RESULTS | Day 1 Recap
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Bethel Royals won their 2nd straight MIAC Outdoor Championship on Saturday, winning by a mere half point over St. John's. The Royals tallied 207 team points, as the Johnnies scored 206.5, while St. Olaf was 3rd with 116 points. The Royals won 6 event titles along the way.
Jayson Ekiyor won both hurdle event finals, winning the 110H and 400H. Ekiyor set a facility record in the 110H, running 14.04 seconds. He came back to win the 400H in a personal best time of 51.57, the 2nd fastest time in Division III this year.Â
Josh Thomsen and David Myres added big to the point total in the hurdle events. Myres took 2nd place in the 110H with 14.65, while Thomsen placed 3rd in 14.68. The two switched roles in the 400H, with Thomsen taking 2nd in a personal best 52.39, while Myres was 3rd in 53.03. Thomsen's 400H time is ranked 7th in Division III, while Myre's time is 20th. Bethel also earned 110H points from Blake Viesselman's 5th place finish in 15.33, and Josh Lee's 8th place finish in 15.71.Â
Grant Nelson and Jacob Parent gave Bethel a 1-2 finish in the 400m dash, as they blazed their way to the #1 and #2 time in Division III this year. Nelson held on to win the race in a program record time of 46.20 seconds, with Parent running a personal record time of 46.33 seconds. Those now stand as the 11th and 16th fastest in Division III history, respectively. The Royals weren't done in the 400, as Caleb Ketterling took 5th in 48.56 and Sam Raitz took 6th in 49.13.
Freshman Timmy Ball won his second event of the weekend by earning a victory in the shot put on Saturday. Ball threw a season best 15.80m / 51'10". Evan Larsen added 3 team points as he finished 6th with a throw of 14.82m / 48'7.5".
Victor Lelinga earned 8 points for Bethel with his 2nd place finish in the 800m, running a lifetime best 1:51.61. Lelinga got out quickly in the 800m, challenged for the lead in the final 200m and was able to hold on for 2nd place. His time ranks him 38th in Division III.Â
The 4x100m relay team of Cameron McConnell, Grant Nelson, Sam Raitz, and Jacob Parent took 2nd place, running a season best 40.55 seconds. That time ranks them 7th in Division III this year.
The Royals picked up 13 points in the 100m dash between Landen Liu, Cameron McConnell, and Godsword Simon. Liu - in his first meet coming off an injury - was able to secure 2nd place with a time of 10.41 seconds, the 11th fastest time in Division III this year. McConnell was 6th in 10.75 and Simon was 7th in a personal best 10.84.
In the 200m dash, Grant Nelson took 2nd place in 21.14, Jacob Parent was 3rd in 21.16, Cameron McConnell was 5th in 21.88, and Sam Raitz was 7th in 22.14, giving Bethel 29 team points in the event.
In a meet where every point counts, the Royals earned 2 important points in the field events. Josh Thomsen threw a personal best 49.13m / 161'2" in javelin to take 8th, while Josh Graske cleared a personal best 4.27m / 14'0" in the pole vault for 8th.
Grant Graber played hero on Saturday in the 5k. With the Royals down 3.5 points to the Johnnies, Graber ran down 4 athletes in the final 300m, including outleaning St. Olaf's Andrew Skemp at the line for 3rd place with a time of 15:12.98 to Skemp's 15:13.04. With Graber's 6 team points and the Johnnies scoring 4 in the 5k, the Royals had to win the 4x400m relay to secure the team title.
With the conference title on the line, Caleb Ketterling, Victor Lelinga, Taaron Rudzitis, and Grant Nelson won the race in a time of 3:15.19, as the Johnnies took 2nd in 3:16.51. That secured the narrowest margin of victory in MIAC Championship history.
The Royals will continue on to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio on May 22-24. The top 22 individuals and top 16 relays will qualify for the championships.
