Jager, Ekpo lead Men's Track to MIAC team title

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MIAC Champ. (M), May 15, 2010

For the third year in a row, St. Thomas has swept the MIAC outdoor track and field team championships for men and women.

The Tommie men scored 178.5 points to top runner-up Hamline by 23.5 points. UST has now won 24 of the last 28 MIAC outdoor team crowns.

The UST women scored 168 points to top runner-up Gustavus by 35.5 points. Joe Sweeney won his 65th MIAC women's team title in cross country and indoor/outdoor track and field. UST has now won 24 of the last 26 MIAC outdoor team titles.

It's the eighth and ninth MIAC regular-season team championships this school year for St. Thomas.

Coach Steve Mathre's men's team scored in 17 of 22 events with points from 21 different athletes.

Senior All-American Pat Jager contriuted to 38 points and three wins and freshman Eyo Ekpo scored 28 points with three individual top-two places in the jumps. Matt Griswold was a part of four top-two finishes in the hurdles and relays.

Senior Sam Moen ran on the winning 4x100 relay for the fourth year in a row. Griswold, Moen, Joe Rohlfing and Jager clocked 41.41 -- the fifth-best time this season in Division III. Moen also took second in the 100 and third in the long jump and finished his MIAC career with 18 top-seven conference finishes indoors and outdoors. 

Jager had a monster day on Saturday. He won the 200 (21.50) and 400 (47.67), anchored the 4x100, and ran on the runner-up 4x400 (3:16.16). His 400 time is third fastest this year in Division III, and his 200 is the eighth fastest.

Ekpo won the triple jump (48-4) on Saturday -- the fourth best mark in that event in Division III this season. Ekpo won the long jump and took second in the high jump on Friday.

Griswold was second in the 400 hurdles in 52.79, second in the 110 hurdles in 15.18, and also ran on the winning 4x100 and second-place 4x400. His 400 hurdles time is fifth best this season in Division III.

The 400 hurdles produced 21 points for UST. After Griswold's runner-up finish, Joe Rohlfing (53.80) was third, Gavin Yseth (55.40) and Ryan Chapman (55.46) placed 3-6-7.

Mike Hutton (1:53.29) and Greg Dowe (1:54.02 placed 2-4 in the 800. In the pole vault, UST placed 3-4-5 with Anthony Kelly (15-0), Ben Michel (14-8) and Andy Edmunds (14-2). In the steeplechase, Tyler Iverson (9:33.56) and Mike Connell (9:41.09) placed fifth and seventh. Ben Yorkovich was sixth in the 400 (49.20). Cameron Roemhildt was eighth in the triple jump (43-3 3-4).

Click here for final men's results:

http://www.miac-online.org/documents/2010/5/14/miacmenod10.html?id=1806

Friday story

Freshman Eyo Ekpo won the long jump (22-3 1-2) and took second in the high jump (6-7 1-2) for 18 big points on Friday and the Tommie men hold a 5.5-point lead over Hamline with 13 events to go in the MIAC Track and Field Championships.

The two-day competition will conclude Saturday afternoon in Winona.

UST has 57.5 points to the Pipers’ 52. The Toms, who had a 14-point lead on Hamline after last week’s decathlon, scored 21 points in Friday's long jump.

Hamline scored 21 points in the shot put, and 16 in the javelin and 10 in the 10,000.

Cameron Roemhildt (21-4) and Sam Moen (20-9 3-4) placed second and sixth in the long jump. In the high jump, Joe Rohlfing (6-4) took fourth and Pat Ecklund (6-2) was eighth.

Ben Sathre took fifth in the 10,000 (32:02). Devin Dirth placed eighth in the javelin (147-11). UST took fifth in the 4x800 relay in 7:56.45 with Crawford Hubbell, Will Roberson, David Arlt and Greg Dowe.