Women's track and field finishes fourth at MIAC Indoor Championships

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's track and field team used five all-conference performances to put together a fourth-place finish at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at Carleton College's Recreation Center.

Senior Ellen Mickelson (mile), first year Sofia Carlson (5,000 meters), first year Alison Bode (5,000 meters), junior Rebekah Salfer (55-meter hurdles), and junior Annika Muller (triple jump) recorded St. Olaf's five all-conference performances over the two-day meet. The Oles finished fourth in the 11-team field with 104.50 points, trailing Carleton (113.50), Gustavus (125.50), and first-time team champion Bethel (134.50).

In addition to the five all-conference showings, St. Olaf had 14 honorable mention All-MIAC performances and 11 top-10 results in program history in various events.

FRIDAY RECAP | RESULTS

St. Olaf had three runner-up finishes on the first full day of the meet while picking up 53 points to sit fifth in the standings. The Oles were just 4.5 points behind Gustavus, 7.5 points behind Carleton, 12 points behind Saint Ben's, and 20 points behind Bethel in the tightly-packed team standings.

Mickelson led three St. Olaf scorers in the one-mile run by finishing second in the event in 5:02.85, trailing Carleton's Clara Mayfield by just over 10 seconds to pick up all-conference honors. Sophomore Katie Gebert earned honorable mention all-conference laurels by finishing fourth (5:12.14), while sophomore Sophie Call scored with an eighth-place finish (5:17.31).

Carlson and Bode logged a 2-3 finish for the Oles in the 5,000-meter run while moving up one spot apiece on St. Olaf's all-time top-10 list in the event. Carlson was the runner-up in 17:40.29, which was 18 seconds better than her seed time and moved her up to fourth in program history, while Bode took third in 17:45.28, which was also 18 seconds faster than her seed time and saw her rise one spot to fifth in program history.

St. Olaf's distance medley relay of junior Christine Albrecht, junior Riley Mauzer, sophomore Bella Call, and Mickelson ran to honorable mention all-conference honors by placing second to Carleton in 12:33.74. That time ranks eighth on the program's all-time top-10 list in the event.

Junior Rebekah Salfer secured all-conference honors in the 55-meter hurdles with her third-place finish in 8.63 seconds, which ranks fourth in program history. Junior Ali Seaton scored in the 800-meter run by finishing sixth (2:21.95), while classmate Teresa Pettitt-Kenney did so in the high jump with her sixth-place showing (1.51m, 4' 11 ½").

SATURDAY RECAP | FULL RESULTS

Muller's runner-up performance in the triple jump was the lone top-three finish of the second day for St. Olaf, which solidified its fourth-place standing by finishing 10.5 points ahead of Saint Ben's after earning 51.5 points on Saturday.

After winning the conference crown in the event as a first year two years ago, Muller settled for second with a jump of 11.30 meters (37' 1"), trailing Madi Kes of Gustavus, who won the event with a mark of 11.33 meters (37' 2 ¼"). Sophomore Ainslee Parker also scored and earned honorable mention all-conference honors by finishing fourth (10.78m, 35' 4 ½") to move up to fifth on St. Olaf's all-time list in the event.

Three Oles scored in the 1,000-meter run, as Mickelson, Albrecht, and Gebert went 4-5-6 in the event to each wrap up honorable mention all-conference laurels. Mickelson (3:02.60) crossed the line just ahead of Albrecht (3:03.18), who was just over a second ahead of Gebert (3:04.26).

Sophie Call (10:18.17) and Carlson (10:19.73) ran to honorable mention status in the 3,000-meter run with fourth- and sixth-place finishes. Both runners outperformed their seed time by more than 10 seconds and posted top-10 times in program history, as Call now sits eighth and Carlson 10th on St. Olaf's all-time top-10 list.

The quartet of sophomore Karla Kroschel, first year Emma Storbakken, first year Emma Sahly, and sophomore Ququ Holman recorded two honorable mention finishes, taking fourth in the 4x200-meter relay (1:51.26) and sixth in the 4x400-meter relay (4:12.17). Kroschel was also sixth individually in the 200-meter dash, recording the fourth-fastest time in program history (26.78) to earn an honorable mention spot.

Sophomore Aleah Keske added an honorable mention showing in the shot put by taking fifth with a throw of 12.99 meters (42' 7 ½"). Classmate Sam Hedtke vaulted onto St. Olaf's top-10 list in the event with her throw of 12.50 meters (41' ¾") to place seventh.

Sophomore Melanie Roberts scored in the pole vault, tying her seventh-best clearance in program history by clearing 3.17 meters (10' 4 ¾") on her third and final attempt to finish seventh.

St. Olaf will send a contingent of student-athletes to the Wartburg Last Chance NCAA Qualifier on Saturday, March 5.

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