University of St. Thomas Athletics
Junior Evan Teynor placed second in the 60 hurdles and the heptathlon at the 2020 MIAC Indoor Championships
Next Gen: Toms' hurdler joins family's record legacy
9/29/2020 9:45:00 AM | Athletics
Evan Teynor tries to put the best face on it. But in hindsight his 2018-19 track and field experience as a St. Thomas sophomore was flat out miserable.
A hard-to-diagnose injury created the frustration. After several starts and stops, the pain eventually bumped Teynor from all competitions in the indoor and outdoor seasons. It left him cheering on his teammates as he recovered on the sidelines.
A healthy Teynor roared back in 2019-20 for a breakout indoor season last January and February. The Prairie Du Chien, Wis., native was conference runner-up in both the 60 hurdles and in the heptathlon to help the Tommies win the program's 36th consecutive MIAC indoor team championship.
Along the way, Teynor produced something rare for any NCAA school. St. Thomas now has both a mother and son simultaneously holding school records in track and field.
In fact, Teynor became a third-generation university school-record setter last February when he broke the Toms' 60-meter hurdles record indoors. His time of 8.36 broke the old Tommie record of 6.40 by All-America P.J. Theisen.
Evan joined his mother, Colleen Landwehr Teynor, whose 1995 St. Thomas indoor pentathlon record still stands. They both join Colleen's dad and Evan's grandfather, Richard Landwehr, who broke two school track and field records as a senior competing for the Minnesota Gophers in 1968, including one at Division I nationals that lasted more than two decades.
To top it off, Evan holds a near perfect 3.98 grade-point average while majoring in Biochemistry. He's considering a career in medicine. "I'm trying to decide between physician's assistant school or medical school," he said. "I want to interact with people and make a direct impact on their lives."
Unlikely Tommie
The 6-foot-3 Teynor played four sports in middle school, and later competed in varsity soccer, basketball and track and field at Prairie Du Chien High. He was a soccer captain, played on a state qualifier in basketball, and qualified for the state track and field meet in the 300 hurdles.
Teynor at first didn't see St. Thomas as a college option for himself.
"We were driving up to a college visit at Carleton, and my mom said 'Why don't we look at St. Thomas while we were up this way,' " Teynor said. "I didn't want to go to the same school as my mom, but I agreed to look. Visiting Carleton, I just didn't feel like it was the best fit for me, and then I liked what I saw at St. Thomas.
"I was also looking at the University of Wisconsin, but in the end it turned out to be cheaper for me to go here to a private school in St. Thomas than to go to (a state university in) Madison, even though I was from that state."
A Tommie All-America hurdler herself as a college senior, Colleen said she was happy to see Evan at St. Thomas. But she wanted him to find his own path, out of any parental shadow.
"I was excited to be able to help him through the transition to college, and be able to share some of my experiences with him," Colleen explained. "My strongest connection to the St. Thomas campus was through my friends on the second floor of Dowling Hall during my freshman year, and through my four years on the track team. Needless to say, I was excited when Evan was assigned to Brady Hall and joined the track and field team.
"But I wanted Evan to make it on his own accord, so I asked him not to tell Coach (Steve) Mathre about his connection to me, as Mathre was an assistant coach in my day and taught me how to hurdle. I also wanted to surprise Coach (Joe) Sweeney and Mathre by showing up at a track meet to watch my son some day. The surprise did not last as Sweeney immediately recognized my parents at a meet before I could get to one."
Evan said that Mathre and the staff helped develop and motivate him to improve.
"Mathre and all the coaches have been really helpful," he said. "I remember as a freshman after a race, he'd say. 'What did you see?' He always had good feedback after practice or races. I definitely wouldn't be where I'm at without my coaches and teammates' support."
As a freshman, Teynor agreed to try the multi-event, a grueling series involving hurdles, jumps, throws, pole vault, a short sprint, and a middle-distance run. He placed ninth in the 60 hurdles and 11th in the seven-event heptathlon in the 2018 MIAC indoor meet. Outdoors he scored nine team points in three events as he placed sixth in the 400 hurdles, fifth in the 10-event decathlon, and seventh in the 110 high hurdles.
He was pumped to make more progress during his 2019 sophomore season, but a nagging hip-groin injury never cooperated.
