MIAC Track Talk

Those K's lived up to the hype even though Ihrke had to solo what I think is a MIAC record, but our boy Cole, said wait, don't forget me, I just crush PR's. Nick had nice day. A strong 600 for Owen and Gabe is getting closer to Turlington in the 3K! Schreiner had an outstanding opener in the LJ, looks like he'll battle the Ole who hasn't been up to par this year. Cobbers are on the rise. Look at the vault!

It may be the non-Northfield MIAC record, but it most certainly isn't the overall MIAC record. It took less than 30 seconds to figure that out.

I predict he’ll have the MIAC 600, 800, and 1000 record before he graduates. Remember he’s doesn’t have a training partner like the Oles. Although based on improvement from high school, Stencel and Coach Maxwell earn top honors by far. Both these young guys are the future of the MIAC! And the future is bright.

AOTW honorees -

Men

Sprints - Kiernan Murnan St. John's. Murnan ran the third best 200m in the MIAC and moved into the 60m title conversation while also running on the best 4 x 200m in the conference. Bethel hasn't run a 4 x 200 yet, so they lead by two seconds.

Mid-Distance - John Ihrke continues to impress, running 2:27 in the 1000, a time we haven't see in a few years. Ihrke could compete for the title in any event from the 600-Mile.

Distance - Although not particularily fast, Kevin Turlington took a commanding lead in the MIAC 5000m. Sadly no MIACers seem to want to run fast in the 5000m this year. Has the departure of Mo been impactful?

Jumps - While Tommy Schreiner's return to competition is noteworthy, his teammate Tommy Evans claiming a school record in the pole vault takes top honors with his massive PR of 4.64m. Isaiah Watson now ranks outside the top 20 nationally in the triple jump after a victory of more than one foot at Carleton.

Throws - Bethel's Timmy Ball throwing over 16m in the Shot Put for the first time ever. He'll be overshadowed by Cooper & Beseth, but that's a massive throw to start the month for the sophomore.

The team title is heating up. It looks to be Bethel's to win, but St. John's Concordia, and St. Olaf all could battle for the other podium spots.

AOTW Part II -

Women

Sprints - Concordia's Emily Rengo had herself a day in Collegeville, winning the 200, 4 x 400, and running the third best 60m in the MIAC.

Mid Distance - Cobber teammate Kyla Nygaard surges to a 5 second lead in the 800m, running 2:12 in South Dakota and then traveling back to Minnesota to win a 4 x 400.

Distance - Macalester's Kate Fox claims the double victory in the 1000/Mile at Carleton and is now the MIAC favorite in the Mile. Is the Northfield stranglehold on distance being stifled by Fox and Liston from Gustavus?

Jumps - Sabriya Farquharson moves into the national rankings with a 11.30m TJ and also win the Long Jump at home.

Throws - Gracie Gallagher of Concordia is now in the title hunt for shot put with a nice PR at St. John's. Six women are within 40 cm of the lead!

Team title - Concordia is sneaking into the team title conversation, but Bethel and St. Olaf appear to be the early favorites.

Who are the podium favorites in the 60m/200m/400m one week out of conference?

Liu/Olson-Skog

And for the 200/400, we are watching some of the best to ever do it in Grant Nelson and Ariella Press-Rogahn.

Looks like Ihrke, St. Peter, and Stencel are chasing some big times at the U! Will Stencel or Ihrke take the MIAC records down one week out from the MIAC?

Can someone post the Carleton Fieldhouse records? I think we can see championship records in the Men's 60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4 x 400m, DMR, and Shot Put. For the women, I think we'll see 200m, 400m, 800m, and Weight!

Stencel is seeded 14 seconds behind the MIAC record. He may have been seeded faster earlier, but it has been adjusted. Would be cool to see him qualify for Nats in two events though.

Wonder what he’ll choose to race at MIAC’s? For some reason I feel like Gabe will win an event on his home track. I could see Cole win the mile and K and Gabe the 3K. Turlington might be able to jog the 5K backwards. I bet he tempos the 5K and then runs a DMR leg.

Can we talk about all of these random oles that I’ve never heard of running decent mile times? Garrett Seppanen, Alex Bjork, Micah Larsen-Schmidt, and Owen Chamberlin. All guys who weren’t relevant at all last year now running pretty quick, not to mention Bullock. Who is going to stop the Oles from having 5 guys in the top 10??

Indy Lyness

No. We cannot.

I love that Bethel has decided to treat the Ole meet as a JV meet and is barely sending anyone to Northfield. That really shows you what they think of Power and how he runs his programs.
The Gopher meet looks loaded! Good to see Lelinga giving the 800m another go too along with McCoy and Lars. Looks like Ihrke is poised to run something fast with his personal pacer, Mac GOAT David Palmer. Stencil looking for a second national qualifier in the 3000m and Nick looking to move into the top three of the mile.

Olaf hasn’t had good athletes in non-distance events in 30 years and only a couple Bethel athletes would be competitive with Ole distance athletes, so this makes sense. I don’t think Bethel even thinks of the Oles as competition. They are on two separate spectrums. And Rock is too kind to even be dismissive to Chunko.

This is kinda hilarious because Power was originally hired as the track coach and was supposed to build up that program. Some of the bubs on that team were furious he was given the keys the distance dynasty. He seems to be doing ok in XC, but track hasn’t reached the same level. It really seems that he relies on an army of distance guys that were probably coming to St. Olaf anyway due to their history as a strong distance school. I’m not surprised the AD is unhappy with him and wants a more competitive squad of more than distance runners. Just look at what the women’s coach has brought in. They should win the MIC championship by 50 points off their freshmen alone.
.

And, I know Phil’s teams didn’t lift so I find it hilarious that guy is Power’s boss now.

Seppanen being fast isn't new. He was a transfer from Luther this year. He was a very good miler in HS but seemed to be injured while in Decorah. This is a return to form in a new location.

So basically a fast guy falls into Chunko's lap and you're giving him credit for making the kid faster? Typical Ole fanboy.

Also, did anyone see Chunko load up the 3000 while most guys are resting this week? Not sure why some of them are racing. Maybe some are pacers, but doesn't seem the best strategy a week out from the MIAC championships.

They have had several All-American Multis and jumpers, a stud hurdler, and conference champion in shot put in the last few years.

Anyone paying attention knows that now that the Oles have full time assistants, the track team has become more balanced. And the distance hasn’t dropped off. Not sure what any AD would want other than a coach that isn’t a massive azzhat. But they are stuck with that and it’s hard to fire someone for something like that when you have a modicum of results.

Stencel and Hootie are running 3K’s. People seem excited for them to try run a national qualifier or make the fast heat at MIAC’s.

From a non-Northfielder, Go for a run. Do some yoga. Maybe get laid. Quit wasting so much negative energy on the Oles. It can’t be good for you.

I mean he is getting faster so... yes?

Maybe you want to give the credit to the middle distance coach though, who apparently would be turning the Ole 800 squad into Olympians if Power wasn't getting in his way every waking moment