ST. PAUL, Minn. (May 9, 2008) – Saint John’s leads the way after the first day of competition in the MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Hamline University in St. Paul. An exciting day of competition saw four repeat MIAC champions and 14 NCAA qualifying marks attained.

Following seven complete competitions (including the decathlon contested last weekend), Saint John’s is in first with 67.5 points, Concordia is in second with 42.0 points, and Hamline rounds out the top three with 39.5 points. St. Thomas is fourth with 30 points, St. Olaf has 29, Gustavus and Carleton are tied at 18, Macalester has 15 in eight place, Saint Mary’s has six points, Augsburg is in tenth with 5, and Bethel holds 3 points after one day.

In the first completed throwing event, Macalester senior Evan Mitchell (Minneapolis, Minn.) completed a hat trick of MIAC outdoor championships in the javelin, winning the title for the third consecutive year. His throw of 59.13 meters (194’ 0”) hit the NCAA provisional distance and was the MIAC’s best throw of the season.

Another repeat championship performance occurred in the pole vault, where Drew Hood (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) from Gustavus took home his second straight MIAC outdoor championship in the event, clearing 4.5 meters (14’ 9”) for the win.

The third repeat champion of the day came in the long jump, as Erik Diley (Sr., Prescott, Wis.) captured his second straight championship (after finishing second in his sophomore season) with a jump of 7.30 meters (23’ 11 ½”). The leap was an NCAA automatic qualifier and the best jump in the MIAC this season.

PJ Theisen (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) of St. Thomas set an NCAA provisional mark in that same event, jumping 7.21 meters (23’ 8”) for second place.

Kelly Fermoyle (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) of Saint John’s completed the cast of repeat champions, capturing the 10,000 meter run championship for the second consecutive year in an NCAA provisional time of 30:37.95, also the best in the conference this season.

His teammate Chris Erichsen (Sr., Spring Valley, Minn.) also ran an NCAA provisional time at 30:58.25 while coming in second, as did St. Olaf’s third place runner David Swanson (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) in 31:02.37

In the shot put, the top four finishers hit NCAA provisional marks, with the host Hamline Pipers placing three throwers in the top four. The Pipers were led by sophomore Derek Synan-Peterson (Forest Lake, Minn.), who became the 2008 MIAC champion by defeating the 2007 champion, St. Olaf’s John Schantzen (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.), with a throw of 15.93 meters (52’ 3 ¼”). His throw was also the MIAC’s best toss this season. Schantzen’s throw of 15.83 meters (51’ 11 ¼”) placed him second.

Additional NCAA provisional throws came from third place finisher Derall King (Fy., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) of Hamline with a throw of 15.66 meters (51’ 4 ½”). Hamline’s Drew Jones (Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) finished fourth with an NCAA provisional mark of 15.57 meters (51’ 1”).

In the final race of the evening, St. Thomas’ 3200 meter relay team of Neil Atzinger (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich.), Greg Dowe (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.), Matt Boumeester (Jr., Oakdale, Minn.) and Brian Sames (Jr., Shakopee, Minn.) set a new meet record at 7:36.41 in capturing the MIAC championship. The previous record was 7:40.83, set in 1998.

In a preliminary race, Bethel’s Taylor Ferda (So., Whitefish, Mont.) set an NCAA provisional mark in the 110 meter hurdles in 14.81, winning his heat and moved on to Saturday’s finals.

Ferda also ran an NCAA provisional time of 54.15 in the 400 meter hurdles, an event in which the winner of each heat race set an NCAA qualifying time. Theisen of St. Thomas ran a 53.44 for a provisional time, and Tom Ballinger (Jr., Wenatchee, Wash.) ran an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 52.64.

The 2007 MIAC champion in the 400 meter dash, Bethel’s Josh Otto (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) earned the right to defend his title, running the MIAC season’s best time of 48.55 en route to qualifying for Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. final.

Competition resumes on Saturday, May 10, at 4:00 p.m. at the Klas Center at Hamline University.

2008 MIAC Champions determined on day one:

Javelin: Evan Mitchell, Sr., Macalester – 59.13 meters, 194’ 0”

            NCAA provisional, MIAC season’s best

Pole Vault: Drew Hood, Sr., Gustavus – 4.50 meters, 14’ 9”

Shot Put: Derek Synan-Peterson, So., Hamline – 15.93 meters, 52’ 3 ¼”

            NCAA provisional, MIAC season’s best

Long Jump: Erik Diley, Sr., Saint John’s – 7.30 meters, 23’ 11.5”

            NCAA automatic, MIAC season’s best

10,000 Meter Run: Kelly Fermoyle, Sr., Saint John’s – 30:37.95

            NCAA provisional, MIAC season’s best

3200 Meter Relay: St. Thomas (Neil Atzinger, Greg Dowe, Matt Boumeester, Brian

Sames) - 7:36.41 - MIAC meet record