"It was basically an overuse injury," Teynor said. "I couldn't figure out if it was a hernia or just a strain, so I just tried to train through it. Eventually they figured the only solution was rest, so for six months I sat on stationary bike for workouts, and I just tried to help support my teammates. It was hard to just sit and watch, especially when we hosted the conference outdoor meet."
Teynor returned last fall rested and motivated for a bounce-back indoor season. His hard work and focus led to a breakout season with two MIAC runner-up finishes plus the school record in the hurdles. In the heptathlon, he improved his best score from a No. 125 national ranking as a freshman to No. 45 in 2020 as a junior. The only buzzkill came last March when the Covid outbreak erased the outdoor season for all NCAA athletes.
"I really wanted to see what I could do competing in the outdoor season," Teynor said. "All those goals and marks are still sitting there for me to pursue. With the events slightly different from indoors, feel I'll be a better performer outdoors than indoors, so we'll see where I can be in 2021."
Teynor credited the coaches and his teammates for motivating him to be his best in the heptathlon and decathlon events. "We really have a strong multi-event group -- Tyler Adler, Drew Probst, Tyler Culler, Jordan Johnson, Evan Braaten and myself really push and support each other," he said. "The practices get long, and it's easy to lose focus when doing the repetition. To have these guys give each other feedback, it helps us all get better, along with all that the coaches bring to help us.
"The hurdles is my favorite event, but I find the pole vault the most fun. I never expected it, but pushing to higher heights and pushing through fear is fun. The hardest events for me are throwing discus, javelin, shot put. I'm not built for those power events, so I just focus on my form and technique to get any distance."
Family Legacy
Humility -- and underdog success -- runs in the family.
Evan's mother Colleen Landwehr saw her work and persistence pay off by her senior season in 1995 as she broke two school records, made All-America, and was a five-time MIAC champion indoors and outdoors. She helped her team sweep both conference team titles and place third in the NCAA indoor meet. Her 8.69 record time for the 60 hurdles eventually was broken, but her pentathlon record is still on the board 25 years later.
"I didn't even know that my mom had a school record when I was coming in, that's just how she is, not one to bring attention to herself," Evan explained. "I want to make a name for myself and also do it the way she did, being humble in the way she was doing it."
Evan is proud of his family legacy with three generations in track and field. Along with his and his mom's success at St. Thomas, his brother Ben broke Prairie Du Chien High's 300 hurdles record. Both his grandfather Richard as a Minnesota Gopher runner and school-record breaker, and great uncle Roger Landwehr as a Mankato State All-American hurdler and conference record-holder, started the family competitive parade during the 1960s.
"I grew up in Mankato and graduated from Loyola High School," Richard Landwehr explained. "Roy Griak was my coach at the University of Minnesota. I was a non-scholarship, walk-on member of the 1968 Big Ten outdoor championship team under Roy.
"I broke the school indoor record for the 600-yard run at the U of M Fieldhouse. That record lasted for only one year. I was also able to place third in the Big Ten Conference indoor meet in the 600 later that winter. Winning the Big Ten outdoor (individual) championship, and receiving the team championship ring in 1968 were the highlights of my track career.
"For the outdoor season, I ran the 660-yard run and the mile relay. At the end of the season, the Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet was held at the U of M campus. Our team won the meet for only the second time in the history of Minnesota track and field. My contribution was winning the 660 with a 0.1 second victory margin. The race was considered the upset of the meet. It gave our team five unexpected points in a meet that we won by only one point. Also at that meet, I ran lead off for our mile relay team which set a U of M school record. That three-week old U of M mile relay record was then again broken by our foursome at the NCAA meet in California in a record time that we held for approximately 25 more years."
(PHOTO: Gopher senior Richard Landwehr, row one, second from right)
The Gophers' only previous Big Ten outdoor team championship came in 1949. Landwehr's win helped Minnesota score 50 team points and edge Michigan (49) and Wisconsin (48) in one of the closest team finishes in conference history. It would be another 30 years until the Gophers won another Big Ten outdoor team crown. Griak guided two conference team crowns in his 33-year tenure as cross country coach, but as track and field head coach, that 1968 victory was his only Big Ten team championship out of 66 indoor and outdoor competitions.
Richard graduated from Minnesota in 1969 and later received an MBA there in 1995. He spent most of his career in real estate and property management in Rochester, Minn., where Colleen graduated from and competed at Mayo High.
