Men's, Women's Track set for MIAC Championships

May 5, 2004


see link to meet schedule here

see MIAC season performance lists here

see MIAC weekly track & field news release here

The St. Thomas men's team will try to win the team championship for the 20th time in 22 years, while the UST women will seek the school's 19th team crown in 20 years at the Friday-Saturday MIAC Championships hosted by St. Olaf in Northfield.

The Tommie men and women will also try to sweep the indoor and outdoor team crowns for the fifth consecutive season.

Women's Preview
The Tommie women expect a close battle in their bid. Coach Joe Sweeney's team won the March indoor meet by a 52-point margin but will be without two key performers this weekend.

Junior middle-distance standout Brigid Power (Eden Prairie, Minn.) will miss the competition while traveling to Philadelphia for her brother's wedding. Senior All-American Teresa Smock is passing up her outdoor season of eligibility as she plans to compete in 2005 for the Minnesota Gophers indoors and outdoors as a graduate student. The Toms have also dealt with the loss of Mollie Hupp, a freshman All-American 400-meter runner for the Toms in 2003 who transferred for her academic major and now runs for the Minnesota Gophers.
 
St. Thomas senior pole vaulter Karolien Bastiaens (Wayzata, Minn.) broke her own school and MIAC outdoor record by 1-4 inch Saturday as she cleared 12-5 1-2 -- an NCAA automatic height --  to win the event at the St. Thomas Invitational. Bastiaens is looking to win her sixth MIAC pole vault title (indoors and outdoors).

Tommie sophomore Kristal Grigsby (Mpls./Breck HS) broke a 21-year-old school record in the long jump at the April 28 Tommie Twilight meet. Her jump of 19-1 1/4 ranks second nationally and is an NCAA automatic height. Grigsby also won the high jump in 5-6 -- which ranks first in the conference and seventh in Division III thus far. Teammate Andretta Colley of Jamaica jumped 18-4 1/2 and ranks 12th nationally.

The Toms scored no points (no entrantsI in the first event -- the heptathlon, held April 29-30. Carleton (12), Concordia (11), St. Olaf (8), St. Ben's (4) Bethel (3) and Hamline (1) scored to take te early lead going into this weekend.

Men's Preview
Last year, the Tommie men scored a 73-point win over runner-up St. John's. At the March MIAC Indoor meet, UST scored a 77-point win over runner-up St. Olaf as they scored in all 20 events with 32 different athletes contributing at least one point.

Tommie junior All-American Carson Glad (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) contributed 26 points at the March MIAC indoor meet. He won the 200 meters (22.06) for his 11th career conference individual or relay championship. He also was second in the 55-meter (6.55) and 400 dashes (49.04). Glad is a member of the Toms' 4x400 team that's ranked third in Division III. He's also qualified provisionally for nationals in the 100 and 200.
 
The Tommies had seven NCAA provisional qualifying times or marks at Saturday's St. Thomas Invitational -- Bryce Beckman (Winona, Minn.) (1:52.72) and Cory Fusco (Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS)(1:53.12) in the 800; Matt McLaughlin (Minnetonka, Minn.) in the hammer (166-8); P.J. Theisen in the 400 hurdles (53.86); Glad in the 100 (10.8), 200 (21.73) and 4x100 (41.79). Joining him on the relay were Jeremy Krentz (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS), Cassidy Glad (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) and Tom Hart (South St. Paul, Minn.).

The Toms scored four points with Jason Larson's fifth-place finish in the first event -- the decathlon, held April 29-30. St. John's (17), St. Mary's (10), Bethel (6), St. Thomas (4) and Hamline (2) scored to take te early lead going into this weekend.