RESULTS | Day 1 Recap
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Bethel Royals won their 1st MIAC Outdoor Conference Championship on Saturday, scoring 179 team points to beat 2nd place St. John's by 11 points.
The men started off the day with a stellar performance in the 4x100m relay, winning in a MIAC all-time record of 40.41. Landen Liu, Grant Nelson, Cameron McConnell, and Jacob Parent's time in the event ranks 4th in Division III.
The Royals racked up a whopping 34 points in the 110H, sweeping the top-5 spots. Jayson Ekiyor won the race in a program record time of 14.12 seconds, edging out a charging Josh Sampson who finished 2nd in 14.16. Josh Thomsen took 3rd in 14.42, David Myres was 4th in 14.67, Pryce Ferrin was 5th in 14.98, and Josh Lee was 8th in 15.46.
Bethel also swept the top 4 places in the 400H, with Joel Smith winning in a MIAC Championship record time of 51.38 seconds. Josh Sampson took 2nd in 52.73 - the 11th fastest time in Division III this year. Josh Thomsen was 3rd in 53.92, and David Myres was 4th in 54.56.
Jacob Parent led a troup of Bethel athletes in the 400m dash, winning in a MIAC Championship record time of 46.66 seconds. Grant Nelson was 3rd in 47.49, Caleb Ketterling was 6th in 49.28, Sam Raitz was 7th in 49.30, and Taaron Rudzitis was 8th in 49.58.
The Bethel sprint crew continued to show their strength as Landen Liu took 2nd in the 100m dash in a time of 10.37, and Cameron McConnell took 5th in 10.98.
Jacob Parent took 2nd place in the 200m dash with a time of 20.84, while Grant Nelson was 3rd in 21.24. Cameron McConnell was 7th in 21.63, and Sam Raitz was 8th in 21.98.
In the field, Evan Larsen scored points for Bethel in 2 events. Larsen took 2nd in the discus with a throw of 44.87m / 147'2", and 5th in the hammer throw with a toss of 50.96m / 167'2". Adam Hokanson took 4th in the hammer, throwing 51.54m / 169'1". Phil Conant scored 3 points in the discus by taking 6th with a throw of 42.00m / 137'9".
The meet ended in dramatic fashion, with the Royals sealing the team title by winning the 4x400m relay. Joel Smith, Josh Thomsen, Taaron Rudzitis, and Victor Lelinga won the race by nearly 4 seconds, running 3:14.86.
The #4 nationally ranked Royals will continue their season, competing next week on Wednesday and Thursday at Augustana College (IL), in a final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships the following week in Myrtle Beach, SC.
