St. Paul, Minn. -- The 2009 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships came to a close on Saturday afternoon with the St. Thomas women capturing the team title. This week, individual awards were announced and the honorees are listed below.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC selected the third annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for Women's Outdoor Track & Field. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.
Outstanding Women's Track Athlete - Nikki Arola, St. Thomas
- Arola (Jr., Chisholm, Minn.) contributed 41 points as the St. Thomas women rallied from a 40-point deficit on the final day to capture their 23rd MIAC team title in 25 seasons at the MIAC Championships. Arola won the 200 meter dash (25.60) and 400 meter dash (57.32) and ran on the winning 4x100 (48.57) and 4x400 relays (3:51.56, meet record).
Outstanding Women's Field Athlete - Sam Broderius, Gustavus
- Broderius (So., Hector, Minn.) captured multiple event titles with NCAA provisional marks in the shot put with a distance of 44 feet, 8 3/4 inches and the discus with a distance of 148 feet, 3 inches. Broderius helped Gustavus compile 173 points as a team, the most in program history.
Women's Outstanding Performance of the Meet - Marie Borner, Bethel
- Borner (Sr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) recorded a time of 4:29.20 in the 1500 meter run, which betters her own conference meet record by more than three seconds. Borner's time on Saturday is a NCAA Automatic Qualifying time.
Women's Coach of the Year - Tom Thorkelson, Gustavus
Gustavus won seven individual events as it compiled 173 points, which is the highest point total in program history, to finish second at the MIAC Championships. The Gusties' depth accounted for the strong finish at the conference meet as the team posted seven first place finishes, three second place finishes, five third place finishes, two fourth place finishes, and three fifth place finishes. Thorkelson is in his tenth season leading the Gusties.
2009 All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team
Augsburg - Whitney Holman (Jr., New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong)
Bethel - Amy Neubauer (So., Rogers, Minn.)
Carleton - Sarah Margoles (Sr., Saint Louis Park, Minn.)
Concordia - Kristina Bruns (Sr., Eagan, Minn.)
Gustavus - Kaelene Lundstrom (Jr., Bird Island, Minn./BOLD)
Hamline - Ashley Drake (Sr., Brainerd, Minn.)
Macalester - Emily Matthews (Jr., Fort Collins, Colo.)
Saint Benedict - Stephanie Kortan (So., Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln)
St. Catherine - Kristie Bronson (Sr., Princeton, Minn.)
Saint Mary's - Emily Dee (So., Racine, Minn./Stewartville)
St. Olaf - Katie Duwell (Sr., West Bend, Wis./West)
St. Thomas - Shionna Evans (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.)
2009 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Website