WINONA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's track and field team recorded its best finish at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 2017 and recorded its highest point total at the meet since 2014 by finishing as the team runner-up on Saturday afternoon at Saint Mary's Track & Field Complex.

St. Olaf finished second in the 11-team standings by compiling 141 points over the two-day meet, with the 141 points marking the program's highest total since racking up 159 in a second-place finish in 2014. The Oles' second-place finish was their best since also finishing second in 2017. St. Olaf got within a half a quarter of a point of Saint John's through 13 events before the Johnnies pulled away to claim the team title with 218.25 points.

On day two of the meet, St. Olaf had six student-athletes earn All-MIAC honors with top-three finishes, led by senior Stephen Peper's second-straight conference crown in the high jump. Peper defended his title in the high jump by clearing 2.08 meters (6' 9 ¾") on his first attempt to break the previous facility record of 2.05 meters set by Bethel's Jack Quick in 2010. The clearance also positioned Peper to qualify for nationals, as the clearance ranks tied for third in the country this season. It also moved the senior up to a tie for second on St. Olaf's all-time list in the event.

Junior Lucas Kramarczuk broke his own school record in the 110-meter hurdles while finishing as the conference runner-up with a time of 14.49 seconds. The time was six one-hundredths of a second faster than his previous record from earlier this season and was faster than the previous facility record, which was also 14.55 seconds. Kramarczuk's time ranks 18th in the country.

Sophomore Will Kelly led most of the way in the 3,000-meter steeplechase before Carleton's Ben Santos turned it on towards the end of the race to force Kelly to settle for second with a time of 9:24.95. Kelly was one of four Oles to score in the event, as St. Olaf picked up 15 points from a 2-5-7-8 finish. First year Waylon Kurts was fifth with a PR of 9:45.96, while sophomores Anders Cote (9:47.86) and Gabe Estrada (9:49.87) were seventh and eighth, respectively.

Sophomore Ian Curtis had two of the Oles' three third-place performances on Saturday, collecting All-MIAC honors in both the 5,000-meter run (15:02.73) and 1,500-meter run (3:53.68). Senior Aengus White added a third-place finish in the discus throw (45.11m) to claim all-conference honors.

Curtis' time in the 1,500-meter run was a personal best by over four seconds, as junior Noah Massanari was not far behind in fourth place with a PR of 3:56.63. Curtis, Kelly, and junior Julian Munoz gave St. Olaf a 3-4-5 finish in the 5,000-meter run.

Four other Oles and one relay also picked up honorable mention laurels with top-six finishes on day two. First year Jakob Baatrup-Sabo placed fifth in the 800-meter run (1:57.08, PR), Kramarczuk was fifth in the triple jump (13.55m), sophomore Demetri Lord took sixth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.30), and first year Trevor Christensen took sixth in the discus throw (41.68m). St. Olaf's 4x100-meter relay of first year Dylan Arnold, senior Nick Edwards, sophomore Henry Fisher, and Lord ran to a fourth-place finish in 42.74 seconds.

St. Olaf finished 18 points clear of third-place Bethel in the team standings, as Concordia-Moorhead rounded out the top four.

Next week, the Oles host the Ole Last Chance Multi on Wednesday and Thursday, May 18-19 and will send student-athletes to compete at the UW-La Crosse Last Chance Qualifier on Thursday. The meets serve as the final opportunity to post times/marks to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The top-20 declared student-athletes in each individual event are accepted into the national meet.