RESULTS
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The final regular season meet for the Royals took place at Hamline University in the Meet of the UnSaintly. "You couldn't have asked for a better day," says Coach Rock. "Our goal was to get everyone ready for championship season whether that meant improving a mark to qualify or to rest this week."
Bethel was led by their freshmen sprints and hurdles crew. Freshmen Nolan Metz and Joel Smith each came away with victories in their respective events, the 400m and 400m hurdles. Metz had a lifetime best of 50.09 to hold of the field for the win in the 400m. Teammate Micah Smith took 7th place in the race with his time of 51.58. Micah's twin brother Joel led a group of freshmen in the 400m hurdles. Joel Smith charged the last 100m and moved from 3rd place into the lead over the final hurdle. His time of 54.40 was enough to win the event, and ranks as the top time in the MIAC this year. Not far behind were fellow freshmen Tyler Sealock and Trokon Karngar. Both Royals ran personal bests with Sealock crossing the line in 56.27 and Karngar in 58.71.
Isaac Erickson utilized an excellent start to launch himself into 2nd place in the 200m. Erickson's time of 22.24 was a lifetime best for the 5-time All-American. Malachi Lossow was able to run a season best of 11.10 in the 100m as he blazed his way down the straightaway to a 4th place finish.
In the relay events, Erickson and Lossow were joined by Micah Smith and Brandon Loverude in the 4x100m. That team took 3rd place with a time of 43.32. Loverude came back to the track in the final event of the day the 4x400m relay to run a lifetime best split of 49.09. He was joined by teammates Gabe Segura, Cooper Hitt, and Evan Hatton to earn 2nd place with their time of 3:24.00.
The Bethel throwers had a solid day. Freshman Gabe Irons threw a personal best of 45.65m (149'9") in the discus to earn 3rd place. Fellow freshman Dan Johnson took 4th place in the javelin throw with a personal best of his own 43.09m (141'4"). Senior captain Wes Nelson was the top finisher for the Royals in the hammer throw at 6th with his toss of 47.76m (156'9"). Also in the field event, freshman long jumper Sean Bjork nabbed 7th place with a leap of 6.24m (20'5.25"). Freshman Abe Schlegel's pole vault clearance of 3.55m (11'7.75") earned him 8th place.
Up next for the Royals: the MIAC Outdoor Championships. The University of St. Thomas will host the conference championships on Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11th. You can keep updated with championship information at the MIAC website or by following @bethelxctf on Twitter and Instagram.
