Ekpo cleared 6-9 and scored three team points for St. Thomas. It was his sixth career All-America performance.

Ekpo will compete in Saturday's triple jump.

Two Tommie seniors placed 10th and 11th in the two-day decathlon and closed just out of the team scoring. Maxwell Dunne scored a career-best 6,454 points, and Gavin Yseth tallied 6,308.

Cody Jerabek ran 10.85 in the 100 dash prelims but missed advancing into Saturday's nine-man finals.

No Tommie women competed on Friday, but UST coach Joe Sweeney has seven athletes in five events on Saturday -- the 4x100 and 4x400 relays; Emily Van Heel in the triple jump; and Taylor Berg in the 1,500 and 5,000.

Click here for link to meet results:

http://results.deltatiming.com/track/2013-ncaa-d3-outdoor-championships

For St. Thomas, there was pressure with another big purple target as the team to beat at MIACs. At least two opposing teams rode a wave of momentum into the meet.

Several injury absences added to the Tommies’ uncertainty.

But St. Thomas track and field kept its eye on the prize and collected another men’s and women’s team title sweep, this at the 2013 MIAC Outdoor Championships, held May 10-11 at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Coach Steve Mathre’s men scored in 20 of 22 events, getting points from 22 different athletes. St. John’s usually makes giant team strides through April and May, and this year was no exception. But St. Thomas scored 186 points to top the runner-up Johnnies by 70 points.

The Tommies’ Find-A-Way approach was illustrated by its top-seeded 4x100 relay. Injuries knocked out Jeff Rada and Cole Boughner in the Friday prelims, so Cody Jerabek and Aba Omot were joined in Saturday’s finals by alternates Ryan D’Kae and Charlie Pechous. In an event where timing and familiarity are paramount, the foursome salvaged third place out of eight, and six team points.

Mathre enjoyed the fact that two of his team’s 10 victories came from freshmen: Pechous (long jump) and Brian Jervey (400 dash). The former beat an all-America teammate. The latter won in a photo finish at the tape.

Coach Joe Sweeney’s women scored in 17 of 22 events with points from 14 different Tommies. The Tommies scored 125.5 points on Saturday to turn a 55-point deficit into a 28-point win over a dangerous Concordia-Moorhead squad. UST’s seven afternoon victories helped it hold off Concordia and St. Olaf.

For the 34-year head coach Sweeney, it was his MIAC team championship No. 71 in cross country and indoor/outdoor track and field. That includes nine consecutive conference outdoor titles and 14 in a row indoors.

Sweeney’s UST’s women senior class finished 8-for-8 in indoor/outdoor MIAC team crowns. Junior Emily Van Heel won her 18th and 19th relay or individual events in her six career MIAC Championship meets.

Tradition

A single team championship is remembered as a surprise or a dream season. A few crowns in a short span can be considered part of a productive cycle. Only in the rarest cases, when championships keep coming over many years, does a program earn the tag as elite, one with a special tradition.

That tradition is not lost on Tommie athletes. Just ask Jerabek, the 100- and 200- meter champ. He raced seven times in prelims and finals over two days in his four events. He contributed to 30 points, and was named Most Outstanding Track Athlete. His season-best 10.71 clocking in the 100 propelled him into the May 23-25 NCAA meet.

“I think that tradition is the basis of the success that St. Thomas track and field has had, and will continue to have in the future,” Jerabek said.

PHOTO: Cody Jerabek edges to a 100-meter victory (Mike Ekern photo)

“On the back of our practice shirts, on the walls of our locker rooms and in every speech a coach or captain gives, you will find the acronym ‘TNG.’ Today when we broke out of the huddle after winning, we didn't yell ‘Go Tommies’ or ‘UST,’ but instead yelled ‘TNG.’

“This acronym is, in essence, our program. It means Tradition Never Graduates, and it’s what we remind ourselves every single day. We don't just win championships for ourselves, friends or families. We are driven to win championships because we know that for the last half a century (29 straight years indoors) men on the same campus, and in the same position, laced up their spikes just like we do, and that this program and this legacy is bigger than any one person, team or trophy.”

