2011 MIAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS PAGE
MIAC MEN'S OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE LIST (RACEBERRY JAM)

Head Coach: Dennis Barker (Iowa State '80, 17th year)

2010 MIAC Outdoor Finish: 5th

MINNEAPOLIS -- Coming off of its best finish in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championships in recent history, the Augsburg College men's track and field team will look to continue its upward move in the MIAC standings again this season at the outdoor championships in St. Peter, Minn.  

Leading the Auggies again this year at the outdoor championships will be veteran sprinter Nick Ward (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.). A two-time individual champion in the 100-meter dash, Ward will look to become the first MIAC sprinter since Jerry Washington of Gustavus to win the event three times in his career. Ward currently holds the fastest 100 time in the MIAC this season, as he clocked an NCAA championship provisional time of 10.73 seconds earlier this season at the Tom Cat Twilight Meet.

Ward will also look to add to the Augsburg point total in the 200-meter dash and long jump competitions. Ward currently owns the top distance among MIAC competitors in the long jump during the outdoor season, as he recorded a distance of 6.86 meters (22-feet-6.25) on April 2 at the Hamline Invitational.

Joining Ward in the sprint events will be the Augsburg duo of Rick Wolke (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn.) and Joe Arnold (JR, Grand Rapids, Minn.). Wolke, a participant at last year's NCAA Division III national championships, will look to once again make his mark in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while Arnold will look to build on his solid performance in the 400 this season. Arnold currently holds the top time in the conference this season in the 400, as he clocked a time of 48.92 at the Meet of the UnSaintly hosted by Hamline University on May 7.

In the relay events, the Augsburg 400-meter team of Ward, Wolke, Arnold and Gil Millette (SO, Brainard, Minn.) will look to earn the school's first-ever conference title in the event. The relay team, which has finished second at the MIAC championships in each of the last two seasons, will enter this year's conference meet with the field's top time of the season, having clocked a time of 42.11 seconds at the Falcon Invite earlier this year. 

The Auggies will look to continue their succes in another relay, as Ward, Wolke, Arnold, and Matthew Schafer (SO, New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) will compete in the 1,600-meter relay. The quartet will enter the championships with the third-best time in the conference this season, having recorded a time of 3:19.22 at the Tom Cat Open earlier this year. 

Schafer will also look to make his mark in the individual events at the championships as well. As the Augsburg school record holder in the 1,500-meter run, Schafer is currently ranked fifth among MIAC competitors in the event this season. In addition to the 1,500, Schafer will also look to make some noise in the 800-meter run, as his time of 1:54.97 is currently ranked second in the conference this season.

In the field events, Augsburg will lean on the triple-jumping duo of Shane Pantila (SR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) and Emmanuel Marcellino (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) to provide a boost in the teams overall point total. As the Augsburg indoor school record-holder in the triple jump, Pantila's outdoor distance of 14.04 meters (46-feet-0.75) currently ranks as the fourth-best distance in the conference this season. Marcellino currently holds the seventh-best mark among MIAC competitors, as he recorded a season-best 13.61 meters (44-feet-8) at the Capitol City Championships earlier this year.