2025 MIAC Track & Field Thread

Was it the Gopher or Tommies coach?

Updated rankings -

800m - Ihrke, Allen, Montreuil. Yes, some Oles ran fast but I don't think they have the tactical ability to win in a championship race. And I expect Montreuil to stay on Tommy's hip to edge Brauer.

1500m - Nichols, Goss, Boone. I still think this is Gabe's race to lose. If it is a sit and kick I could see Brauer and Goss have one heck of battle of fast twitch leg speeds. It wouldn't surprise me to see Tyler Smith sneak in. I don't think Turlington will race. Hartney did suprise Indoor, but hasn't run as fast outdoor.

Steeple -

Goss and Fitzgerald are so far ahead of everyone they could tempo the race. My money is on a Johnny to peak at the right time and grab third. Probably Kaluza for his first sub 9:20 performance.

5000m -

It will be 80 degrees, this I expect this to be slow sit and kick. Let's say Turlington, Nichols, and Stencel. I doubt even Power is stupid enough to double his steeplers and 5kers again after watching Will Kelly impugn the integrity of his career with the debacle of a 5K las tyear.

10,000m

Bati's absence will allow the Oles to score some points here. I do expect Tyler Goss to stick his nose in and possibly score third. Look for Graber, Edwards/Ihrke to convert in and also battle for that third place finish.

4 x 800m-

Chunko won't waste his top guys in the relay, so I expect St. John's to win this one. Third will be very interesting. Ricks will have all of his top guys double or triple back, so I'll pick Carleton over a Lelinga-less Bethel and Mac without Ihrke.

I love my fellow Johnnies too!

Graber is a sneaky good pick. He’s had a phenomenal year without the kind of training groups the other programs have. A great competitor too. And no I’m not a bethel guy.

This aged well.

I’m hearing Coach Chunko is leading a movement to move the 10K to a different time Friday. This guy will do anything he can to try for an advantage. Everyone races in the same conditions and it’s not even going to be that hot. Now teams will miss watching their teammates race the 10K and coaches will have longer days because he wants to be able to double his 10K guys. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a proposal for the MIAC to not host the event since it’s so close to the national championship or too windy. Or some other soft excuse.

If true, I don’t get why anyone would think this is a bad thing. You are probably not a 10ker. And this is clearly a coach or someone closely associated with a coach posting here. I’d guess that conference has a way to air opposition to this either it’s a vote or zoom. It’s sad that you are so jealous and petty to post that kind of thing here. Kudos to this coach for attempting to challenge some of the sprint coaches in the conference to think about distance events too. That rarely happened in the past.

Fun meet at Olaf today. Few Fast Finish mistakes and some nice performances. I did see Power move three hurdles at once, but so did a female sprinter. It’s only a big deal if you’re a Carl.

Surprised so few people are talking about what a great year Concordia is having.

Currently in the country, they have the #9 long jumper (a freshman), the #1 Shot Put/#7 Discus thrower, the No. 5 steepler only a sophomore.

In the MIAC they have the 3rd best 4 x 100, 5 men under 11.20, six under 23.0 including a freshman under 22.

They do such a tremendous job of developing talent with less advantages than others. Most of their meets have wind and they only can compete against local teams from other division.

Garrick and staff should be the early front runner for Coach of the Year. What they have done with their freshmen and sophomores is so impressive.

Pretty sure they have indoor track and brand new outdoor track so they have pretty good circumstances. Their long jumper was state champion and the steeple kid was top 3 in the state. Cooper was 4th in Minnesota shot. So their top kids are doing awesome things, but let’s not act like they’ve taken 18’ jumpers and 5:00 milers (like the next silkie Wilkie at Carleton Torte) to national championships.

Hey Cobbers, quit hyping yourselves and get your results on TFFRS!

The Cobber coach is an Ole, so it makes sense they'd have meet management issues. Do they use Fast Finish like Chunko?

Development is paramount to quantifying coaching success. Not freshmen coming in and immediately being top 10 in the conference. Admittedly Chunko does a good job of that with distance. But I'd argue no one else has done it as well as Macalester these last 5 years. Schofer has transformed the program, and year after year his juniors and seniors are the ones carrying the team. The Mac pack gets leaps and bounds better every year, in almost every event. Mac is now a force in distance, up there in the throws, and some stars on sprints (not to mention having barely any jumpers but all being solid). Schofer does more with less depth than any other MIAC program (other than sad St Kate's and Mary's).

Brotha you've never ran 25 laps in 80 degrees if you think moving it later is a bad thing. This is for athlete safety just as much as trying to get fast times. Also, it's literally gonna benefit the whole field.

I think one of the biggest detractions of the Ole program is he gets big time recruits and they never score in XC or track as freshman and largely until JR/SR year. And in fact, several never pan out at all or transfer away. The Mac Pack completely outperformed them in the at the Indoor championship relative to who they are. I know the Oles scored more points, but you should expect that. Now that Phil's recruits have trickled out he may have to rely on freshman more frequently. We'll see if they can handle his self-labeled advanced training.

Concordia is an odd spot. It gets a random collection of really high-end athletes and guys who think saying Cobber is stimulating.
If I'm looking at purely developing athletes, I'd say Mac and Bethel are the best, but for what they get over time. Saint Mary's does an excellent job of developing high end sprinters without much to work with which makes for a coach with his D1 experience. How many full time coaches does Bethel even have? The Oles and Mac have so many.
The MIAC appears to be back at the level pre-Covid/pre-St. Thomas purge. Coaching is a high level and so many of these coaches attract the negative attention and animosity that we hear regarding Coach Chunko. It's no wonder the Ole admin is looking at making changes.

Macalester has 3 full time coaches

While a bit hard to follow I think I know what you’re saying here. He brings in studs, had them run with other former studs, and hopes they eventually become college studs. It’s basically a recruiting pyramid scheme with only the head coach reaping the benefits of the levels below him.

Its sad to see some of those heralded freshman not able to run sub 2 or even under 4:20.

Interestingly, despite having so many coaches he sprints, hurdles , throws program is terrible. He has one decent jumper. Even the women’s coach who has been there for two years with young children has athletes crushing program records.

The Ole admin is liking to trunk the fat, pub intended, and will recognize they should have much more success for the money they are spending on staffing. They don’t need two head XC or track coaches.

Big questions heading into the championship

800 - Will Ihrke go undefeated in his collegiate championship career? Can Tommy recapture his Drake magic? Will any of the Oles be able to qualify for Nats?

1500 - Will the real Gabe stand up? Can the Future slow the race enough to sit and kick? Will Boone’s old man strength secure the win? Why isn’t Chunko running Turlington after a subpar 10K attempt.

Steeple - Who will be third? Will Iggy and the Future make it a kickers race and relax for an easy 2800m.

5000m - Can Gabe break up the Ole scoring? Will Stencel run his first race in the 14:30’s? Is Chunko dumb enough to try to double his steeplers again?

10K - Can Lars top Skemp? Will Turlington jog it? Will the other Goss make a name for himself and earn his first All-conference or will Graber, fresh off an 1500 PR, unleash his deadly kick?

4 x 800 - which squad of random Oles will we see? Can they beat the Johnnies and Carls who will likely double on Day One. Or will a Lars/Calvin led Scholastica squad or Bethel surprise?

Someone give a jumps and throws prediction? im too stupid