Richard's brother, Roger Landwehr, was the family's first elite hurdler. While competing in Mankato for the Mavericks, he placed third in the NCAA Division II nationals and broke the North Central Conference record in the 400 hurdles.
Big Picture
After St. Thomas, Colleen Landwehr went on to the University of Minnesota to receive a Master's degree in Social Work. She works as a behavior therapist at a Mayo Clinic satellite in Prairie Du Chien. Her husband, Eric, is the buildings and grounds maintenance manager at Prairie Du Chien's 3M facility.
Colleen said Evan's academic success and selfless nature make his family especially proud.
"I'm excited that Evan has had the opportunity to enjoy St. Thomas academically and athletically -- we are proud of him beyond words," she said. "He chose a difficult major to manage on its own, without a sport to put on top of it. He has continued the academic legacy of academic through dedication to his education. We are excited to see what opportunities are available to him in the near future. His ability to work hard and excel in track has been exciting to watch.
"It's funny, but I get more nervous watching him compete than I ever did for myself. HIs freshman year he had to run the 400 hurdles by himself in the final because he was interfered with during the race. Running this kind of a race, the second time, alone, takes mental fortitude. He had the support of his entire team, men and women, around the track cheering him on. The team aspect is an amazing thing about St. Thomas track and field. Despite fatigue he managed to run faster the second time around. That just doesn't happen.
"Evan sets goals and works relentlessly to achieve them. He is competitive and wants to win or at least better himself and help his team each time. This is part of the legacy, from my father's fortitude to push for the win in the 660 his senior year, leading to a Big 10 conference win for the team; to my fight to excel in multi-events and hurdles to get not only a record but help the team to an indoor national team third place; to Evan's continued personal bests and school record, as well as learning multi-events to help his team to see success. Then to have us both on the record board is a nice thing to top it all off. I know he will continue to work hard and strive to keep his name up there."
In 1995, in an interview with the Aquin newspaper, then Tommie assistant coach Steve Mathre said this about senior hurdler Colleen Landwehr,
"Colleen has developed from a multi-event athlete who hurdled into a bonafide hurdler,"
Today, Mathre said this about her son, Evan Teynor:
A hard-to-diagnose injury created the frustration. After several starts and stops, the pain eventually bumped Teynor from all competitions in the indoor and outdoor seasons. It left him cheering on his teammates as he recovered on the sidelines.
A healthy Teynor roared back in 2019-20 for a breakout indoor season last January and February. The Prairie Du Chien, Wis., native was conference runner-up in both the 60 hurdles and in the heptathlon to help the Tommies win the program's 36th consecutive MIAC indoor team championship.
Along the way, Teynor produced something rare for any NCAA school. St. Thomas now has both a mother and son simultaneously holding school records in track and field.
In fact, Teynor became a third-generation university school-record setter last February when he broke the Toms' 60-meter hurdles record indoors. His time of 8.36 broke the old Tommie record of 6.40 by All-America P.J. Theisen.
Evan joined his mother, Colleen Landwehr Teynor, whose 1995 St. Thomas indoor pentathlon record still stands. They both join Colleen's dad and Evan's grandfather, Richard Landwehr, who broke two school track and field records as a senior competing for the Minnesota Gophers in 1968, including one at Division I nationals that lasted more than two decades.
To top it off, Evan holds a near perfect 3.98 grade-point average while majoring in Biochemistry. He's considering a career in medicine. "I'm trying to decide between physician's assistant school or medical school," he said. "I want to interact with people and make a direct impact on their lives."
Unlikely Tommie
The 6-foot-3 Teynor played four sports in middle school, and later competed in varsity soccer, basketball and track and field at Prairie Du Chien High. He was a soccer captain, played on a state qualifier in basketball, and qualified for the state track and field meet in the 300 hurdles.
Teynor at first didn't see St. Thomas as a college option for himself.
"We were driving up to a college visit at Carleton, and my mom said 'Why don't we look at St. Thomas while we were up this way,' " Teynor said. "I didn't want to go to the same school as my mom, but I agreed to look. Visiting Carleton, I just didn't feel like it was the best fit for me, and then I liked what I saw at St. Thomas.
"I was also looking at the University of Wisconsin, but in the end it turned out to be cheaper for me to go here to a private school in St. Thomas than to go to (a state university in) Madison, even though I was from that state."
A Tommie All-America hurdler herself as a college senior, Colleen said she was happy to see Evan at St. Thomas. But she wanted him to find his own path, out of any parental shadow.
