No. 23 Is Good; No.2 Is A Whole Lot Better

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/12/12)—While Concordia was happy to record their 23^rd straight top 5 finish at the MIAC Outdoor Championship Track and Field Meet, they were ecstatic to post their first top 2 finish since 2004.
 
The Cobbers used a pantheon of stars to come away with 120.5 points and finish in second place. The second-place finish is the highest by a Concordia team since 2004 when they won the title. The 120.5 total team points is also the most at an outdoor conference meet since 2004.

Concordia had three individuals win events, recorded 20 top 10 finishes and broke a school record in a relay event.

The iron woman for the Cobbers at the meet was junior Kaari Jensen. Jensen won the heptathlon last weekend and then turned in five different top 10 finishes – four of which all came on Saturday. Jensen opened the meet by placing fourth in the long jump on Friday. She started her very busy Saturday by winning the javelin with a personal-best throw of 131-0.00. That mark was over eight feet farther than the next competitor. Jensen then moved over to the triple jump pit where she finished eighth with a distance of 36-08.25 – another season best. From there she took to the track where she placed third in the 100-meter hurdles and fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. Both of her finishing times in the finals were also season bests. Jensen then finished off Saturday by leading off Concordia's 4x400-meter relay team that placed third.

The other two event winners for Concordia were Megan Hoffman in the 400-meter hurdles and Chelsea Klemetson in the high jump. Hoffman put up a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles. She was seeded third entering the meet and then ripped off a 62.53 in the finals, held off a strong kick from a contender from Gustavus and won her first-ever MIAC title. Klemetson continued her outstanding first year in track and field. She finished second in the high jump at the conference indoor meet but then got revenge by winning the championship at the outdoor meet. Klemetson finished with a height of 5-05.25.

The Concordia field athletes had a tremendous meet as they recorded 12 of the 20 top 10 finishes. Both the long jump and triple jump had multiple Cobber place-winners. Hilary Thompson finished second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. In addition to Jensen's fourth and eighth place finishes, Tatijana MullerDahlberg was third in the triple jump and Sara Parsons was eighth in the long jump.

Freshman Cherae Reeves came away with her first top 3 finish at a conference meet. She placed third in the shot put with a distance of 42-02.25. She also had a seventh-place finish in the javelin with a personal best distance of 109-00. Fellow freshman Hilary Birchem finished fourth in the discus with a mark of 133-01.00. Tessa Comstock was the final field athlete to score points for CC. She recorded a height of 9-10.50 in the pole vault and placed seventh.

The Cobbers had several outstanding performances on the track as well. Morgan Christian ran a 2:18.58 in the 800 meters and was fourth while teammate Callie Christianson was three seconds behind with a 2:21.64 and placed eighth. Paige Rygg ran a 4:56.79 in the 1500 meters and was 10^th. Elisabeth Hanson ran a personal best time in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She clocked an 11:48.35 on Saturday to help CC earn five team points.

The relay spotlight shined on the Cobbers' 4x800-meter relay team. The quartet of Kristiana Sather, Christianson, Rygg and Christian sped to a finishing time of 9:19.22 which broke the stadium record and also the 15-year-old Concordia school record. The CC school record of 9:20.11 was set all the way back in 1997.      

Concordia will now continue to try and improve on their marks as they hope to earn a spot in the NCAA National Meet held in Claremont, Calif. On May 27-29.    


COBBER NOTABLES:

MIAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

May 11-12, 2012, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

TEAM – 2^nd place – 120.5 points

MIAC CHAMPIONS:

400 Hurdles – Megan Hoffman – 62.53

High Jump – Chelsea Klemetson – 5-5.25 (1.66m)

Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 131-0 (39.93m)

Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen – 4829 points

MIAC RECORD:

Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen – 4829 points

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE (places 1-3 + 1st place relays only):

1^st - 400 Hurdles – Megan Hoffman – 62.53

1^st - High Jump – Chelsea Klemetson – 5-5.25 (1.66m)

1^st - Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 131-0 (39.93m)

