Toms send 14 athletes to NCAA track meet

May 20, 2003
St. Thomas has qualified eight male athletes in six events and six women's athletes in five events to this week's NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships in Canton N.Y.

The three-day meet begins Thursday on the campus of St. Lawrence University.

On the men's side, Coach Steve Mathre has individual qualifiers Carson Glad (SO-Cold Spring/Rocori) in the 200; Jason Schwietz (SO-Forest Lake) in the 400; Andrew Hilliard (SR-Woodbury) in the 400 hurdles; and Joe Thomas (JR-St. Paul). The Toms also will compete in two relays -- the 4x100, where they are seeded first , and the 4x400.

The Tommies broke the five-year-old conference record in the 4x100 relay in last Friday's UST Last Chance meet at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. The quartet of Tom Hart (JR-South St. Paul), Roman Cress (SR-Mpls./South), Cassidy Glad (FR-Cold Spring/Rocori) and Carson Glad clocked 40.85. The previous MIAC record was 40.97 set by St. Thomas in 1998 at nationals. That time also is ranked first in Division III this season. Hilliard has run on the relay the last three seasons and likely will run with the relay at nationals.The 4x400 consists of Hilliard, Robert Ware (SO-Brooklyn Park), Carson Glad and Schwietz.

Last year at nationals, the St. Thomas men qualified nine athletes in seven events and went on to crown seven All-Americans. They tied for 23rd place with 11 team points, including a fourth in the 4x100 and a fifth in the 4x400.

On the women's side, Coach Joe Sweeney will bring
Mollie Hupp (FR-Eden Prairie) and Teresa Smock (JR-Big Lake) in the 800; All-American Karolien Bastiaens (JR-Wayzata) in the pole vault; and the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

The Tommies broke an 18-year-old school record in the 4x400 relay last Friday as they improved their provisional qualifying time to 3:48.14. Hupp, Smock, Heidi Vogel (Apple Valley/Eastview) and Jill Ylonen (Champlin/Champlin Park) comprised the relay, which now ranks third in the nation.

Also in Friday's UST Last Chance Meet, Hupp broke a 20-year-old school record in the 800 meters and hit an automatic qualifying time. Hupp placed first in 2:11.02 -- a time that ranks third-best in Division III. It broke the 1983 record set by former NCAA champion Rose McIlrath. Smock has run 2:12.39 earlier this spring and ranks fifth nationally in the 800.

The Toms also won the 4x100 relay last Friday and improved its provisional time to 48.37 with Bastiaens, Vogel, Alicia Wolff (SO-Forest Lake) and Ylonen. That time was the 16th and last to make the nationals cutoff.

To see the list of men's and women's qualifiers, click here:

see men's qualifiers here

see women's qualifiers here

see St. Lawrence U. official meet home page here