Three athletes compete at indoor nationals

This past weekend two Johnnies and a Bennie attended the NCAA Division III indoor track and field nationals in Winston-Salem, N.C.

CSB sophomore Fiona Smith continued her dominant season. Smith became the first track and field athlete in CSB history to earn All-American honors in the 3k and 5k in indoor track while also being the first to earn two in a single meet. Smith earned a fourth-place finish in the 5k in 16:48.65 on Friday and a third-place finish in the 3k with a time of 9:45.72 on Saturday.

“I was especially proud of this finish and it definitely makes me excited for nationals, for outdoor and in the coming couple of years,” Smith said.

That third-place finish is the best CSB has seen from indoor nationals since 2001. She is the first Bennie in CSB history to earn three All-American honors in one school year.

“I led the chase pack for a good portion of the race and finished in fourth [for the 5k], which I was happy with, being my highest finish at nationals so far,” Smith said.

Smith hopes to carry this momentum into her second outdoor track and field season as a Bennie.

SJU junior Maguire Petersen also earned an All-American honors with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon. Petersen is the first Johnnie in program history to compete in the heptathlon at indoor nationals. He placed second in two of the first day’s four events—high jump (2.00 meters) and shot put (13.41 meters). His toss in shot put was a season-best.

He also claimed fifth place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.22. His 60-meter dash was just 0.02 short of his personal best. In his fourth event he tied for 16th in the long jump (6.04 meters).

“Going into the national meet, my goal was to place somewhere near the top in the heptathlon, being top three. But, things don’t always go as planned, and after a disappointing day one of events, I refocused my goal on placing top eight which is All-American classification,” Petersen said.

By the end of Petersen’s second day he took home a sixth-place finish out of 20 in the heptathlon.

His 11th place finish in 60-meter hurdles kept him in a strong third place. After his pole vault, he slipped to sixth place, placing in 16th and ended the competition with a 14th place finish in the 1000-meter, earning his personal best with a time of 2:54.94.

SJU senior Eli Mollet earned 12th out of 20 in the weight throw.

His first throw was 17.47 meters, second 16.99 meters and third 17.72 meters. Mollet was the first Johnnie to compete in the weight throw at nationals since 1995 where Dan Jost placed seventh.

“The energy at nationals was incredible. Having the best athletes in their disciplines all in one place made for an electric environment,” Mollet said.

The Bennies and Johnnies rounded out the indoor track and field season with success.

“Going into outdoor, I plan to continue training hard, taking advantage of every opportunity I get to race and staying healthy,” Smith said.

Both teams are now starting up their outdoor season with their first meet scheduled for April 2 at Hamline.