UST Men, Women Sweep MIAC Track & Field

May 15, 2000
Behind record-setting performances and several top-three finishes, St. Thomas' men's and women's track teams captured titles at the MIAC Track and Field Championships held May 12-13 at Hamline University.

The men won going away with a team score of 198.5 points. Concordia placed second with 117. The women scored 184.5 points to take first for the 15th time in 16 seasons. Concordia, who broke the UST women's streak of 14 consecutive championships a year ago, placed second this year with 149 points.

Meet records were set by UST teammates Greg Kaiser and Roman Cress. In the Javelin, Kaiser broke his own meet record by one foot, winning in 207-6, a career best, and earning him an automatic berth in the NCAA outdoor meet. In the 100-meter dash prelims, Cress had the fastest time in 10.53, tying a meet record. That event was aided by a strong wind at the runners' backs. Cress went on to win the event with a time of 10.59 and also clinched an automatic NCAA berth.

Other first-place finishers for the men were Cress in the 200 meter dash (21.47, NCAA automatic qualifier); Justin Hall in the 400 (49.66); Ryan Kollmann in the 1500 (4:14.40); Chris Milton in the Pole Vault (14-4 1/2); the 4x100 relay team of Nick Stahly, Hall, Jeremy Heckman and Cress (42.08); and the 4x400 relay team of Andrew Hilliard, Mark Bates, Jason Villar and Hall (3:20.02).

Frehsman Craig Benson also broke a school record and had an NCAA provisional clocking in the 100 hurdles, taking second place in 14.58.

Other top-three finishes for the men were captured by Heckman, 2nd in the 200m (21.65, NCAA provisional qualifier) and 3rd in the 100m (10.77); Villar, 2nd in the 400m (51.06); Bates, 2nd in the 400m Hurdles; Nick Maddox, 3rd in the 5000m (15:27.38); Hilliard, 3rd in the 400m Hurdles (56.01); Dan Draine, 3rd in the 3000m Steeplechase (9:29.30); and Joe Bilek, 3rd in the Hammer Throw (165-9, NCAA provisional qualifier).

Winning events for the women were Jill Ylonen in the 100m (12.23, NCAA provisional qualifier); Kara Hedin in the Triple Jump (37-4, NCAA provisional qualifier); Sara Diercks in the Javelin (123-7); Katie Arnes in the High Jump (5-5 3/4, NCAA provisional qualifier); and the 4x100m relay team of Katie Bestul, Heidi Vogel, Emily Haley, and Ylonen (49.16, NCAA provisional qualifier).

Other top finishers for the women were Carleen Andert, 2nd in the 3000m (10:38.19); Kelly Faris, 2nd in the 10000m (39:38.80) and 3rd in the 3000m (10:43.64); Bestul, 2nd in the 100m Hurdles (14.39, NCAA automatic qualifier); Hedin, 2nd in the Long Jump (17-4 1/4); the 2nd place 4x400 relay team of Vogel, Tish Dusich, Hedin, and Haley (4:00.61); Haley, 3rd in the 100m (12.47); Ylonen, 3rd in the 200m (25.68); Vogel, 3rd in the Triple Jump (35-1); and Arnes, 3rd in the Heptathalon (4069, NCAA provisional qualifier).

Final results are available at the following site:

look here for link to meet entries, heat sheets and final results

The 78th-annual MIAC Track and Field Championships will be held at Hamline University this Friday and Saturday. The competition runs from 2-8 p.m. on Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.

The Tommie men and women are looking to continue their dominance at the meet -- the men's program has won 15 of the last 17 conference meets and are the team to beat this weekend, while the women had captured 14 titles in a row before finishing sixth in last year's meet. UST, Concordia and St. Olaf are expected to battle for the women's team championship.

The men are led into the meet by sophomore Roman Cress, freshman Justin Hall, seniors Joe Bilek and Greg Kaiser, and juniors Ryan Kollmann and Jeremy Heckman:

--Kollmann, a distance runner, was the NCAA indoor 5,000-meter runner-up and a 1998 Outdoor Track All-American. He has received All-MIAC honors with top-three conference finishes nine times in his indoor/outdoor track and cross country career.
--Heckman, a sprinter, is a three-time All-American, 13-time MIAC champion (nine individual, four relay), and holds the UST record for the outdoor 200-meter dash. He won the 100 and 200 at the 1999 outdoor meet.
--Cress won the MIAC indoor 55 and 200 in March and was the NCAA runner-up in the 55. He has already qualified for the NCAAs in the 100-meter dash. Heckman and Cress will lead the Toms' favored 4x100 relay.
--Kaiser is back to defend his title in the javelin. A 1999 All-American, Kaiser set the meet record with a 206-foot throw in 1999 and has two throws over 200 feet thus far in 2000.
--Bilek, an MIAC champ and an All-American last March indoors in the weight throw, will contend in the hammer.
--Hall, injured in 1999 as a freshman, was MIAC runner-up in the 400 meters and ran on the winning 4x200 and 4x400 relays at the indoor conference meet in March. He's run on the 4x100 and 4x400 and run the open 400.