"I was excited to be able to help him through the transition to college, and be able to share some of my experiences with him," Colleen explained. "My strongest connection to the St. Thomas campus was through my friends on the second floor of Dowling Hall during my freshman year, and through my four years on the track team. Needless to say, I was excited when Evan was assigned to Brady Hall and joined the track and field team.
"But I wanted Evan to make it on his own accord, so I asked him not to tell Coach (Steve) Mathre about his connection to me, as Mathre was an assistant coach in my day and taught me how to hurdle. I also wanted to surprise Coach (Joe) Sweeney and Mathre by showing up at a track meet to watch my son some day. The surprise did not last as Sweeney immediately recognized my parents at a meet before I could get to one."Evan said that Mathre and the staff helped develop and motivate him to improve.
"Mathre and all the coaches have been really helpful," he said. "I remember as a freshman after a race, he'd say. 'What did you see?' He always had good feedback after practice or races. I definitely wouldn't be where I'm at without my coaches and teammates' support."
As a freshman, Teynor agreed to try the multi-event, a grueling series involving hurdles, jumps, throws, pole vault, a short sprint, and a middle-distance run. He placed ninth in the 60 hurdles and 11th in the seven-event heptathlon in the 2018 MIAC indoor meet. Outdoors he scored nine team points in three events as he placed sixth in the 400 hurdles, fifth in the 10-event decathlon, and seventh in the 110 high hurdles.
He was pumped to make more progress during his 2019 sophomore season, but a nagging hip-groin injury never cooperated.
"It was basically an overuse injury," Teynor said. "I couldn't figure out if it was a hernia or just a strain, so I just tried to train through it. Eventually they figured the only solution was rest, so for six months I sat on stationary bike for workouts, and I just tried to help support my teammates. It was hard to just sit and watch, especially when we hosted the conference outdoor meet."
Teynor returned last fall rested and motivated for a bounce-back indoor season. His hard work and focus led to a breakout season with two MIAC runner-up finishes plus the school record in the hurdles. In the heptathlon, he improved his best score from a No. 125 national ranking as a freshman to No. 45 in 2020 as a junior. The only buzzkill came last March when the Covid outbreak erased the outdoor season for all NCAA athletes.
"I really wanted to see what I could do competing in the outdoor season," Teynor said. "All those goals and marks are still sitting there for me to pursue. With the events slightly different from indoors, feel I'll be a better performer outdoors than indoors, so we'll see where I can be in 2021."
Teynor credited the coaches and his teammates for motivating him to be his best in the heptathlon and decathlon events. "We really have a strong multi-event group -- Tyler Adler, Drew Probst, Tyler Culler, Jordan Johnson, Evan Braaten and myself really push and support each other," he said. "The practices get long, and it's easy to lose focus when doing the repetition. To have these guys give each other feedback, it helps us all get better, along with all that the coaches bring to help us.
"The hurdles is my favorite event, but I find the pole vault the most fun. I never expected it, but pushing to higher heights and pushing through fear is fun. The hardest events for me are throwing discus, javelin, shot put. I'm not built for those power events, so I just focus on my form and technique to get any distance."
Family Legacy
Humility -- and underdog success -- runs in the family.
Evan's mother Colleen Landwehr saw her work and persistence pay off by her senior season in 1995 as she broke two school records, made All-America, and was a five-time MIAC champion indoors and outdoors. She helped her team sweep both conference team titles and place third in the NCAA indoor meet. Her 8.69 record time for the 60 hurdles eventually was broken, but her pentathlon record is still on the board 25 years later.
"I didn't even know that my mom had a school record when I was coming in, that's just how she is, not one to bring attention to herself," Evan explained. "I want to make a name for myself and also do it the way she did, being humble in the way she was doing it."
Evan is proud of his family legacy with three generations in track and field. Along with his and his mom's success at St. Thomas, his brother Ben broke Prairie Du Chien High's 300 hurdles record. Both his grandfather Richard as a Minnesota Gopher runner and school-record breaker, and great uncle Roger Landwehr as a Mankato State All-American hurdler and conference record-holder, started the family competitive parade during the 1960s.
"I grew up in Mankato and graduated from Loyola High School," Richard Landwehr explained. "Roy Griak was my coach at the University of Minnesota. I was a non-scholarship, walk-on member of the 1968 Big Ten outdoor championship team under Roy.
