M Hurdles   Women      Prelim
6:15            55M Hurdles   Men        Prelim
7:30            5000M Run     Women      Final
6:55            5000M Run     Men        Final
7:15            55M Dash      Women      Prelim
7:25            55M Dash      Men        Prelim
7:35            1500M Run     Women      Final
8:00            1500M Run     Men        Final
8:25            55M Hurdles   Women      Final
8:30            55M Hurdles   Men        Final
8:35            400M Dash     Women      Final
8:45            400M Dash     Men        Final
8:55            600M Run      Women      Final
9:05            600 Yard Run Men        Final
9:20            55M Dash      Women      Final
9:25            55M Dash      Men        Final

Implement Weigh-in Times
4:45-5:30 Women's Weight, Men's Shot

Saturday (9:30am in UM fieldhouse), 3/7/97

11:00           Triple Jump   Women      Final
11:00           Pole Vault    Men        Final
1:00            Shot Put      Women      Final
1:00            35lb. Weight Men        Final
1:30            High Jump     Women      Final
    Triple Jump Men    Final
    (To begin 30 min. after women)

1:00            3000M Run      Women      Final (Fast)
1:18            2 Mile Run     Men        Final (Fast)
1:35            800M Run       Women      Final
1:50            800M Run       Men        Final
2:05            1000M Run      Women      Final
2:20            1000M Run      Men        Final
2:35            800M Relay     Women      Final
2:50            800M Relay     Men        Final
3:05            200M Dash      Women      Final
3:20            200M Dash      Men        Final
3:35            3000M Run      Women      Final (Fastest)
3:53            2 Mile Run     Men        Final (Fastest)
4:10            3200M Relay    Women      Final
4:25            3200M Relay    Men        Final
4:40            1600M Relay    Women      Final
4:55            1600M Relay    Men        Final

Implement Weigh-in Times
11:15-12:00 Men's Weight, Women's Shot

*MIAC Pentathlon contested Thursday, March 5, at St. Olaf College

1998 MIAC WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Preview: 3/2/98
University of Minnesota Fieldhouse, Minneapolis, Minn.

