http://www.miac-online.org/news/2012/2/6/MITRACK_0206125541.aspx
MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week
Jordon Spronk, Bethel
Pipestone, Minn. / Pipestone
Bethel sprinter Jordon Spronk (Pipestone, Minn.)
had a great finish to the 2011 track season last year, and it
appears he is picking up where he left off as a senior with an
outstanding performance over the weekend. Spronk delighted the home
fans at the Bethel Invitational Saturday with a pair of
MIAC-leading times and the top non-Division I performance in the
men's 400-meter dash. For his performances, Spronk has been named
the MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week.
Spronk's performance in the 400 wasn't just one of the best of the
day, but also one for the Royals' record books. The senior finished
with a time of 50.12, which is the top time in the MIAC this season
and the fourth-fastest in school history, and finished second in
the event behind an athlete from the University of Minnesota. He
also led off Bethel's 4x400-meter relay team, which finished with a
time of 3:21.91. That time currently ranks first in the conference,
and sixth in all of NCAA Division III.
Spronk and his Royal teammates will look to continue their indoor
success away from home when the team hits the road this weekend.
Bethel will venture across the state border into Wisconsin for an
indoor meet - the Brooks Classic - hosted by UW-River Falls in
River Falls, Wis. The Royals have just four more events on their
schedule to tune up for the 2012 MIAC Indoor Track and Field
Championships, which will be hosted by Macalester in St. Paul on
March 1, 2 and 3.
MIAC
Men's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week
Josh Owens, Gustavus
Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park
Saturday was a memorable day for the Gustavus men's track
and field team and junior Josh Owens (Brooklyn
Park, Minn./Champlin Park). The Gusties were the only Division III
team in the field of the Ted Nelson Classic at Minnesota
State-Mankato and fared well against the Division II field,
highlighted by Owens' performance in the pole vault. Owens won the
event, setting a new Gustavus school record and climbing the
national performance list in the process. For his record-setting
performance, Owens has been named the MIAC Men's Indoor field
Athlete-of-the-Week.
Owens set his new personal record - not to mention the new Gustie
record - by clearing the bar in the pole vault at 4.81 meters, or
15-09.25 feet. That height also sent Owens to the top of the MIAC
performance list thus far in 2012, and it moved him into the Top 10
nationally as he now ranks ninth in all of NCAA Division III. In
addition to the Gusties and Mankato, Augustana and St. Cloud State
also competed in the meet.
The Gusties and their record-setting pole vaulter will be back in
action Saturday when they travel north to St. Cloud for the Van
Nelson Classic, hosted by St. Cloud State. Gustavus has just three
more events on its schedule to prepare for the 2012 MIAC Indoor
Track and Field Championships, which will be hosted by Macalester
in St. Paul on March 1, 2 and 3.
MIAC
Women's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week
Alison Smyth, Carleton
Billings, Mont. / West
Friday Carleton hosted its "Meet of the Hearts" and that seemed to
be a fitting title, with senior distance runner Alison
Smyth (Billings, Mont./West) showing plenty of heart in a
standout performance. Smyth finished first in the women's mile with
a time that helped her leap towards the top of the MIAC performance
list and into the Top 25 nationally as well. For her performance,
Smyth has been named the MIAC Women's Indoor Track
Athlete-of-the-Week.
Smyth won the mile Friday with her time of 5:08.91. Her time is the
second-fastest in the MIAC this season, trailing only St. Thomas'
Taylor Berg (5:07.86), and it ranks No. 23 in all of NCAA Division
III. Smyth's time impressively leads a talented crop of Carleton
runners, as the No. 2 through No. 6 spots in the mile on the MIAC
performance list are all occupied by Knights. She is just one of
two conference runners to finish the mile in under 5:10 this
season. Smyth's win helped Carleton finish second with 57.5 points,
behind first-place Saint Benedict (86.5) and ahead of third-place
St. Olaf (11.0).
Saturday, Smyth and the Knights will hit the road for another
indoor meet, this time at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
Carleton has just three more events on its schedule to prepare for
the 2012 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be
hosted by Macalester in St. Paul on March 1, 2 and 3.
MIAC
Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week
Julia Renner, Saint Benedict
Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View
The Saint Benedict track and field team had an impressive
performance Friday at Carleton's "Meet of the Hearts," taking first
in the team competition. With several standout performances,
perhaps the top highlight was Julia Renner's
(Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) emergence in the pentathlon. In her
first-ever try at the event, Renner not only finished first, but
she turned in the top performance in the MIAC this season and made
a splash nationally. As a result, Renner has been named the MIAC
Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week.
Renner's first-ever pentathlon resulted in a total score of 3,013
points and a first-place finish. Renner became the first MIAC
athlete to score 3,000 or better this season and now leads the
conference in the event. En route to her win, Renner won the
55-meter hurdles, the high jump and the long jump, and she finished
fourth in both the shot put and the 800-meter run. Thanks to her
performance, Renner now ranks No. 1 in the conference in the
pentathlon and long jump, No. 2 in the high jump and No. 6 in the
hurdles. Her score also earned her the No. 15 spot this season on
the NCAA Division III performance list for the pentathlon, and her
win helped CSB accumulate 86.5 team points to win first place over
Carleton and St. Olaf by nearly a 30-point margin.
Over the next two weekends, Renner and the Blazers will compete in
meets against MIAC competition both just up the road in
Collegeville, Minn., on the Saint John's campus. Saint Benedict has
just three more events on its schedule to prepare for the 2012 MIAC
Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be hosted by
Macalester in St. Paul on March 1, 2 and 3.
Courtesy of MIAC