1^st - Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen – 4829 points

2^nd – Triple Jump – Hilary Thompson – 36-11.75 (11.27m)

3^rd – 100 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 15.04

3^rd – Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1 (5.51m)

3^rd – Triple Jump – Tatijana MullerDahlberg – 37-5.75 (11.42m)

3^rd – Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 42-2.25 (12.86m)

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION (places 4-6 & relay places 2-6):

2^nd – 4 x 800 Relay – Ana Sather, Callie Christianson, Paige Rygg, Morgan Christian – 9:19.22

3^rd – 4 x 400 Relay – Kaari Jensen, Morgan Christian, Tatijana MullerDahlberg, Megan Hoffman – 3:55.31

4^th – 800 Meters – Morgan Christian – 2:18.58 (prelims 2:17.50)

4^th – 3000 Steeplechase – Liz Hanson – 11:48.35

4^th – Long Jump – Kaari Jensen – 17-11 (5.46m)

4^th – Discus Throw – Hillary Birchem – 133-1 (40.56m)

5^th – 400 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 65.51 (prelims 64.77)

5^th – Heptathlon – Olivia Decker – 3569 points

OTHER SCORERS (places 7-8)

7^th tie – Pole Vault – Tessa Comstock – 9-10.5 (3.01m)

7^th – Javelin Throw – Cherae Reeves – 109-0 (33.08m)

8^th – 800 Meters – Callie Christianson – 2:21.64 (prelims 2:20.12)

8^th – Long Jump – Sara Parsons – 17-2 (5.23m)

8^th – Triple Jump – Kaari Jensen – 36-8.25 (11.18m)

NCAA NATIONAL QUALIFYING:

400 Hurdles – Megan Hoffman – 62.53

Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen –4829 points

SCHOOL RECORD:

4 x 800 Relay – Ana Sather, Callie Christianson, Paige Rygg, Morgan Christian – 9:19.22

Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen –4829 points

COBBER ALL-TIME TOP 10 PERFORMERS:
4 x 800 Relay – Ana Sather, Callie Christianson, Paige Rygg, Morgan Christian – 9:19.22 – Top 10-#1

Heptathlon – Kaari Jensen –4829 points – Top 10- #1

100 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 15.04 – Top 10-#2

400 Hurdles – Megan Hoffman – 62.53 – Top 10-#2

100 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 15.14 (Heptathlon) – Top 10-#3 (tie)

Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 131-0 (39.93m) – Top 10-#4

4 x 400 Relay – Kaari Jensen, Morgan Christian, Tatijana MullerDahlberg, Megan Hoffman – 3:55.31 – Top 10-#5

Triple Jump – Tatijana MullerDahlberg – 37-5.75 (11.42m) – Top 10-#5

400 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 64.77 (prelims) – Top 10-#6

800 Meters – Morgan Christian – 2:17.50 (prelims) – Top 10-#7

3000 Steeplechase – Liz Hanson – 11:48.35 – Top 10-#7

Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1 (5.51m) – Top 10-#8

Triple Jump – Kaari Jensen – 36-8.25 (11.18m) – Top 10-#8

PERSONAL RECORDS:
100- Alyssa Schmidt, Rachel Tisdale; 200- Alyssa Schmidt, Jessie Marken (heptathlon); 800- Morgan Christian; Kaari Jensen (heptathlon); 1500- Paige Rygg; 5000- Nicole Woinarowicz; 3000 Steeplechase- Liz Hanson; 100 Hurdles- Kaari Jensen, Kristin Boyum, Kaari Jensen (heptathlon), Olivia Decker (heptathlon), Jessie Marken (heptathlon); 400 hurdles- Megan Hoffman, Kaari Jensen (prelims); Long Jump- Hilary Thompson, Kaari Jensen, Olivia Decker; Triple Jump- Tatijana MullerDahlberg, Kaari Jensen; High Jump- Olivia Decker (heptathlon); Shot Put- Kaari Jensen (heptathlon), Jessie Marken (heptathlon); Javelin Throw- Kaari Jensen, Cherae Reeves, Jessie Marken (heptathlon); Heptathlon- Kaari Jensen.