The UST women should get a boost in this year's meet from the return of junior Kara Hedin, who competes in hurdles and jumps. Hedin, a four-time NCAA qualifier and 11-time All-MIAC honoree, sat out last year's conference meet with an injury. She's won three MIAC triple jump titles thus far in her career. Junior Katie Bestul, who's already qualified automatically for the NCAA meet in the 100 hurdles with a 14.58 clocking, is back to defend her MIAC title in that event. She also was MIAC indoor champ for 55 hurdles last March.

Also expected to contribute heavily for the Toms are juniors Kelly Faris and Katie Arnes, seniors Emily Haley and Erin Ward, and freshman middle-distance runner Tish Dusich, and freshman sprinters Jill Ylonen and Heidi Vogel.

Faris, a distance runner, is a six-time All-MIAC selection and was the 1997 MIAC cross-country champion. Haley has been a two-time All-American and nine-time All-MIAC selection in relays. Ward, another distance runner, is a three-time NCAA qualifier in outdoor track and cross-country. Arnes won the MIAC indoor high jump and was third nationally.

2000 MIAC Indoor Championships, March 6-7/UST Highlights

Coach Steve Mathre's men's team used three meet-record performances involving sprinter Roman Cress to roll up 184 points and top closest pursuers Concordia (108.5), St. Olaf (100) and Hamline (85). It was UST's 16th team championship in the 16th year history of the meet -- the longest current MIAC team championship streak.

Coach Joe Sweeney's UST women scored 190.5 points to more than double runner-up Concordia (91.5). UST won nine consecutive indoor women's titles from 1989-97 before Concordia won the 1998 and 1999 women's meets.

Cress won the 200 meters in a meet-record time of 22.03 -- just .01 ahead of teammate Jeremy Heckman, the 1999 champ. Cress anchored the UST winning 4x200 relay along with Heckman, Nick Stahly and Justin Hall in a meet-record time of 1:27.81.

UST also won the 4x400 relay, anchored by Heckman with Hall, Mike gruba and Mark Bates. Chris Milton took second in the pole vault for another Saturday top-two finish.

Friday, Cress set a meet record and ran the fastest time this year in Division III in the 55 meters as he ran 6.20 in the prelims and 6.25 in the finals. Heckman was second and Nick Stahly was fourth. UST also got Friday victories from Joe Bilek in the weight throw, Ryan Kollmann in the 1,500 and the distance-medley relay team of Levi Severson, Andrew Hilliard, Neil Langer and Kollmann. Hall and Bates placed 2-3 in the 400.

For the Tommie women on Saturday, Katie Arnes tied the meet record to win the high jump (5-5 3-4); Jenni Mooney won the 3000; Heidi Vogel won the 200; Kara Hedin repeated as triple jump champ; Tish Dusich was second in the 800; and the Toms' 4x200 (Emily Haley, Katie Bestul, Jill Ylonen, Carie Muntifering) and 4x400 (Vogel, Dusich, Hedin, Haley) relay teams placed second.

Friday, Dusich set a meet record in winning the 600 (1:36.78) Bestul won the 55 hurdles and Kelly Faris won the 5,000. UST also took second in the distance medley relay (Becky Mooney, Muntifering, Erin Ward, Faris) and got a second from Arnes in the pentathlon.

Other top finishers for the Tommie men included: Stahly, 3rd in the 200; Gruba, 5th in the 600 and 3rd in the 800; Steve Henderon, 5th in the 1,000; Brian Preus, 5th in the 3,000 and 5,000; Dan Draine, 4th in the 5,000; Andrew Kisielius, 4th in the long jump and 3rd in the triple jump; and Tom Pontinen, 5th in the pentathalon.

Additional top-five performances for the women were Ylonen, 4th in the 55; Vogel, 3rd in the 400, 5th in the 55, and 5th in the long jump; Hedin, 3rd in 55 hurdles, 4th in the 400, and 4th in the long jump; Mooney, 5th in the 1,500; Carleen Andert, 5th in the 3,000; Christi Osborne, 2nd in the triple jump and 3rd in the long jump; Dusich, 4th in the triple jump; and Katie Joyce, 4th in the pole vault.