Ferocious Field Events Lead To 24th Straight Top 5

ST. PAUL, Minn. (5/11/13)—For the second straight season Concordia used the strength of their field event finishes to place second at the MIAC Outdoor Championship Meet. It marks the 24^th straight season that the Cobbers have finished in the top 5 of the meet.

Senior All-American Kaari Jensen got the ball rolling last week when she won her second straight MIAC heptathlon and then junior Hilary Thompson finished off the field-event flourish by winning the long jump and triple jump competitions. In between, CC received several outstanding individual performances from track and field athletes alike.

Jensen once again showed her versatility at the meet by placing in the top 6 in five different events at the meet. Besides her victory in the heptathlon, she also won the title in the javelin. Jensen then placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, third in the 400-meter hurdles and sixth in the long jump. Jensen also competed in the high jump.

Thompson saved her best for last, not only in the final regular-season meet of the year, but in both the long jump and triple jump competitions as well. Thompson soared to a distance of 17-11.75 in her final try in the long jump to win the event by over two inches. She then duplicated the feat in the triple jump on Saturday when she waited until her very last attempt to unleash a jump of 38-06.00. That mark is the 13^th farthest in NCAA Division III this season and puts her on a course to qualify for the national meet.

Cherae Reeves, who entered the meet with the second farthest distance in the country in the shot put, placed second in the event. She finished with a distance of 46-01.75.

Reeves and Jensen were also part of the best event finish by Concordia. The duo, along with Olivia Johnson, claimed the top 3 spots in the javelin. Jensen won the event with a mark of 127-03.00 while Johnson was second at 115-04 and Reeves was third with a PR mark of 115-03.00

Hilary Birchem recorded her second straight top 4 finish in the discus. Last year, as a freshman, she was fourth in the event and then this season she bettered that by one and finished third with a distance of 130-1.00.

Besides the top 5 finishes from Jensen in the hurdle events, the top finishes in the track events were turned in by Rochelle Hickerson and Liz Hanson. Hickerson raced to a 12.78 in the 100 meters and placed fifth while Hanson was sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase in a time of 11:50.15 in the final conference meet of her career.

Concordia will now have athletes compete in the UW-La Crosse Last Chance Meet on May  16 in order to get better national marks for athletes. The Cobbers will then take a contingent to the NCAA National Meet on May 24-25.      

COBBER NOTABLES
MIAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 10-11, 2013, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
TEAM: 2^nd place, 112 points

MIAC CHAMPION:
Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1.75 (5.53m)
Triple Jump – Hilary Thompson – 38-6 (11.73m)
Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 127-3 (38.80m)
Heptathlon - Kaari Jensen – 4754 points

MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE (places 1-3 + 1st place relays only):
1st - Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1.75 (5.53m)
1st - Triple Jump – Hilary Thompson – 38-6 (11.73m)
1st - Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 127-3 (38.80m)
1st - Heptathlon - Kaari Jensen – 4754 points
2nd – Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 46-1.5 (14.05m)
2nd - Javelin Throw – Olivia Johnson – 115-4 (35.16m)
3rd – 400 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 65.13 (64.55 prelim)
3rd – Shot Put – Olivia Johnson - 43-6 (13.26m)
3rd – Discus Throw – Hillary Birchem – 130-1 (39.66m)
3rd – Javelin Throw – Cherae Reeves – 115-3 (35.13m)

 
MIAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION (places 4-6 & relay places 2-6):
4th – 100 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 15.24 (15.30 prelim)
5th – 100 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 12.78 (12.68 prelim)
5th – Long Jump – Trina Gerzema – 17-6.75 (5.35m)
6th – 3000 Steeplechase – Liz Hanson – 11:50.15
6th – 4x800 Relay – Paige Rygg, Liz Hanson, Katie Rosenfeldt, Callie Christianson – 9:35.68
6th – Long Jump – Kaari Jensen - 17-5.25 (5.31m)
6th tie – High Jump – Chelsea Klemetson – 5-0.5 (1.54m)
6th – Heptathlon – Anna Skow-Anderson – 3799 points


OTHER SCORERS (places 7-8)
7th – 4x400 Relay – Callie Christianson, Katie Rosenfeldt, Paige Rygg, Kaari Jensen – 4:06.60
7th – Triple Jump - Colie Sabol – 35-3.75 (10.76m)
8th – 1500 meters – Paige Rygg – 4:56.80 (4:51.08)


NCAA PROVISIONAL NATIONAL QUALIFYING
(NCAA Top 50 rank – need top 22 rank to make NCAA meet):
Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1.75 (5.53m)
Triple Jump – Hilary Thompson – 38-6 (11.73m)
Shot Put – Cherae Reeves – 46-1.5 (14.05m)
Shot Put – Olivia Johnson - 43-6 (13.26m)
Javelin Throw – Kaari Jensen – 127-3 (38.80m)
Heptathlon - Kaari Jensen – 4754 points
 

COBBER ALL-TIME TOP 10 PERFORMERS:
100 Meters – Rochelle Hickerson – 12.68 (prelim) – Top 10- #7
10000 Meters – Kathryn Stalnaker – 39:02.51 – Top 10- #8
400 Hurdles – Kaari Jensen – 64.55 (prelim) – Top 10- #6
4x800 Relay – Paige Rygg, Liz Hanson, Katie Rosenfeldt, Callie Christianson – 9:35.68 - Top 10- #8
Long Jump – Hilary Thompson – 18-1.75 (5.53m) – Top 10- #6
                                    

PERSONAL RECORDS:
100- Rochelle Hickerson;
200- Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon);
400- Tara Anderson;
1500- Paige Rygg;
10000- Kathryn Stalnaker, Nicole Woinarowicz;
100 Hurdles- Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon);
400 Hurdles- Kaari Jensen, Madeline Phillips;
Long Jump-Hilary Thompson, Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon);
Triple Jump- Colie Sabol;
High Jump- Anna Skow-Anderson (heptathlon- tie);
Shot Put- Hillary Birchem, Anna Skow-Anderson, Kaari Jensen (heptathlon);
Hammer Throw- Morgan Bubach; Javelin Throw- Cherae Reeves.