Sadly for fans of the Tommie program, senior All-America Eyo Eko will graduate. He won the triple jump and placed second in the high jump and long jump for 26 individual points. Ekpo closed his MIAC Championships career with 12 firsts and six seconds in seven indoor/outdoor meets. Ekpo missed the 2011 outdoor meet due to injury but the Toms won all seven team titles in meets that competed.

“The Tommie Tradition is something that we all constantly aware of and keep in the back of our minds,” Ekpo said. “It is a huge part of our team and even is incorporated in our team slogan, ‘TNG.’ We always focus on the present in order to make those goals come true. We do not really speak of winning a championship or take it as a certainty that winning will happen. Our focus is on each individual practice, race, throw, or jump because we know that if we take care of that particular rep or that day’s work, the odds of accomplishing our team goal get better and better.”

Breakout Meet

These big meets provide an opportunity for athletes to have breakout performances. Tommie senior Aba Omot did just that with wins in the hammer and discus, and third-place showings in the shot put and 4x100.

Omot missed most of the 2012 MIAC Outdoor Championships due to injury, so it was especially sweet when contributed to 32 points and later was named Most Outstanding Field Athlete.

“Last year I hurt my hamstring at the MIAC meet at Concordia Moorhead in the 4x100 relay, my first event, and I couldn't compete in my other four events,” Omot explained. “I was upset and I told myself I was going to come back this year and score more points than anyone else in the conference. I won the hammer, the discus, and our 4x100 set a new personal record in the prelims.

PHOTO: Aba Omot (Greg Smith photo)

“Our tradition inspires everyone. I don't even call track practice ‘practice,’ I call it ‘The Hunger Games.’ If you aren't planning to eat then don't show up. This method has infiltrated down to the fellas and also the (UST) ladies. Practices are as intense as the conference championships.” 

Everyone in the upper Midwest fought lousy weather and limited opportunities this spring, but the Tommies tried to make lemonade out of the lemon forecasts.

“Some of our athletes only had two races to qualify for conference, and we had to send some of our top guys to Kansas and Drake to start their seasons while there was still snow on the ground back in Minnesota,” Jerabek said. “But in the end we were able to put a lot of solid times, relays and marks on the board, thanks to the dedication our coaches and athletes had in the weight room, on the indoor track, and at the Saturday practices that were forced upon us because of meet cancellations and poor weather.”

Omot added, “I figured that everyone would use weather as an excuse so I decided I wouldn’t waste my time even thinking about it. Conference championships were going to be hosted regardless, so what good would it do complaining about the weather? I told some teammates that if it snowed that I would run and throw in snow pants and set a new personal record in all of my events. It might have been cold but the legs were warm.”

Women Stayed Focused

The Tommie women had a smaller margin for error this season. Sweeney had a few key athletes sidelined by injury, most notably All-MIAC thrower Hannah Volkman, and All-America distance runner Erin Statz.

That made for some tense moments on Friday when they Toms were outscored by the Cobbers 68-2 over the first four events. By the end of Friday’s round, UST trailed Concordia 71-16 with 16 events to go on Saturday.

“We knew Concordia was strong in the field (events), and we were strong on the track, so it made sense that they would have a significant lead on us after prelims day,” said UST senior All-America Taylor Berg. “I knew we'd close that gap fast on Saturday.

“Coach Sweeney speaks of a quiet confidence that we should have on and off the track, and I am passionate about that mentality. I believe our top runners showed up with that quiet confidence on Saturday, and competed well under pressure when it counted.”

In a year like this, every point is appreciated. Sweeney was especially proud of freshman Gabrielle Pepin, who provided more laps than a thirsty dog at the lake. Pepin logged 25 laps on Friday night in the 10,000 meters and came back in Saturday’s gusty winds to race 12 1-2 more laps in the 5,000. Her two top-five finishes and 10 team points provided breathing room.

Late on Saturday afternoon the Tommie men and women continued another tradition. They jogged a team victory lap with the championship plaque being handed back to every athlete in their swarm.

