Event Wins & Top 6s At The Tomcat Open
Will Berning and Jesse Middendorf led the Cobbers at the St. Thomas Tomcat Open as they both claimed individual event titles.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/18/19)---Concordia junior Will Berning is making the most of being able to compete in his favorite event again. Berning used a season-best distance in the javelin to become the only Cobber field athlete to win an event at the St. Thomas Tomcat Open.
Berning was one of two Cobber athletes to claim individual event wins on the day in a meet that featured multiple athletes from NCAA Division I University of Minnesota. Freshman Jesse Middendorf beat a highly competitive field in the 800 meters to earn his first outdoor meet win of the year.
Berning blew away the competition in the javelin – winning the event by over 15 feet. His best attempt stuck in the ground at 172-06 which is the second best mark in the MIAC this year. His distance is also a personal best and in the Top 15 on the school's all-time list.
Berning bettered teammate Matt Bye who placed second in the event with a mark of 157-03.
Middendorf continues to feel right at home on the collegiate track. He earned all-conference honors in the MIAC Indoor Meet with a second-place finish in the 800 meters. Middendorf used that experience to grind out the win in the 800 meters at the Tomcat Open. He raced to a season-best time of 1:56.15 which beat a U of M runner by .19 of a second.
Middendorf also finished ninth in the 1500 meters with another season-best time (4:06.04).
Other Top 6 finishes at the meet were provided by Hayden Gagnon, Willie Julkes III, Michael Miller and Sam Haley. Gagnon was fourth in the 400 meters at 51.33 and sixth in the high jump at 5-10.75. Julkes claimed fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.88 and Miller clocked a 1:03.06 to place fifth in the 400-meter hurdles.
Haley posted the only other Top 6 field finish. He cleared a height of 13-03.50 in the pole vault and finished in fourth place.
Jake Steiner had a pair of season-best marks in the shot put and hammer throw and placed in the Top 8 in each event. He put up a mark of 47-05.75 in the shot put and was seventh while he placed eight in the hammer throw with a distance of 159-11.
UP NEXT: Concordia will return home after the holiday break to host the annual Cobber Twilight Meet on Tuesday, Apr. 23 starting at 3 p.m.