We competed last Saturday at Mankato (Minnesota State University Mankato) and had some great performances as we prepare for the MIAC Indoor Conference Championships this weekend. Kevin Arthur (Sr, Champlin Park) continues to lead the team as he broke two school records. He had already set the record for 60 meter dash earlier in the season and broke it again with a time of 6.78 seconds. He has been eyeing the 200 meter dash record as well. Despite his good 200 meter times outdoors, Kevin has struggled running the turns indoors. He had his lightbulb moment in practice last week. Even though we had talked about where to look going into the turns, it hadn’t clicked until we walked through “when” to start preparing for the turn. The difference was immediate and I knew he would overtake Drew Schoenbauer’s record of 22.19.
Check out the video of Kevin’s record breaking 200 meter race: SJU 200 Indoor School Record: Kevin Arthur 22.08
The distance guys had some good performances last weekend as well. Nick St. Peter (SO, Maple Grove) opted for a meet at the University of Minnesota for a quick 4:18.74 mile, while Tommy Allen (JR, St. Paul Academy) ran his first 800 meter dash of the season in a controlled 1:56.36.
Here are a few other stand out SJU performers who positioned themselves well for the conference meet: Zach Schaffer (SO, Chaska) continues to do well in long jump and leads the conference. Fellow jumper Jackson McDowell (FR, Centennial, CO) keeps improving in high jump with a clearance of 6-3.5 feet. This is Jackson’s first year ever in track after transitioning from baseball. I’m not sure if we need to trade someone to the baseball team in return!
This week’s MIAC Indoor Championship is at St. Olaf. Our four heptathletes will start on Thursday and we have forty-two athletes qualified overall. I would like to feel more confident going into the meet, but injuries and sickness will keep a few key guys out of the meet. Bethel and St. Olaf both have good teams and it will be a tough competition.
Come cheer us on!
Jeremy
Conference Meet Info and Livestream can be found here:
2024 MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships - Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference