NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior
Demetri Lord finished fourth and first year
Jesse Olson was 13th in the decathlon for the St. Olaf College men's track and field team to begin the 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday and Friday at Carleton College's Laird Stadium.
Lord took fourth in the field of 17 competitors with a score of 6,309 points – six points shy of his winning score from a year ago – and Olson compiled 4,897 points in his first MIAC decathlon. Seven of the 17 competitors posted scores of at least 6,000 points, with the top four all ranking in the top 20 nationally. Lord's fourth-place finish earned St. Olaf five points in the team standings heading into the rest of the conference meet next week and was good for Honorable Mention All-MIAC honors.
After Thursday's first five events, Lord held a 25-point lead after earning 3,363 points by finishing in the top five in all five events, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.86) to start the event. That time ranks fourth on St. Olaf's all-time list and was a PR for Lord by 0.11 seconds. The senior was also third in the long jump (6.17m, 20' 3"), fifth in the shot put (11.33m, 37' 2 ¼"), tied for fourth in the high jump (1.71m, 5' 7 ¼"), and third in the 400-meter dash (51.91).
Olson established personal-best results in the 100-meter dash (11.91) and shot put (8.96m, 39' 4 ¾") on Thursday and was 13th with 3,675 points through five events. The first year added PRs in four of the five events on Friday – the 110-meter hurdles (18.28), the discus throw (25.18m, 82' 7"), the javelin throw (35.45m, 116' 3"), and the 1,500-meter run (4:49.82) – to complete his first collegiate decathlon.
Lord extended his lead to 78 points by winning the 110-meter hurdles in 15.19 seconds to start the day on Friday before dipping to fifth with one event remaining despite a personal-best throw of 41.50 meters (136' 2") in the javelin throw. The senior locked up the third honorable-mention finish in a MIAC multi of his career with a fourth-place result in the 1,500-meter run, clocking in in fourth place with a personal-best time of 4:41.45.
St. Olaf hosts the Ole Open on Saturday, May 4 at Manitou Track, with field events starting at 12 p.m. and track events at 1 p.m. The pole vault and high jump will be held inside the Tostrud Center due to rain.
