University of St. Thomas Athletics
Gene's Blog: Track and Field sees gains in year two of D-I era
5/25/2023 12:58:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field, Gene's Blog
With 100-plus athletes competing over the last six months, there was always something worth watching as St. Thomas Track and Field navigated its new Division I world.
The 2023 Tommies continued their momentum in year two of the D-I journey, led by first-year head track coaches Pete Wareham and Ashley Lucas, and new full-time coaches Connor O'Neill and Andrew Raske.
Longtime followers of Tommie Track and Field knew they were seeing a changing of the guard in the coaching ranks: the 2022-23 school year marked the first time in more than four decades that recently retired coach Joe Sweeney wasn't leading the women, and the first time in 30-plus seasons that Steve Mathre wasn't coaching male athletes.
The current coaching staff inherited many talented competitors who would only get better with experience. They had to overcome poor weather in the early spring and some key injuries at crunch time, but the Purple found a way to end the school year on a strong note at the recent Summit League outdoor championships.
Both the Tommie men and women improved their conference team places from the previous year. Despite competing the final month without injured standouts Jack Rosner and Sam May, the men moved from fifth place in both the indoor and outdoor meet in 2022 to fourth place in both meets in 2023. The women improved from sixth place in the 2022 outdoor meet to fifth place this season.
Seven school records were broken indoors and outdoors -- four on the men's side, and three for the women. A 33-year-old record fell for the women, while a 19-year-old mark was broken on the men's ledger.
Plus, more than a dozen other program records live on after being nearly rewritten (see chart below).
Progress was on display up and down the women's and men's rosters. The Tommies had 41 female and 26 male athletes who set college bests times or marks in two or more events.
Difference Makers
Two Tommie multi-event athletes landed in the Summit League winner's circle. Outdoors, junior Nate Raddatz repeated as conference decathlon champ. Indoors, May, a sophomore, won the conference heptathlon with a school-record score.
Raddatz recorded the 24th best decathlon score nationally in D-I scored among all freshmen and sophomores.
Grad student Eric Douville broke a 19-year-old school record in the 200 dash as he placed third to receive All-Summit honors. Douville also anchored the 4x100 relay to fourth place.
Freshman Brett Ringer placed third in the 400 dash with the No. 5 time in program history. He later anchored the Purple to third place in the 4x400. That 4x400 finish let Ringer, Max Gifford, Mitchell Piehl and Calvin Bream receive all-conference honors.
Morey Smith broke the program's outdoor 1,500 record last month at the Drake Relays. Last season, Smith broke the indoor mile record.
Grad student Anna Swanson (javelin) and junior Taynian Walgrave (100 hurdles) also broke school records outdoors, and Molly Desotell broke the indoor 3,000 record.
Freshman sprinter Alexis Pratt – a rare two-sport athlete in D-I (basketball/track and field) -- scored in four events at the Summit meet: the 100 and 200 dashes and 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
On the Summit League season outdoor performance list, Tommie men recorded 19 top-10 individual times and marks, while the women posted 12.
On the national D-I performance lists, four Toms had top-200 scores or marks led by Raddatz in the decathlon (62nd) and javelin (189th); Anna Swanson in the women's javelin (91st); Christian Beamer in the high jump (115th); and Cameron Schulz in the decathlon (167th).
All-Sport Success
Tommie Track and Field and Cross Country contributed to St. Thomas' climb in the Summit League Men's all-sport competition. St. Thomas' men's team placed third in cross country, and fourth in both indoor and outdoor track and field. That helped the Purple jump from sixth place in the conference men's all-sports standings last season (24 points) to fourth place in 2022-23 (30.5 points).
The Toms moved from ninth place last year to eighth place this season on the women's all-sport race, aided by a fourth-place showing in cross country and a fifth-place finish in outdoor track and field.
On the Rise
The future looks bright: At the recent Summit League outdoor meet, a majority of team points scored by the Purple came from freshmen or sophomores in eligibility -- 35 of 43 women's points, and 41 of the 57 men's points.
And both teams rewrote much of their early D-I era record book for the outdoor season. The St. Thomas men recorded better "D-I record" performances in 14 of 22 events from 2022 to 2023, while women's top D-I performances improved in 16 of 21 events.
Both teams have signed a fleet of promising athletes to add to the depth and talent next fall, too.
