10,556-Day Record Is Gone In 2:30.91!
Senior Matthew Lillehaugen broke the school record in the 1000 meters which had stood since 1988.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/28/17)--- It stood for 10,556 days. It stood for 28 seasons and through hundreds of athletes but in the very first meet of the 2017 season senior Matthew Lillehaugen broke the school record in the 1000 meters.
Lillehaugen's show-stopping performance helped Concordia post a perfect 9-0 record and win the season-opening Cobber Duals Meet.
Lillehaugen knew he could break the record which was set by Greg DeFor at the MIAC Meet in 1988 in the first meet of the year - head coach Garrick Larson wanted him to be a little more patient.
"I knew he was going to break the record this year," commented Larson. "I figured he would do it in the next few meets but he came to me before today and said he was going to beat the time in the Cobber Duals."
Lillehaugen, a CoSIDA Academic All-American, raced around the Olson Forum track and crossed the finish line in a time of 2:30.91. That mark bettered DeFor's record of 2:31.05 by a mere .14 of a second.
Goodbye 1988, hello 2017.
Lillehaugen finished second in the race which was won by an athlete from MSU Moorhead who posted a time of 2:28.53 which is the fastest in the Division II NSIC conference. Lillehaugen's time is the third fastest in the MIAC this season.
Paced by Lillehaugen's dramatic record-setting feat, Concordia went on to record three event wins and nine other Top 5 finishes.
David Supinski, Jackson Schepp and Eli Beachy recorded event wins for the Cobbers. Supinski , who already owns the school record in the 600 meters, clocked a 1:23.32 in the event and won the 600 race by .44 of a second. His time is less than a second off his school record mark set last year.
Schepp won the long jump and was fifth in the triple jump. He flew 21-06.75 in the long jump to capture his first event win of the year. His mark is in the Top 10 of the MIAC this year and 13th best in program history. He posted a distance of 40-09.50 in the triple jump to earn his other Top 5 finish of the day.
Beachy continues to excel in the pole vault. He won the event, which had 23 athletes participating, with a height of 14-01.75. The height is a personal best in a competitive indoor meet and is in the Top 10 of the MIAC this year.
Teammate Eddie Clifton tied Beachy's height but placed second due to two misses at earlier heights. Sophomore Sam Haley made it three Cobbers in the Top 5 of the pole vault. He cleared the bar at 13-01.75 and tied for fifth place.
A trio of cross country teammates earned Top 5 times in the distance races. Brandon Quibell clocked a 9:18.49 and finished third in the 3000 meters while freshman Eric Wicklund placed fifth with a mark of 9:32.25. Brendan Johnson opted for the longer 5000 meters and came home in a time of 17:22.21 which slotted him into fourth place.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will hope to continue its school-record breaking pace when they travel over the Red River to compete in the NDSU Bison Open on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Jan. 4. CC will then head to St. John's to compete in the SJU Quadrangular on Saturday, Feb. 11.