COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. – It was the start to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships the St. Catherine University track and field team was looking for.
Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) won the long jump event and two Wildcats qualified for final events to put St. Kate's on the first day of the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Thompson's performance was not only impressive, but historical as well. The first year came into the meet with the No. 2 jump in the MIAC at 5.44 meters. However, after the preliminary rounds, Thompson was in fifth place and fell down to ninth during the first few jumps of the finals. With one jump remaining, Thompson made the leap of her career. She jumped a total distance of 5.63 meters, which is now No. 23 in the nation, to win the competition, set St. Kate's new school record, and earn All-MIAC honors for the first time in her career.
Shakeela Wells-Johnson's (St. Paul, Minn. / Harding) quest to defend her conference title continued Friday afternoon as she qualified for finals in both the 100 meter dash and 100 meter hurdles. Wells-Johnson earned Outdoor Track-Athlete-of-the-Year honors last season after winning the 100 meter dash at the conference championship.
Rachel Hall (Mendota Heights, Minn.) was the final Wildcats to qualify for finals on Saturday. Hall was one of the top eight finishers in the preliminary 800 meter run to qualify for Saturday's finals. Hall had the fifth best time in the MIAC in the 800 coming into the MIAC Outdoor Championship and finished the preliminary round in 2:20.16.
Several other St. Kate's student-athletes had career performances on the first day of the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Jackie Brine-Doyle (Merrifield, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) bested her previous personal record (PR) in the 10,000 meter race with a time of 42:41.57. Brine-Doyle also broke through the top-10 performance list Friday afternoon and holds the No. 10 time in St. Kate's history in the 10,000 meter run.
Both
Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) and
Kaylea Hoenigschmidt (Ramsey, Minn. / Anoka) had solid performances in the field events for the Wildcats. Radke just missed scoring points for St. Kate's as she took eleventh in the high jump by clearing a height of 1.50 meters. Hoenigschmidt was also solid in the hammer throw with a twelfth place finish at 37.70 meters.
The Wildcats 4x800 team had one of their best performances of the season. The team, which included
Shannon Strickland (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes),
Courtney Kirkeide (Greenbush, Minn. / Greenbush-Middle River),
Megan Thoemke (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Mahtomedi), and
Marie Morrier (Hudson, N.H. / Academy for Science and Design) took ninth place behind a time of 10:07.63.
In many ways, the best is still yet to come for St. Kate's on the second day of competition. Wells-Johnson will defend her title in the 100 meter dash tomorrow, and Hall will look to add more MIAC honors to her name on day two in the 800. Throwers
Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn. / Eastview),
Megan Pohlmann (Grey Eagle, Minn. / Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) will compete in their premiere event, the javelin throw, tomorrow morning, and several of the distance runners will compete in their premiere races as well.