It was fitting, since on that same O’Shaughnessy track in a few days, instead of touching batons and plaques, the seniors will carry diplomas.

Their awards and their accomplishments will depart. But Mathre and Sweeney are happy that the seniors’ spirit and that special Tommie tradition never graduates.

 Coach Joe Sweeney and team crown No. 71. (Mike Ekern photo)

Senior Eyo Ekpo is seeded seventh in Saturday's triple jump and 14th in Friday's high jump, with season bests of 48-5 1-4 and 6-9.

UST has two entrants in the Thursday's decathlon -- senior Gavin Yseth is seeded fifth, while senior Maxwell Dunne is 13th. 

Junior Cody Jerabek is seeded 16th in Friday's 100 meters with a season best of 10.71.

Click here to see a list on NCAA men's qualifiers:

http://www.ncaa.com/content/2013-diii-mens-outdoor-track-and-field-qualfiers

Click here for meet webpage, schedule:

http://www.uwlathletics.com/sports/2012/12/13/MTRACK_1213120030.aspx?id=122

Diley is a former multiple All-America and MIAC champ while competing for St. John’s. The Prescott, Wis., native, is finishing his fourth season with the Tommies.

Since he joined the St. Thomas program and began coaching male and female jumpers and multi-event athletes, UST has won all eight MIAC women’s team titles and seven of the eight men’s crowns.

With Diley’s guidance, St. Thomas has produced multiple All-MIAC selections, conference champions and national qualifiers from the horizontal jumps and the multi-events. 

In 2012 alone, St. Thomas had six conference champions in the horizontal jumps and multi-events, Eyo Ekpo (indoor triple jump, indoor long jump), Emily VanHeel (indoor triple jump, outdoor triple jump), Gavin Yseth (heptathlon), and Maxwell Dunne (decathlon). All of these athletes went on to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Eyo Ekpo was the national runner-up in the triple jump with a distance of 15.29m (50-2).  

Ekpo, Van Heel, Dunne and Yseth are expected to compete in next week’s national meet.

The MIAC runner-up to teammate Maxwell Dunne, Yseth posted a 6,448 total. Dunne is ranked 12th at 6,322. Devin Dirth is ranked 23rd with his score of 6,228 at North Central.

UST competed in a few events at Thursday’s Last Chance Meet at UW-LaCrosse.

The Tommie 4x400 relay took second in 3:17.40 with Doug Thoresen, Cody Jerabek, Cole Boughner and Brian Jervey. Their season best of 3:15.67 recorded at the Drake Relays ranks 19th in Division III.

Jerabek ran 10.85 for seventh place in the 100 meters.

Eyo Ekpo took ninth in the long jump at 22-4 1-4.

Aba Omot (171-0) and Bryan Thell (168-3) took 16th and 18th in the hammer throw.

The final NCAA field will be announced Sunday morning. The national meet will be contested May 22-25 in LaCrosse.

Click here for complete results:

http://results.pttiming.com/liveresults/2013/ncaaqualifier/

Click here to see the 2013 outdoor track bests for D-III men:

http://www.tfrrs.org/lists/944.html?gender=m

--Steve Mathre was voted Coach of the Year after guiding the Tommies to a 70-point win over runner-up St. John’s. In the last six years alone, Mathre has won four Region Coach of the Year awards and six MIAC indoor or outdoor Coach of the Year honors.

--Junior sprinter Cody Jerabek was voted the Most Outstanding Track Athlete after he swept the 100 and 200 dashes and ran on top-five placing 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

--Senior thrower Aba Omot was voted the Most Outstanding Field Athlete after he swept the hammer and discus, took third in the shot put and third in the 4x100 relay.

St. Thomas won 10 of 22 events and won the outdoor team title for the 26th time in the last 31 years.

Coach Steve Mathre’s Tommie men outscored 10 other teams as they rolled up 186 points to post a 70-point victory. UST won 10 of 22 events

St. John’s (116), Bethel (103.5), St. Olaf (93.5) and Hamline (86) took the Nos. 2-3-4-5 spots.

St. Thomas has won 26 of the last 31 MIAC outdoor men’s track and field team crowns.