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Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is working his 29th season at St. Thomas and 35th overall with Twin Cities college athletics teams. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies and college sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
Freshman sprinter Alexis Pratt (Zachary Lucy photo)
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Final 2023 Summit League Outdoor T&F List
Tommie Men Ranked in Top 10
- 100: 10. Eric Douville (10.63)
- 200: 5. Eric Douville (21.24); 9. Isaiah Hopf (21.51)
- 400: 4. Brett Ringer (47.85)
- 1500: 8. Morey Smith (3:48.80)
- 10,000: 8. Harris Anderson (31:20.89); 9. Adam McCollor (31:22.19)
- 110 Hurdles: 6. Jack Rosner (14.72); 8. Carter Maack (14.91)
- 400 Hurdles: 6. Jack Rosner (54.08); 9. Sam Duffing (54.77);
- 3000 Steeplechase: 11. Colton Halla (9:34.43)
- 4 x 100 Relay: 2. Gary Afram, Isaiah Hopf, Mitchell Piehl, Eric Douville (40.81)
- 4 x 400 Relay: 3. Mitchell Piehl, Calvin Bream, Max Gifford, Brett Ringer (3:13.89)
- High Jump: 5. Christian Beamer (6-9 1-2)
- Triple Jump: 9. Christian Beamer (44 8-1-4)
- Javelin: 4. Nate Raddatz (192-0); 7. Josh Dolezal (178-6); 10. James Klecker (169-6)
- Decathlon: 1. Nate Raddatz (7,157); 6. Cam Schulz (6,197)
Final 2023 Summit League Outdoor T&F List
Tommie Women Ranked in Top 10
- 100: 6. Alexis Pratt (11.89)
- 200: 10. Alexis Pratt (24.53)
- 5,000: 5. Molly Desotell (17:02.71)
- 3,000 Steeplechase: 6. Morgan Ede (11:12.68)
- 100 Hurdles: 8. Taynian Walgrave (13.98)
- 400 Hurdles: 9. Hailey Hindt (62.73)
- 4 x 100 Relay: 4. Hannah Cornelius, Alexis Pratt, Taynian Walgrave, Cassia Cady (46.95)
- 4 x 400 Relay: 5. Hannah Cornelius, Alexis Pratt, Hailey Hindt, Alicia Belany (3:53.29)
- Pole Vault: 9. Katie Nollette (12-3 1-2)
- Discus: 9. Hailey Shimon (143-8)
- Javelin: 3. Anna Swanson (152-1); 7. Brianna Schoenrock (136-2)
- Heptathlon: 9. Josie Liebl (4,134); 10. Mara McNaughton (3,632)
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New Tommie Track and Field Records/2023 (7)
Men's Outdoor
- 200 Meters: Eric Douville, 21.24 (old record 21.37, Carson Glad, 2004)
- 1,500 Meters: Morey Smith, 3:48.80 (old record 3:49.14, Kyle Brandon, 2009)
Women's Outdoor
- 100 Hurdles: Taynian Walgrave, 13.98 (old record 14.02, Mallory Burnham, 2014)
- Javelin: Anna Swanson, 152-1 (old record 150-0, Kylie Crotty, 2010)
Men's Indoor
- 400 Meters: Brett Ringer, 48.27 (old record 48.64, Carson Glad, 2004)
- Heptathlon: Sam May, 5,189 points (old record 5,164 points, Maxwell Dunne, 2014)
Women's Indoor
- 3,000 Meters: Molly Desotell, 9:46.27 (old record 9:49.15, Gretchen Farkas, 1990)
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Tommie Track and Field 2023 School Record Near Misses
Men's Outdoor
- 400 Meters: Brett Ringer, 47.85 (record 47.15, Carson Glad, 2004)
- 100 Hurdles: Jack Rosner, 14.72 (record 14.42, Carter Maack, 2022)
- 4x100 Relay: Gary Afram, Isaiah Hopf, Mitchell Piehl, Eric Douville, 40.81 (record 40.75, 2009)
- Decathlon: Nate Raddatz, 7,157 points (record 7,212 points, Erik Rosenkranz, 1995)
Women's Outdoor
- 100 Meters: Alexis Pratt, 11.89 (record 11.84, Mallory Burnham, 2014)
- 200 Meters: Alexis Pratt, 24.53 (record 24.44, Andrea Budig, 1996)
- 4x100 Relay: Hannah Cornelius, Alexis Pratt, Taynian Walgrave, Cassia Cady, 46.95 (record 46.67, 2014)
- Pole Vault: Katie Nollette, 12-3 1-2 (record 12-5 1-2, Karoline Bastiaens, 2004)
- Triple Jump: Cassia Cady, 38-5 1-2 (record 39-3 3-4), Selina Dehn, 2007)
Men's Indoor
- 60 Meter Hurdles: Jack Rosner, 8.18 (record 8.17, Erik Anderson, 2022)
- 200 Meters: Eric Douville, 21.74 (record 21.66, Eric Douville, 2022)
- 1000 Meters: Caden Nordberg, 2:27.71 (record 2:27.08, Mike Hutton, 2012)
Women's Indoor
- 60 Meter Hurdles: Taynian Walgrave, 8.71 (record 8.60, Mallory Burnham, 2014)
- 600 Meters: Alicia Belany, 1:36.57 (record 1:35.18, Tish Dusich, 2001)
Tommie Men's Track and Field
Division I Era -- Summit Meets, Individual Scoring Leaders
Four indoor and outdoor meets to date
*Credit for one-fourth of four-man relay points
Career Pts. Scored/Competitor (Total SL meets competed)
- 33.00, Nate Raddatz (4)
- 26.25, Jack Rosner (3)
- 18.75, Isaiah Hopf (4)
- 15.00, Morey Smith (3)
- 13.75, Gary Afram (4)
- 13.00, Eric Douville (3)
- 13.00, Max Gifford (3)
- 13.00, Sam May (3)
- 12.75, Brett Ringer (2)
- 11.00, Parker Feuerbach (2)***
Tommie Women's Track and Field
Division I Era -- Summit Meets, Individual Scoring Leaders
Four indoor and outdoor meets to date
*Credit for one-fourth of four-person relay points
Career Pts. Scored/Competitor (Total SL meets competed)
- 14.5, Molly Reighard (2)
- 14.0, Molly Desotell (4)
- 9.5, Alexis Pratt (2)
- 8.0, Anna Swanson (1)
- 7.25, Hailey Hindt (4)
- 6.0, Hannah Cornelius (4)
- 5.75, Taynian Walgrave (4)
- 5.0, Brianna Schoenrock (4)
- 4.0, Morgan Ede (4)
- 3.5, Caroline Anderson (4)
Players Mentioned