"I broke the school indoor record for the 600-yard run at the U of M Fieldhouse. That record lasted for only one year. I was also able to place third in the Big Ten Conference indoor meet in the 600 later that winter. Winning the Big Ten outdoor (individual) championship, and receiving the team championship ring in 1968 were the highlights of my track career.
"For the outdoor season, I ran the 660-yard run and the mile relay. At the end of the season, the Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet was held at the U of M campus. Our team won the meet for only the second time in the history of Minnesota track and field. My contribution was winning the 660 with a 0.1 second victory margin. The race was considered the upset of the meet. It gave our team five unexpected points in a meet that we won by only one point. Also at that meet, I ran lead off for our mile relay team which set a U of M school record. That three-week old U of M mile relay record was then again broken by our foursome at the NCAA meet in California in a record time that we held for approximately 25 more years."(PHOTO: Gopher senior Richard Landwehr, row one, second from right)
The Gophers' only previous Big Ten outdoor team championship came in 1949. Landwehr's win helped Minnesota score 50 team points and edge Michigan (49) and Wisconsin (48) in one of the closest team finishes in conference history. It would be another 30 years until the Gophers won another Big Ten outdoor team crown. Griak guided two conference team crowns in his 33-year tenure as cross country coach, but as track and field head coach, that 1968 victory was his only Big Ten team championship out of 66 indoor and outdoor competitions.
Richard graduated from Minnesota in 1969 and later received an MBA there in 1995. He spent most of his career in real estate and property management in Rochester, Minn., where Colleen graduated from and competed at Mayo High.
Richard's brother, Roger Landwehr, was the family's first elite hurdler. While competing in Mankato for the Mavericks, he placed third in the NCAA Division II nationals and broke the North Central Conference record in the 400 hurdles.
Big Picture
After St. Thomas, Colleen Landwehr went on to the University of Minnesota to receive a Master's degree in Social Work. She works as a behavior therapist at a Mayo Clinic satellite in Prairie Du Chien. Her husband, Eric, is the buildings and grounds maintenance manager at Prairie Du Chien's 3M facility.
Colleen said Evan's academic success and selfless nature make his family especially proud.
"I'm excited that Evan has had the opportunity to enjoy St. Thomas academically and athletically -- we are proud of him beyond words," she said. "He chose a difficult major to manage on its own, without a sport to put on top of it. He has continued the academic legacy of academic through dedication to his education. We are excited to see what opportunities are available to him in the near future. His ability to work hard and excel in track has been exciting to watch.
"It's funny, but I get more nervous watching him compete than I ever did for myself. HIs freshman year he had to run the 400 hurdles by himself in the final because he was interfered with during the race. Running this kind of a race, the second time, alone, takes mental fortitude. He had the support of his entire team, men and women, around the track cheering him on. The team aspect is an amazing thing about St. Thomas track and field. Despite fatigue he managed to run faster the second time around. That just doesn't happen.
"Evan sets goals and works relentlessly to achieve them. He is competitive and wants to win or at least better himself and help his team each time. This is part of the legacy, from my father's fortitude to push for the win in the 660 his senior year, leading to a Big 10 conference win for the team; to my fight to excel in multi-events and hurdles to get not only a record but help the team to an indoor national team third place; to Evan's continued personal bests and school record, as well as learning multi-events to help his team to see success. Then to have us both on the record board is a nice thing to top it all off. I know he will continue to work hard and strive to keep his name up there."
In 1995, in an interview with the Aquin newspaper, then Tommie assistant coach Steve Mathre said this about senior hurdler Colleen Landwehr,
"Colleen has developed from a multi-event athlete who hurdled into a bonafide hurdler,"
Today, Mathre said this about her son, Evan Teynor:
"Evan is a tremendous benefit to our team, both in terms of talent and culture," Mathre said. "He's very coachable, motivated and conscientious, and he's a leader who is well respected by all.
"Show me where I can find more just like Evan. I'd stand in line for hours."
Press Conference: Tommie Women's Basketball Head Coach Mandy Pearson
Thursday, March 26
Homegrown Tommies: Chase Cheslock
Thursday, March 19
Postgame: Tommie Women's Basketball, Summit League Semifinals v NDSU
Sunday, March 08
Postgame: Tommie Women's Basketball, Summit League Quarterfinals v ORU
Friday, March 06
