A School Record And A Pair Of Thirds
The Cobber Distance Medley Relay team broke a 10-year-old record and Jake Steiner posted a pair of third-place finishes at the DIII Elite Meet.
WAVERLY, Iowa (3/13/2021)---Cobber fans were hoping to see a school record at the DIII Elite Meet at Wartburg and the Distance Medley Relay team of Jesse Middendorf, Cal Wright, Dan Wilson and Munir Isahak didn't disappoint as they raced to a 10:18.73 to break the 10-year-old record of 10:22.15.
The Distance Medley Relay team was the highlight on the track side while senior Jacob Steiner stepped into the spotlight on the field side. Steiner entered the weight throw seeded eighth and made a huge jump by posting a PR and getting to the podium with a third-place finish. He then jumped three spots in the shot put to post a second third-place finish.
The DMR fifth-place finish and Steiner's pair of third-place finishes paved the way for the Cobbers to finish eighth in the final team standings
Steiner's breakthrough mark came on his second-to-last attempt when he unleashed a throw of 55-01.50. That distance is a foot past his previous best which came at the St. John's dual meet earlier this year. His mark is also the third farthest in school history. What made Steiner's performance even more special was the fact that he was nursing an upper-leg injury and didn't compete in last weekend's meet. He was questionable early in the week but then gritted through a Top 3 performance which gave the Cobbers six team points.
Steiner decided to match his Top 3 performance in the weight throw in the shot put on Saturday. He came up with a distance of 50-09.5 on his final attempt to jump into third place after being seeded sixth in the event. Like the weight throw, that mark is a PR and the seventh best in program history.
Freshman Cooper Folkestad gained valuable big-meet experience and added to the team total with a sixth-place finish in the shot put. He came through with a distance of 49-09.25 on his final attempt.
The other team points from individuals came from Middendorf who finished fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.31 and Wright who was eighth in the 400 meters at 49.81. Wright has now run more sub 50-second 400s than any other athlete in program history.
The Cobber 4x400-meter relay team of Wright, Colin Schuller, Wilson and Middendorf placed eighth to bring home the final team point.
Sophomore Wade Rhonemus was the eighth member of the Cobbers to compete at the meet. He took part in the pentathlon and finished ninth with a total of 2,111 points.
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