NORTHFIELD, Minn./LA CROSSE, Wis. – Nine members of the St. Olaf College men's track and field team competed on the first day of the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier at Roger Harring Stadium and the Ole Last Chance Multi at Manitou Track on Wednesday.

Sophomore Demetri Lord, senior Nick Edwards, first year Layton Borst, and first year Andrew Cogley represented the Oles on day one of the decathlon in Northfield, while five Oles competed in three distance events in La Crosse. The two meets serve as the final opportunity for student-athletes to post qualifying times/marks for the 2022 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

In Northfield, Lord racked up 3,329 points over the first five events to sit atop the seven-man standings through the first half of the decathlon. The sophomore posted first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash (11.17), long jump (6.46m), and 400-meter dash (52.42), including setting a PR in the long jump. Lord's point total puts him slightly ahead of his pace from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships, when he posted a personal-best score of 6,022 points.

Currently, the No. 20 score in the country is 6,258 points, a score Lord will likely need to reach in order to earn a spot at the national meet. The top-20 declared student-athletes in each event are accepted into the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Edwards sits second to Lord in the decathlon with 3,084 points from the first five events. The senior posted PRs in the long jump (6.13m) and 400-meter dash (54.10) while finishing in the top four in all five events. Cogley and Borst are in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with totals of 2,647 and 2,582 points after day one.

In La Crosse, sophomore Will Kelly moved up one spot from fifth to fourth on St. Olaf's all-time time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 9:14.88, which was good for second in the field of seven runners. Kelly's time was nearly a six-second PR and was less than four seconds outside the top 20 in the country this season.

Junior Julian Munoz and senior Henrik Gilbertson represented the Oles in the 1,500-meter run, with Munoz placing 16th (4:01.72) and Gilbertson finishing 21st (4:09.39). Munoz's time was a personal best by over three seconds and was good for fourth in the first of two heats.

First year Andrew Skemp was 17th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:37.43, while junior Logan Bocovich did not finish the event.

Both meets continue on Thursday, May 19, beginning with the resumption of the decathlon at 9:30 a.m. in Northfield. Field events in La Crosse begin at 3 p.m. followed by track events at 4 p.m.