ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Thirteen different people scored for the College of Saint Benedict track and field team at the MIAC Outdoor Championships this past weekend, but a pair of athletes went above and beyond for the Blazers.
Junior London Stelten won the third pole vault title of her career, and sophomore Megan Sundstrom scored in all five events she competed in throughout the championships. The duo combined to score 34 of Saint Benedict’s 71 points. For their big weekend, Sundstrom and Stelten have been named CSB Athletes of the Week.
Sundstrom’s big championship performance started May 5-6 at the MIAC Heptathlon. The sophomore finished sixth in the event to give CSB a kick start with three points heading into the two-day championships. Then, this past weekend, she earned All-MIAC in one event and All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors in two additional events.
Sundstrom started the weekend by leading the field in the 400-meter hurdle prelims with a time of 65.72 seconds. Friday evening, she was part of CSB’s 3,200-meter relay squad that finished sixth to earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention. She followed up her hurdle performance Saturday by finishing second in 65.21 seconds – just over one-tenth of a second behind the winner. That time was also a season-best.
Sundstrom also finished fourth in the triple jump to help CSB score 19 points in that event alone. Her best mark was 10.83 meters – a season best. Sundstrom helped CSB wrap up hosting the outdoor championships by taking fourth in the 1,600-meter relay. She and her teammates crossed the finish line in 4:04.58, good for honorable mention accolades. In all, Sundstrom helped score 24 points for Saint Benedict.
Stelten had an equally successful weekend. The junior secured the third MIAC pole vault title of her career with a mark of 3.45 meters. The win secured the season sweep of the conference indoor and outdoor pole vault titles, and marked her second straight outdoor title as she also won in 2015. Stelten won the pole vault competition at five of the eight meets she competed in this outdoor season, and moved her way up to second on the school’s top-10 list with a vault of 3.57 meters.
Stelten, who is currently ranked 39
th in Division III, will compete one last time this season for a chance at nationals Thursday, May 19, when she goes to La Crosse, Wis., for the UW-La Crosse Last Chance Qualifier.
