Bennies and Johnnies to compete at MIAC Championships

The St. Ben’s and St. John’s track and field teams will compete at the 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference (MIAC) Pentathlon and the MIAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 22-24, which will be hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

The Bennies placed first in the CSB+SJU Quad Invite on Feb. 10 at Clemens Stadium for the outdoor portion of events, with 200 team points against seven competing teams.

The Johnnies also placed first out of seven teams at the Donald McNeely Spectrum on Feb. 10 in the St. John’s Invitational.

St. Ben’s track and field head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue, who is currently in her 26th season, coached a team where two Bennies qualified for National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship (NCAA) competition a season ago.

These athletes include All-American and Division III national champion Fiona Smith and runner/jumper junior Justus Floren.

Balder-Lanoue looks forward to this weekend’s conference championship meet.

“We will continue to work hard in practice to prepare for this weekend’s event. Our goal is to continue our success by finishing in the top three in all events. Ultimately, we want to better our seeding as competition goes on,” Balder-Lanoue said.

She praised the conference this year.

“We are lucky enough to compete in such a great conference. it is tough to compete in every event, and I think this is the beauty of running in the MIAC,” Balder-Lanoue said.

Senior St. Mary’s University transfer Mirjana Ganley is looking forward to continuing the season the team has had.

“It’s been a fun season with the track team, and I can’t wait to see all the first-years compete in their first conference meet,” Ganley said.

CSB senior Tiana Johnson has cherished the track season as it is her last chance at collegiate competition.

“I am very lucky to have such close teammates. We are all very hard working. Personally, I am looking forward to my open events which include the 4×200 relay. The three events that I am competing in will be very competitive, and I’m excited to give 110 percent,” Johnson said.

Junior Kalli Smith is a mid-distance runner who will also compete in the conference meet this weekend. Last season, Kalli Smith recorded nine top-eight finishes. This included getting seventh place in the 1,000-meter and eighth place in the 800-meter. Both events were a part of the 2023 MIAC Championships. Kalli Smith said she looks forward to seeing how the team’s hard work manifests at the conference.

“This season, we have pushed each other and all worked hard. During our conference meet, I am looking forward to getting rewarded for a season of hard work. We have had a glimpse of being rewarded, but I believe we will see a lot of what we have worked for at conference, where the bulk of the competition will be,” Kalli Smith said.

Kalli Smith praised Balder-Lanoue for her philosophy this season.

“Coach Robin’s message this season has been to not settle during this season. She has celebrated whenever we have reached our goals after each meet. Coach then has helped us set news goals for the remainder of the year,” Kalli Smith said.

SJU head coach Jeremy Karger-Gatzow has been happy with the team’s leadership this season.

“My goal is for all upperclassmen to be leaders on the team. They take ownership of the team and do a fantastic job in mentoring the younger athletes,” Karger-Gatzow said. “So many athletes on our team do the work to be leaders as first-years, sophomores and juniors. Jaeden Frost and Anthony Thurk are no exception of that.”

St. John’s senior Jaeden Frost and junior Anthony Thurk both look forward to this weekend’s conference championships. “I’m excited to see performances that can come from people on our team,” Thurk said.

Frost, who is also a defensive lineman on the Johnnie football team, has been happy with the progress he has made as a shot putter this season.

“My technique for both shot put and weight throw have gotten exponentially better over the course of the season,” Frost said. Thurk has been happy with how practices have been structured. He said the Johnnies’ practices have translated into success on meet day.

“Practice has gone very well this season, and it is very evident in the results from our meets. The earlier start to our season has allowed us to have more time with our coaches to work on our events to prepare for this season,” Thurk said.

Both athletes praised head coach Jeremy Karger-Gatzkow’s coaching style.

“Coach Jeremy’s message to our team has just been to worry about ourselves and how we can perform. Everything else is out of our hands,” Thurk said.