MIAC 2025 XC

"Outdoor 5K should be fun too with Eric Holt and Cooper Teare stepping up in distance. I think Teare can beat Grant Fisher in a tactical race. His kick is so much stronger."

Why no DMR or 4 x 4 splits from the conference meet? This seems like the absolute minimum requirement for hosting.

All the qualifiers will come out of Tufts. That meet is loaded.

The Oles are simply lucky with consistently recruiting D1 level talent and also developing local talent (all of which are actually Phil's recruits when you think about it). I just know I'm going to be much more impressed by the Knights of Carleton next year. They may lose their far and away top 3 next year, but if the coaching staff can just recruit 5 studs this year, I think they might be able to challenge and even topple the Oles. Don't forget the home course advantage they'll have running at nationals, when they certainly make it to nationals!

Hoisington trying to take Ihrke's Mile record this weekend?

Great user name! A shame Ihrke was interfered with in the 800m.

Speaking of Chunko - it turns out the rumors about the Ole admin being dissatisfied are true. I’d loved to have seen the look on Chunko’s face when that news was announced.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Olaf Announces Restructuring of Men's Track & Field Coaching Staff
Northfield, Minn. – The St. Olaf College Department of Athletics has announced a restructuring of the leadership of the men's track and field program. Effective immediately, Antone Truss will serve as Head Coach of the Men's Track & Field team, while Brian Power will no longer hold that position.
Truss steps into the role following several seasons as an assistant coach for the Oles, where he has primarily worked with the hurdles, jumps, and combined events groups. During his coaching career he has helped guide five All-Americans, seven national qualifiers, and numerous all-region and all-conference performers, while also bringing experience from previous stops at Mount St. Joseph University, Heidelberg University, and Hanover College. (St. Olaf College Athletics)
Assistant Athletic Director and supervisor of Cross Country and Track & Field John Waters said the change comes after an extended evaluation of the program's direction.
"Coach Power was given multiple chances to meet the standards we expect from the leader of one of our varsity programs," Waters said. "We are looking forward to having a head coach who can meet budgets, maintain the decorum expected of the position, and guide the team to greater competitiveness at championships. We also want to see a more balanced roster that can score in a wider range of events rather than relying primarily on the 800 meters."
Waters also emphasized that the change is about raising expectations for a program that has been competitive but is aiming for more.
"Although the Ole men just finished second at the MIAC Indoor Championships and have not finished lower than third since 2020, St. Olaf is not the sort of school where we can be satisfied getting second," Waters said. "Our goal is to build a program capable of competing for conference titles every year."
Athletic Director Kelly Mahlum noted that Truss' work across both programs made him a natural choice for the position.
"Antone's experience assisting the women's program during the maternity leave of Head Coach Patti Bayer showed us that he is far more than simply a high jump coach," Mahlum said. "He demonstrated the ability to contribute across event areas, support recruiting, and help manage the overall direction of a program."
Mahlum added that Truss' background as both a multi event coach and a former collegiate high jumper has given him a broad perspective on the sport.
"He is truly a student of the sport and has shown an ability to connect with student-athletes while coaching multiple event groups," Mahlum said. "Those qualities make him well suited to lead a complete track and field program rather than just one event area."
Power will remain with the department in his current role as Head Coach of the men's cross country program for the time being.
"Brian will continue as the Men's Cross Country coach for now," Mahlum said. "However, we will be closely monitoring the situation moving forward. If necessary, we may ask Women's Cross Country Head Coach Erica Maker to provide additional supervision and support."
The restructuring is intended to align the men's program more closely with the organizational model and consistent competitive success of the women's program while positioning the Oles for continued improvement at the conference and national levels.

While this article is clearly in jest, I have confirmed with sources close to the program the restructuring is accurate starting in June. I’ve been told this wasn’t Power’s choice, but he thinks Coach Truss will do a great job in the role.

This is huge news for a highly competitive program, Am I reading this right that it took the Women’s track coach going on maternity leave for the AD to realize the assistant is good enough to be a head coach? Are they just afraid he might leave for a competitor?
While the gender equity piece of having a similar setup to the women’s staff is very politically correct, this seems like a slap in the face to the sitting head coach. Our assistant did such a good job of coaching the women let’s make him the head men’s coach.

And why announce it as they are trying to qualify for Nationals and in the middle of a recruitment cycle? The assistant looks impressive and it appears he worked for Power before, so maybe it’s planned move. Just weird timing. I know the AD is new to being an administrator and read lots of comments about the assistant AD’s issues with Power. I always thought they were made up. This makes me wonder if more od this is true.

Peep the Ole IG. It’s true. Big news to drop on a Friday afternoon. That was a very politically correct quote from Power.

If anything, the Ole women should be worried since he coaches their outstanding Multis group. The Oles always have better assistants than head coaches.

how does this affect Lebron's legacy?

Seems like a good move. Power holds the reins as head of XC and distance in track which has clearly worked and been the majority of points in track. Truss meanwhile gets money and resources to build up the other events.

Agreed. The Oles have been so bad in non-distance events during Power’s tenure. This is a great way for the AD to raise the bar and create a staffing model that is equal to the women. I’m sure his ego took a hit, but this is the smartest move for AD seeking better results. I bet he will be charged with higher finishes for XC with less responsibilities.

If they are smart they have Power continue to be meet director for track meets. He dies a decent job of that.

Turlington runs a 4:09 to help the Oles secure the school record. Who is this freshman that almost ran sub 49 and why isn’t he on their other relays or running the open 400!?

Money and resources? What sort of money and resources do you think D3 track & field gets? Culver’s and Kwik Trip aren’t sponsoring the Oles!

It is kinda scary to think that we all know Olaf has been a sleeping giant in track. Power focused entirely on distance and still managed to be second this year. With a coach who actually prioritizes other events there should be no excuse for not winning all three championships every year. I know the press release was fake, but enough people have mentioned that the strength coach wants better results and a more balanced team to make me think that’s true. And probably a big reason for this move. Surely they’ll have to cut some of the underperforming distance runners to make room for all the other event groups. Those limited resources can only be spread so far.

This is great news for Power. Now he can step away from Track and focus on his health. It has to be really hard to recruit elite distance runners when you look like you've never run in your life. Hopefully he now can use the Spring to take better care of himself.

Stencel ran faster without competition. Just think if the Johnnies had been allowed in the fast heat!

They did not deserve to because they did not run fast enough