Results

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Kevin Skrip led the Oles with a first place finish in the 400 as the St. Olaf men's track team competed at St. Thomas on Thursday afternoon.

Skrip, who has consistently been the top sprinter for St. Olaf alongside injured teammate James McFarlin, took top honors in a competitive field that included many of the top competitors in the MIAC.  His time of 49.41 marks a season best as he held off Chris Mueller of St. Thomas by .23 seconds.

Nate Webster and Michael Wegter turned in the fastest times for the Oles in the 1500, running 4:08.75 and 4:12.83 respectively.  Webster, traditionally an 800/1000 runner, led the race through 1200 but was passed late by Casey Halbmaier of St. Thomas.  Eric Bakken had a breakout race in the 1500 as he won his heat (4:12.87) and dropped over six seconds from his time at the Hamline Invitational.

A trio of Oles compromised three of the top five spots in the 5000 as Jake Brown, Kyle Wagener and Colton Rod finished second, third and fifth respectively.  Brown made up a 100 meter deficit that had been build by victor David Stilin, but couldn't quite muster the speed to pass him over the final fifty meters.

Nick Woods placed for the Oles in the field events, finishing fourth in the shot put, eighth in the discus throw and sixth in the hammer throw.

A small number of Oles will travel to La Crosse, Wis., to compete at the Phil Esten Challenge tomorrow, while the rest of the team will race across the Cannon River at the Carleton Relays on Saturday.