http://www.miac-online.org/news/2012/1/23/MITRACK_0123125627.aspx

MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week

Ben Sathre, St. Thomas
Chaska, Minn. / Chaska

It's already been quite a year for St. Thomas senior Ben Sathre (Chaska, Minn.). The distance runner won the Division III Cross Country Championship this fall, but he appears destined for more greatness this spring if his first indoor performance is any indication. The Tommies' distance runner was superb in his first race of the indoor track season Saturday, setting new MIAC and school records with a third-place finish that had him running shoulder-to-shoulder with Division I All-Americans. For his record-breaking performance, Sathre has been named the inaugural winner of the MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week honor for the 2012 season.

Sathre's third-place finish came Saturday in the 3,000-meter run at the University of Minnesota's Jack Johnson invite. Sathre's record time was 8:07.02, which was 23 seconds under his previous personal record, and 17 seconds better than the previous UST school record, set by current Tommie distance coach Pete Wareham in 1985. Sathre finished just three seconds behind Minnesota's Hassan Mead, a six-time D-I All-American, and 0.3 seconds behind Chris Rombough of Team USA Minnesota, who was also a five-time D-1 All-American for the Gophers. Sathre was 21 seconds ahead of fourth-place Brett Egan of Northern Iowa.

The MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week honor is Sathre's first career indoor award, but his third of 2011-12 and his sixth total after winning the honor numerous times in cross country. Sathre and the St. Thomas track and field team will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Mankato for the Minnesota State-Mankato Invite, which begins at noon.

MIAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week

Shaise Schuette, Hamline
Anoka, Minn. / St. Francis

Over his first two years at Hamline, Shaise Schuette (Anoka, Minn./St. Francis) has established himself as one of the league's top pole vaulters, and thus far in 2012, it appears the Pipers' star is ready to vault even higher. Over the weekend, Schuette was in mid-season form at the St. Olaf Triangular, winning his event and setting a new personal record. For his performance, Schuette has been named the first MIAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week for the 2012 season.

Saturday, Schuette cleared the bar at 15-8.5 feet (4.79 meters), and all at once he won first place in the event, broke his personal record and moved into the Top 10 across all of Division III. Schuette's height is currently the eight-best mark in the nation this season. Schuette was one of four Pipers to finish first in an individual event at St. Olaf, and he finished nearly 0.5 meters ahead of the rest of the field in the pole vault. As a team, Hamline finished second with 105 points, narrowly losing to the host school (114 points) but edging out Carleton (103) for the runner-up spot.

After his big performance, Schuette and the Piper track and field team will take a week off before returning to competition on Saturday, Feb. 4. On that date, Hamline will compete in the Bethel Invitational at 11 a.m. across the metro area at Bethel's campus in Arden Hills.

Women's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week

4x400-meter relay team, St. Thomas

Angela Tipp, Larissa Peyton, Erika Tipp, Emily Van Heel

Sometimes things like teamwork and timing need some practice and meet experience to develop. However, the St. Thomas women's 4x400-meter relay team looked like it already had all the requisite intangibles in place early in the season judging by its performance Friday at the St. Thomas Invitational. The team of Angela Tipp (Hudson, Wis.), Larissa Peyton (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), Erika Tipp (Hudson, Wis.) and Emily Van Heel (Swanville, Minn./Little Falls) were in top form, finishing third in the event with the sixth-fastest time in Division III thus far in 2012. For their performance, the Tommies were named the first MIAC Women's Track Athlete-of-the-Week for the 2012 season.

The two Tipps, Peyton and Van Heel are off to a great start this season, recording a time of 4:00.70 to finish third on their home track and nearly jumping into the Top 5 in all of NCAA Division III. The only two teams to cross the finish line ahead of the Tommies Friday were Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead, which won in 3:57.75, and perrenial D-III track power UW-La Crosse, which finished second with a time of 3:58.83. The St. Thomas foursome was the top finisher out of six MIAC teams in the race, and finished at least seven seconds ahead of each other squad. Peyton is senior, Van Heel is a sophomore and the Tipps are both freshmen at St. Thomas.

The Tommies and their fearsome foursome won't have to wait long to get back on the track and aim for an even better time. UST will travel to Northfield on Friday to compete in the St. Olaf Invite at 5 p.m. The team will also be in action on Feb. 4 when it travels to The Select Meet.

Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week

Brenna Coyle, Hamline

Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes

Last season, Hamline's Brenna Coyle (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) established herself as one of the MIAC's top throwers, and it looks like she's poised from even more success as a senior, evidenced by her performance over the weekend. Coyle was tremendous in the weight throw at Saturday's St. Olaf Triangular, winning the event, setting a new personal record by a considerable distance, and moving into the Top 3 in the nation at this early point in the season. For her performance, Coyle has been named the inaugural MIAC Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week for the 2012 season.

Coyle led the Hamline women to a near-victory and a runner-up finish at the Triangular meet, finishing with 105 points, just behind host school St. Olaf (108) and ahead of Carleton (67). Coyle's record-setting performance came on her final throw, when she recorded a distance of 17.21 meters, or 56-5.75 feet. She finished first by nearly 2.5 meters, ahead of teammate Becky Culp (14.75 meters), and set her new personal record by a full foot. Coyle's outstanding throw is currently the third-longest in Division III this season. This is her third career MIAC Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week honor after earning the award twice in 2011.

The Pipers and Coyle will be back in Action Saturday when they return to Northfield, only this time to compete at that city's other MIAC school. Carleton will host the Meet of the Hearts on its campus Saturday at 11 a.m. Hamline. They'll also be back on the track a week from Friday when they head across town to the St. Thomas Invitational.

Courtesy of MIAC