RESULTS

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Bethel Royals men's track and field team placed 4th at the MIAC Championships with 94 team points. "It's been an amazing year with this team," says Head Coach Andrew Rock. "We had some athletes step up in a big way on the biggest stage of the year for the majority of our team."

Senior Carl Klamm captured his third straight MIAC title in the 400m. Klamm blew away the field in the second half of the race on his way to a season best 47.40. Junior Isaac Erickson came in 2nd place with his season best time of 48.81. Shawn Monroe crossed the finish line in 5th place and clocked 49.21. Nolan Metz and Brandon Loverude rounded out an unprecedented 400m final that featured 5 runners in a Royals uniform. Metz earned 7th place in 49.90 and Loverude took 8th in 50.57. Naturally, Bethel also had a good showing in the 4x400m relay. The team of Loverude, Erickson, Metz, and Klamm won the race in a time of 3:17.12

Malachi Lossow had an excellent day in the short sprints. Lossow exploded out of the blocks in the 100m and cruised across the finish line in a lifetime best 10.91 for 4th place. Later in the day, Lossow came back to earn another 4th place finish, this time in the 200m. His time of 22.18 was his second best time this season. The 4x100m relay team of Lossow, Loverude, Micah Smith, and Erickson raced the baton around the track in 43.45 to place the Royals 6th.  

The middle distance races was another area of strength for Bethel this weekend. Senior captain Evan Hatton used a big kick down the final straightaway to take 3rd place in the 800m with a time of 1:55.93, just 0.63 seconds behind the winner. Freshman Cooper Hitt came up with a point for the Royals coming in 8th place with a time of 1:59.90. In the 1500m, Ezekiel Lelinga ran a well executed tactical race. Lelinga ran 4:08.45 and closed his final 400m in 58.71 to hold onto 4th place.

The youth of the team showed up to score 15 points in the 400m hurdles. Freshmen Joel Smith, Tyler Sealock, and Lukas Walton were the only freshmen to even qualify for the finals of the race, and placed extremely well. Smith ran a heroic final stretch to pull up next to the leader after the final hurdle. His dive at the finish line put him in 2nd place with a lifetime best of 54.12. Sealock and Walton were neck and neck at the line, with Sealock (55.54) just out-stepping Walton (55.57) for 5th and 6th place respectively. Senior jumper Ty Van Lanen came up big for Bethel as he had a 10 inch personal best in the triple jump. His leap of 12.81m (42'0.5") put him in 8th place and scored one point for the team.

The Royals also earned several points on day 1 of championship weekend. The 4x800m relay team of Evan Hatton, Gabe Segura, Cooper Hitt, and Ezekiel Lelinga ran 7:51.87 and came away with a 2nd place finish. Freshman thrower Gabe Irons secured 5th place in the discus with his final throw of 45.45m (149'1"). Senior captain Wes Nelson ended his career the way everyone wants to: with a personal best. Nelson tossed the hammer 51.82m (170'0") to earn 6th place. The championship events were started with the decathlon on May 2nd and 3rd in which Lukas Walton took 6th place and tallied 5786 points.

"It has been an incredible ride this year and especially with our senior class." says Rock. "Tyler Bethke, Justin Brecheisen, Evan Hatton, Tim Huss, Carl Klamm, Boston Knighton-Johnson, Wes Nelson, Brendon Nuese, Anders Rasmussen, Kyle Stichman, Aidan Tollefson, and Ty Van Lanen have been unbelievable for our program over the last four years."

Although the majority of the Royals have finished up their 2019 season, a handful will continue on to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio on May 23-25. The NCAA will select the top 20 individual performers and top 16 relays across Division III to participate. As of this article's publication, Carl Klamm is ranked 5th in the 400m and the 4x400m relay team is ranked 2nd. Follow the Royals as they continue their championship season over the next two weeks!