Coach Joe Sweeney and his Tommie women pulled off another sweet Saturday comeback. Starting the day down 55 points to Concordia-Moorhead, the Tommies hit full potential on Saturday recording seven firsts and 118.5 team points from the 16 events held.

When it was finished, UST had scored a 26-point win over the second-place Cobbers for the program’s eighth consecutive outdoor team championship.

For Sweeney, it was MIAC team crown No. 71 in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field on his successful career.

St. Thomas closed the 2012-13 school year with 10 conference team championships. That helped UST sweep the MIAC men’s and women’s all-sport titles for the sixth year in a row.

--

UST's Mike Ekern took these photos at Saturday's competition:

Coach Joe Sweeney celebrates career win No. 71 (Mike Ekern photo)

The Tommie women won seven events on Saturday to erase a big deficit. (Mike Ekern photo) 

Aimee Junget hands to Kayla Goeman in the winning 4x400 relay. (Mike Ekern photo)

Mallory Burnham won the 100 hurdles and ran on the winnign 4x100. (Mike Ekern photo)

Taylor Berg got to the finish line in the 5,000 14 seconds ahead of the runner=up. (Mike Ekern photo) 

Cody Jerabek (4) won the 100 meters (above) and helped UST score 30 points in his four events. ((Mike Ekern photo)   

Devin Dirth took eighth in the shot put. (Mike Ekern photo)

Gavin Yseth took fifth in the 400 hurdles and scored 15 pooints overall in three events. (Mike Ekern photo) 

The Tommie 4x400 relay closed out a successful-two day meet. (Mike Ekern photo)

The Tommie men swept the MIAC indoor and outdoor team titles for the second year in a row. (Mike Ekern photo) 

Coach Steve Mathre’s Tommies outscored 10 other teams as they rolled up 186 points to post a 70-point victory.

St. John’s (116), Bethel (103.5), St. Olaf (93.5) and Hamline (86) took the Nos. 2-3-4-5 spots.

St. Thomas has won 26 of the last 31 MIAC outdoor men’s track and field team crowns.

Coupled with the UST women’s team victory, St. Thomas closed the 2012-13 school year with 10 conference team championships. That helped UST sweep the MIAC men’s and women’s all-sport titles for the sixth year in a row.

Junior Cody Jerabek swept the 100 (10.71) and 200 (21.76) dashes to lead the Saturday performances.

Eyo Ekpo won the triple jump (45-3 3-4) and closed his MIAC Championships career with 12 firsts and six seconds in seven meets.

Freshman Brian Jarvey won the 400 dash (48.65) in a photo finish.

Bryan Thell (50-9 1-2) led a 1-2-3-8 finish in the shot put, along with teammates Matt Schauer (48-10 3-4), Aba Omot (48-4 3-4) and Devin Dirth (44-9).

Gavin Yseth took fifth in the 400 hurdles (56.04) and sixth in the 110 hurdles (15.94).

The 4x100 relay placed third in 43.14 with Ryan d’Kae, Omot, Jeff Rada and Jerabek.

The 4x400 relay placed fifth in 3:23.82.

Six other Tommies scored on Saturday -– Brian Farley placed seventh in the 5,000 (15:16.45); Fritz Alt took seventh in the 800 (2:03.14); Doug Thoresen placed sixth in the 400 dash (49.67); Alex Schroeder was eighth in the 1,500 (4:14.81); Cole Boughner placed eighth in the 100; and Blake Bordson was eighth in the javelin (165-4).

Click here for complete results:

http://www.raceberryjam.com/2013/miacmensodevents.html

Cody Jerabek pulls out the win in the 100 meters (Mike Ekern photo)

Friday story

The Tommie men’s track and field team is off to a strong start in its bid for a repeat team title at the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Eight of the 22 events are in the books with 15 events to be contested Saturday starting at noon.

St. Thomas has five firsts and four seconds thus far and a total of 94 points through eight events. Gustavus (46.5) and St. John’s (35) are the closest pursuers.