   Will the Tommies hold on for their 10th consecutive MIAC indoor title?
After two years in a row of scoring over 200 points at the indoor
conference meet, last year saw the second-place Oles lead a pack of teams
in cutting the Tommies point total to 169. At the outdoor championship,
the second-place Gusties led the attack by scoring 152 points to St.
Thomas? 179. With the graduation last year of three of the Toms outdoor 4
x 100 national champion relay team members, this may be the year the gap
will close.
   So what will the sprints look like without the Tommie chokehold? The
55-meter may be up for grabs without a single returning all-conference
performer from last year.   Top contenders are likely to be 1997 scorers
Macalester?s Holly Harris (5th, So., Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Carleton's
Busola Akinwale (7th, Sr., Richfield). Also looking strong are Gustavus'
Erica Stone (So., Anoka), Bethel's Noel Green (FY, Alexandria), and St.
Olaf?s Amanda Olson (So., Northfield). In the 200, watch for 1997 scorers
Jamie Lubitz of St. Thomas (4th, Sr., Waconia), Megan Mullins of Gustavus
(5th, Jr., Rosemount), and Gail Peterson of Bethel (8th, Jr., Chisago
City). Also in the fray will be Gustavus? Stone, Olson of St. Olaf, and
Macalester?s Harris.
   With four Gusties holding top-10 qualifying times, the final of the 400
may look black and gold. They include Mullins, second in last year?s
outdoor 400, Laura Carlson (So., Plymouth), Stacy Horner (FY, Wayzata), and
Sara Ridge (8th out, Sr., Owatonna). Expect St. Thomas? Lubitz, three-time
All-American and defending indoor and outdoor MIAC champion, to punch a
hole through the black and gold. Other contenders are Bethel?s Peterson
and St. Catherine's Margo Boyle (6th out, Jr., Mountain Lake). Look for
fast times from the Gusties, Oles and Bethel in the 4 x 200 while the
Gustie 400 pack looks to lead the way in the 4 x 400.
   Expect great racing in the hurdles in which four athletes have already
provisionally qualified for NCAA nationals. They are Akinwale of Carleton
(2nd in ?97) and three first-year Tommies Katie Bestul (Coon Rapids), Emily
Menden (Eden Prairie) and Kara Hedin (Dassel). Also returning are
defending champion Kelly Tan of Carleton (So., Honolulu) and Tonika
Garibaldi of St. Olaf (3rd, So., Minneapolis).
   Expect battle in the middle distances. The 600 and 800 return Jayna
Mathieu of St. Olaf (Jr, Brainerd), Lizzy May of St. Thomas (Jr, Edina) and
Concordia's Mollee Ludtke of Concordia. They went 1-2-3 in the same events
last year. Adding their two cents are Oles Jamie McRaith (Jr, Hutchinson)
in the 600 and Karyn Lien (So, Edina) and Teresa Olsen of Hamline (FY,
Cedarburg, Wis.). The 1000 will return all-conference performer Erin Ward
of St. Thomas (3rd, So, Bloomington) who will be challenged by Bethel's
Rachel Bjorklund (FY, Easton) and Concordia?s Heidi Brenden (FY, Minot,
N.D.) and Barb Breidenbach (Jr, Buxton, N.D.). Breidenbach also brings the
top seed time into the 1500. Other top 1500 contenders are St. Thomas?
Kelly Faris (FY, Columbia Heights), last fall?s cross country champion,
Carleton?s Libby Garrard (So, Minneapolis) and returning champion and
All-American Mathieu of St. Olaf (2nd NCAA).
   All-conference returners in the distance races include defending 5000
champion (2nd 3000) Missy Peterson of St. Benedict (Sr, Sartell), Melissa
Schuch of St. Thomas (3rd 3000, Sr, Kenosha, Wis.), Lauren Hafner of
Carleton (2nd 5000, Sr, Spring Lake, Mich.), and Keri Gunderson of Hamline
(3rd 5000, Sr, Portage, Wis.). Strong challenges will come from 3000 top
seed Megan Auger of Macalester (So, Eden Prairie) and St. Catherine?s Katie
Jorgenson (Jr, Apple Valley) seeded first in the 5000 and third in the
3000. And don?t count out 5000 outdoor champion Augsburg?s Stephanie
Simones (Sr, Minneapolis).
   Moving to the field events, check out the pole vault where the women
will set a meet record in the debut of the pole vault as an official MIAC
women?s event. The NCAA is considering adding women?s pole vault to the
national championship meet in 1999. Caroline Boatz of St. Benedict (FY,
St. Joseph) enters the meet with the season?s best vault to date and
current MIAC all-time record at 2.90 meters (9-6.25). A pack of
eight-footers follow including Boatz's teammates Nikki Tuma (FY, Cambridge)
and Rhonda Swanson (Jr., Fargo, N.D.), the Tommies? Doreen Bechtold (3rd
?97 pentathlon, Sr, St. Cloud) and Michelle Ross (So., Faribault), and last
year's pentathlon champion Sarah Severson of Concordia (Sr., Ellsworth,
Wis.) and her teammate Lori Knapp (So., Cass Lake).
   In the pentathlon, many new faces including hurdle specialists Tan of
Carleton and the Tommies? Bestul and Menden will chase returning
all-conference performers Severson of Concordia and St. Thomas? Bechtold
and Kate Bednarczyk (2nd, Sr., Andover).
   The high jump will feature outdoor champion Kirsten Bland of Gustavus
(2nd in, So., Eagan). Also watch Macalester?s Megan June (So., New York,
N.Y.) second at last year's outdoor championship, and St. Thomas
pentathletes Bechtold and Bednarczyk. Indoor and outdoor long jump
champion, All-American and MIAC record-holder Akinwale of Carleton is back
on the runway. Also jumping well are Concordia?s Severson of Concordia
(3rd in/out) and St. Thomas? Bechtold. All three have already made NCAA
provisional qualifying jumps. Severson will also be a threat in the triple
jump as is outdoor meet champion and MIAC record-holder Brianne Erpelding
of St. Benedict (So., Little Falls), Gustavus' Adina Miller (4th in/3rd
out, Sr., New Prague), Kari Pederson of St. Mary's (FY, Hastings) and
Kristin Overskei of St. Thomas (6th out, Sr., Mounds View).
   If you want top performances, keep your eyes on the throws. These are
the events where the MIAC will garner serous national recognition.
Returning in the shot put is indoor and outdoor MIAC champion, MIAC
record-holder and All-American (NCAA-2nd in/6th out) Misty Bahr of Hamline
(Sr., Int'l Falls) who is currently ranked first in the nation by over
three feet. Tossing early season provisional marks are returning
all-conference performer Melissa Ring of Gustavus (2nd in/3rd out, Jr.,
Anoka) who placed eighth at outdoor nationals and Concordia?s Becky Kearns
(5th MIAC in, Sr., Hopkins).
   In the 20# weight throw, an incredible three throwers have already hit
automatic qualifying marks and are ranked in the top six in the nation.
They are All-Americans Bahr of Hamline (2nd MIAC, 2nd NCAA), All-American
April Felt of Gustavus (1st MIAC, 3rd NCAA) and Concordia?s Laura Utke (7th
in MIAC, Jr., Oriska, N.D.). Five (!) more MIAC weight throwers have hit
provisional marks including Concordia's Kearns and Maria DeBoer (So., Pine
Island), Gustavus? Erin Dana (FY, Lenexa, Kan.) and Amy Buran (FY, Ham
Lake), and Misty Smoot of St. Benedict (So., Cottage Grove). Watch this
one, folks.

1998 Cobber Women's Track & Field