ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a fifth-place, All-MIAC Honorable Mention finish in the pentathlon at the 2020 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Stephanie Pickthorn was poised for a big sophomore year during the outdoor season.
But then COVID19 hit, and the 2020 outdoor track and field season was canceled. Athletes went almost a full year without competing, and more than a year between outdoor competitions.
But this past weekend, Pickthorn picked up right where she left off in conference competition.
Pickthorn recorded five career-best times or marks and finished third at the 2021 MIAC Heptathlon this past week in Northfield. For her big performances, Pickthorn is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
Heading into the weekend, Pickthorn had competed in each of the seven events that make up the heptathlon at least once over the course of the outdoor season. She took sixth at the CSB/SJU Multi on April 18 with a then-career-best score of 3,556 points.
Thursday and Friday in Northfield, everything came together for Pickthorn.
She started the two-day competition strong, winning the 100 hurdles in a career-best time of 15.87 seconds. After an eighth-place finish in the high jump, she recorded another career best – this time in the shot put – and finished third in the event. She wrapped up the first day with a season-best time in the 200-meter dash.
Pickthorn really came to compete on Friday in the final three events. She took second in the long jump with a career-best mark of 5.08 meters, and then finished second in the javelin with a career-best mark of 30.95 meters. She wrapped up the day with another season-best time in the 800-meter run.
After the completion of the seven events, Pickthorn scored 3,891 points – a personal-best score by more than 300 points, the eighth-best score in CSB track and field history and one of the top-35 scores in Division III this season.
Pickthorn and her teammates head to St. Paul for the remainder of the 2021 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday, May 14-15, at Hamline. Per MIAC policy no fans are allowed, but live results and video will be available.