UST’s scoring includes a 1-2-3-5 finish in last week’s decathlon for 28 points led by Maxwell Dunne, Devin Dirth and Gavin Yseth.

On Friday, Aba Omot (173-8) and Bryan Thell (166-9) placed 1-2 in the hammer throw for 18 team points. Omot’s throw was a career best.

Omot came back to win the discus (154-0) for 10 more team points.

Freshman Charlie Pechous (23-0- 1-2), senior Eyo Ekpo (22-6 1-2) and Dunne (20-10 1-2) took 1-2-8 in the long jump for 19 points. For Pechous, it was a career best by more than one foot.

Ekpo took second in the high jump in a season-best 6-9.

Dunne placed third in the pole vault in a career-best 15-1 1-2 for six more points.

The Tommies 4x800 relay team took fourth for five points with Samual Bach, Dan Kremer, Will Roberson and Doug Mueller in 7:52.29.  

In Friday prelims the Toms’ 4x100 team had the fastest qualifying time, a season-best 41.85.

Others advancing to Saturday’s finals are Yseth in the 110 hurdles (15.66) and 400 hurdles (56.59); Brian Jarvey (49.04) and Doug Thoresen (49.90) in the 400 dash; Alex Schroeder in the 1,500 (4:10.49); Fritz Alt (1:57.19) in the 800; Cody Jerabek (10.90) and Cole Boughner (11.05) in the 100 dash; and Jerabek in the 200 (21.90). Almost all those qualifiers hit season best times.

In the 10,000 finals, UST took ninth with freshman Jacob Gerhartz (32:38.14) and 11th with Ben Rascher (33:20.21).

Click here to see meet results:

http://www.raceberryjam.com/2013/miacmensodevents.html

Eleven men's teams and 12 women's teams compete in a total of 42 events this weekend (21 each gender).

Links

Click here for live results

http://www.raceberryjam.com/2013/miacmensodevents.html

Click here for MIAC meet web page:

http://www.miac-online.org/sports/2012/12/4/OTRACK_1204121237.aspx?id=5772& 

UST has won 25 of the last 30 men's outdoor team titles, and also has a streak of 29-for-29 in conference indoor crowns.
 
In all, St. Thomas men's and women's squads have won 113 all-time MIAC team titles in indoor and outdoor track and field.

In the March conference indoor meet in Northfield, UST won nine firsts and rolled up 204 points to top closest pursuers St. Olaf (114) and Bethel (88). But a much closer race in expected this weekend with St. John’s, Bethel and the Oles among the prime threats.
 
Coach Steve Mathre's top weapons include senior All-America jumper Eyo Ekpo, junior sprinter Cody Jerabek, and junior thrower Bryan Thell.
 
Ekpo, ranked fifth nationally in the triple jump, is expected to challenge for titles in the triple jump, high jump and long jump. He has competed in six indoor/outdoor conference meets thus far on his career and has 11 firsts, four seconds and two thirds in the jumps to lead St. Thomas to six team championships.

The Toms got a good start in last weekend’s decathlon with 28 team points in the bank as it placed 1-2-3-5 led by seniors Maxwell Dunne, Devin Dirth and Gavin Yseth. Those athletes will also look to score in a few of the field and hurdles events this weekend.
 
In the remaining 21 events, St. Thomas is seeded first with nine performances and second with three others.

Thell is seeded first in both the shot put and hammer

Jerabek is seeded first in both the 100 and 200 dashes. He contributed to three victories in the 2012 conference outdoor meet.

UST is seeded first in the 4x400 (14th nationally) and 4x100 relays.

Senior Aba Omot is seeded first in the discus, and also runs on the top-seeded 4x100 relay.

Two freshmen are seeded second: Matt Schauer in the shot put and Cole Boughner in the 200.

Friday's competition starts at 3 p.m., while Sunday's events begin at noon.

Links

Meet Schedule:

http://www.stthomastrack.com/resources/Documents/13-MIAC-Outdoor/13-Proposed-Outdoor-MIAC-Schedule.pdf

MIAC Men's Performance List:

http://www.raceberryjam.com/2013/miacodmenperf.html