Results
MOORHEAD, Minn. - Bethel University's women's indoor track and field team finished the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship meet in fourth place with 79.3 points.
Marie Borner (Sr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) won first place in two events, while the 4 x 200 meter and distance medley relay teams each earned first place finishes as well.
The meet took place at the Olson Forum on the campus of Concordia College, and Borner set a new venue record in the 600 meter dash with a time of 1:35.49 - more than half a second better than the previous mark set more than 11 years ago. Borner then went on to smash the old Olson Forum record for the mile run with a time of 4:55.83 - nearly 15 seconds better than the previous mark set a little over a month ago. Borner's time in the mile run was good for an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, but the defending national champion in hte event already wrapped up an automatic qualifying time three weeks ago at the Parent's Day Open at the University of Minnesota.
Borner also joined
Heather Jelen (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.),
Amy Neubauer (So., Rogers, Minn.), and
Michelle Benson (So., Traverse City, Mich.) in the distance medley relay. The foursome won the event by defeating the team from St. Thomas by more than two seconds with a time of 12:36.26.
Neubauer, in addition to finishing fourth in the penathlon on Thursday with 2723 points, helped the 4 x 200 meter relay team win first place with a time of 1:48.08. Others on the team included
Vanessa Moore (Sr., Grantsburg, Wis.),
Leah Jackson (Sr., Fridley, Minn.), and
Huldah Omesa (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
Meanwhile, Jelen had a pair of strong finishes as she also improved upon the Olson Forum record in the mile run and earned an NCAA provisional qualifying time at 4:58.37. She finished just .27 seconds away from improving on the venue record for the 1000 meter run, and again placed third with a time of 3:01.94.
At the moment, Borner is the only Royal to have earned an NCAA automatic qualifying time, but both Jelen and Moore have earned provisional marks and could join their teammate at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology next weekend in Terre Haute, Ind., when the national championship meet convenes.
