Men, women run, jump and throw way to wins at Qualifier

The St. Olaf men's and women's track and field teams claimed several top finishes at Friday's Qualifier, their final regular season indoor meet ahead of this weekend's MIAC Championships.

Leading the way on the men's side were the mid-distance and distance runners. Dobuol Ruon '11 captured a narrow win in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8:53.32 over an unattached runner, as did Dan Varley '10 in the 600-yard dash. Reid Gilbertson '12 edged teammate Ben Wilson '11 by less than a second in the 1,000 meter run, winning with a time of 2:31.37. Shot putter John Schantzen '10 dominated the field, posting a personal best throw of 16.35 meters.  

Amie Fillmore ‘10 led the women's contingent, winning the pole vault with a height of 3.72 meters. Michaela McLaughlin '10 earned runner-up honors in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 10:52.9 while Abby Smith finished just two tenths of a second out of first place in the 800-meter run. The 4X400-meter relay squad also finished second overall.

The MIAC meet will begin with Thursday's pentathlon and run through Saturday at Carleton. The Ole men placed fourth at last year's Championships, with the Ole women placing ninth. The men's distance relay team, Schantzen and Fillmore are defending conference champions.