NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In her storied career, Fiona Smith of the College of Saint Benedict indoor track and field team has made setting a high standard and new records a regular part of her performance. And on day one of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships, she added another chapter as she was part of three MIAC championship performances, including a pair of individual efforts a little more than an hour apart.

 

With Smith leading the way, CSB produced six All-MIAC performances, three records (championship, facility, school), 11 top-eight finishes as Saint Benedict sits in third place in the MIAC team standings with 56 points. Bethel leads the team race of 11 teams with 77 points. The 2024 MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships will conclude on Saturday. The meet's final session starts with 11 a.m. field events and 1 p.m. track events.

'We are proud of the way our team is competing in this championship," said Robin Balder-Lanoue. "They are ready for a strong final day tomorrow," she added.

Smith began the night by recording MIAC Championship and facility records in clocking 16:40.72 in winning the 5,000-meters for a third straight year. Then, amazingly just little more than an hour later, Smith was back on the track and winning again with a victory in the mile in 5:03.93 for her sixth individual MIAC title. She finished nearly three seconds ahead of second place Mary Blanchard of Carleton at 5:06.19. In the same race, senior Lucy Lyngen clocked a personal best of 5:18.78, bettering her previous mark by over a second and half. In the 5K, Smith finished 38 seconds ahead of second place Helen Cross of Carleton as she dominated both individual competitions.
 

MIAC CHAMPION - 12-time All-American Fiona Smith of @CSBTF set @MIACathletics Indoor Track & Field Championship & St. Olaf facility records by clocking 16:40.72 & winning the 5,000-meters for a 3rd straight year. She now has six indoor MIAC titles. #BennieNationProud pic.twitter.com/9rpMWYeoUY

— CSB Athletics (@CSB_Athletics) February 23, 2024

And then to cap the night off, Smith helped lead Saint Benedict to the distance medley relay title with a clocking of 12:22.85. Smith, who has been part of seven career All-MIAC titles, anchored a team of freshman Taylor Radaich, junior Emerson Knapp, and Lyngen as that team finished just .41 from a championship record (12:22.44, Carleton, 2022).

 

For the fourth time this year, senior Kate Gallagher set a school record by clocking 7.84 in the 60-meters and finished third to earn All-MIAC honors. Gallagher had clocked 7.92 for a school record in December in Minneapolis and then had clockings of 7.89 and 7.88 before recording the best time of her career tonight. Senior Tiana Johnson was eighth and finished at 8.06 (8.058) and just off her career best of 8.03 in 2022.

Junior Kalli Smith recorded a personal-best and a program top-10 mark by taking second in the 800-meter run at 2:18.32, which ranks fifth all-time in CSB history. She bettered her previous mark this season by five seconds.

First-year Sabriya Farquharson tied her personal-best and the fourth-best mark in program history by going 5.33M – 17-06 in the long jump and placed third with an All-MIAC performance. Senior Ellie Selisker placed seventh at 5.13M – 16-10.00.

The Bennies also received a team point in the 60-meter hurdles as first-year Anya Adelgren finished eighth in 9.54.

Senior Haley Joos recorded a program top-10 mark of 13.83M – 45-04.50, which ranks eighth all-time as she bettered her previous mark of 13.56M.

Other results –
In the 400 meters, senior Sidela Nyuga was ninth in 1:01.23 while sophomore Lauren Berg was 12^th in 1:02.07.

Also, in the 5K, sophomore Mary Kenney was ninth in 18:26.88 as she recorded a personal-best by nearly 34 seconds (19:00.84).

Senior Ellie Selisker, who was seventh in the pentathlon on Thursday, placed 10^th in the high jump at 1.57M – 4-08.75.