ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict Track and Field Team, which was 15^th nationally and third at the MIAC Championship in 2023, is set to open its outdoor season. To open the season, the Bennies will travel to compete at the Hamline Invitational on April 6. Following this meet, Saint Benedict will travel to Mankato, Minn., where they will compete in the Minnesota State Open at the Mark Schuck Outdoor Track and Field Complex.

Up Next:
Following the meets at Hamline University and Minnesota-State Mankato, the Bennies will return home to compete in the CSB/SJU Invite and Multi meet at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minn. They will then travel to the University of St. Thomas to take part in the Tommie Twilight on Wednesday, May 1 before beginning the MIAC Outdoor Championships which begin on Thursday, May 2 and run until Saturday, May 11. Competition will be hosted at both Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., and Hamline University in St Paul, Minn.

Already this outdoor season, senior 14-time All-American Fiona Smith has recorded the second best 10,000-meters outdoor in NCAA DIII history. Smith, who ran 32:57.28 at the Stanford Invitational March 29, was named the USTFCCCA Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week – earning her fifth national weekly honor from the USTFCCCA during her career. She was also named the MIAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week for the 27^th time in her career. Smith has won five national titles, including both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meters at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. With the performance, Smith continued to build on an impressive 2023-24 season. After winning the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championship in November, she concluded her NCAA Division III indoor career by capturing her fifth national title by winning the 3,000-meter title in 9:25.97 at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday (March 9) at the Virginia Beach (Va.) Sports Center. The win in the 3K followed a dramatic finish as she also won the 5,000-meter race on Friday (March 10) by clocking 16:26.40. And, now as the 2024 outdoor season opened, Smith continued to snap school and MIAC records. With a time of 32:57.28, she had the top 10K time in NCAA DIII this year. Smith, who set 3K and 5K records indoors in 2024 and owns the mile record indoors, now owns the 10K outdoor mark, surpassing her own mark of 33:05.17 in 2023. This performance bettered that mark by over eight seconds. She now owns four outdoor marks including the 1,500 meters (4:25.51, 2023), 3,000-meters (9:58.64, 2021), 5,000-meters (16:05.43, 2023) and now the 10K (32:57.28). Coming into this race at the Stanford (Calif.) Invitational (March 29), Smith had been the first runner at the NCAA DIII level to repeat in both the 3K & 5K in doors. In the 3,000 meters, she finished just .35 off her own NCAA DIII championship record of 9:25.62 which she ran in winning the 3K a year ago in Birmingham, Ala., at the DIII Championship. Smith, who has 14 All-American honors and four indoor titles (plus cross-country title in fall 2023), finished almost six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher senior Natalie Bitetti of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who clocked 9:31.74. In her last eight races at the NCAA DIII championship level in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field, she has finished first on five occasions and second in the other three races.

At the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Championships, Smith was second in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meters runs and helped CSB record 16 team points and finish 15^th overall. Fiona Smith finished second in both the 5k and 10k events. As a team, the Bennies placed in 15^th place and claimed 16 points during the 5k throughout the second day of competition.

A Look Back at the MIAC - 2023
With a program-first three individual titles by Fiona Smith, the No. 14 College of Saint Benedict track and field team finished third at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2023. The Bennies scored 127.50 points, which bettered their mark of 117.5 in 2022 and is the second highest total in school history (130, 2017) at the MIAC Championships. In its history, CSB has had 14 top-four finishes at the MIAC, including second in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

CSB had five titles, which tied the program mark set a year ago, 11 top-10 program marks, 23 personal bests and 10 All-MIAC performances. In addition, the Bennies had 21 top eight or better finishes.

All MIAC performances - Returners
1,500 meters, Fiona Smith, 1^st; 5,000-meters, Fiona Smith, 1^st; 10,000-meters, Fiona Smith, 1^st; 4x400-meter relay, 1^st; 4x100 meter relay, 2^nd; 400-meter hurdles, Lauren Berg, 2^nd; Long Jump, Ellie Selisker, 3^rd; High Jump, Ellie Selisker, 3^rd; Heptathlon, Justus Floren, 1^st.

Junior Justin Floren captured her first-ever MIAC heptathlon championship with a seven-event total of 4,409 points, accruing top four finishes in every event. She became the third CSB heptathlon champion with the third best total in school history (Jenna Degan, 2017, 4,720; Megan Sundstrom, 2018, 4,586 points). Junior Ellie Selisker placed sixth with 3,689 points, finishing just outside the program's top 10-point total. As a result, CSB accumulated 13 team points and that was part of the 127 CSB scored as a team at the MIAC Championships.

Smith became the first student-athlete in MIAC or CSB school history to win three individual titles, pulling off the rare 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters triple. On Friday, she won the 1,500 meters in a facility record of 4:34.40 and the 10,000 meters (34.31.92). Today, she broke a nine-year old MIAC record in the 5K by clocking 16:19.98, which is the third best of her career and the program's third best time at that distance. In winning her ninth career individual title, Smith shattered the 16:59.19 mark of Kimber Meyer of Macalester in 2014 while also establishing a new facility mark. So, Smith's record-setting prowess continued with a conference and two facility records during the championships.
CSB had its second title of the day and tied a program mark with the fifth of the championship by winning the 4x400-meter relay for the first time in school history. The relay squad included first-year Lauren Berg, sophomore Emerson Knapp, and juniors Sidela Nyuga and Ella Young. CSB had solid work in the relays on as they also placed second in the 4x100-meters, clocking 49.27, with a team of Myah Nelson Tiana Johnson, Hailey Johnson and Kate Gallagher. And with their fourth-place finish in the 4x800 relay on Friday, the Bennies finished top four in all three contested relays at the meet.

Berg, who had four All-MIAC performances indoors, continued to build on her conference resume. Along with the 4x400-meter relay, the first-year standout recorded the second fastest 400-meter hurdles time in program history and placed second at 1:03.52, surpassing Mandy Witshen, who had a 1:03.91 in 2013 for CSB.

Ellie Selisker continued her strong performance at the MIAC with a second All-MIAC performance (long jump, 3rd) with this one coming in the high jump as she placed third with a personal-best of 1.56m – 5-01.25, which was just outside program's top 10. Coupled with a fourth-place performance from sophomore Justus Floren, who had a jump of 1.51m – 4-11.50, the two student-athletes combined for 10.5 points. Junior Kate Gallagher clocked a 12.45, a personal-best and the seventh best mark in program history, to place fifth in the 100-meter dash. Also in the race, Myah Nelson was ninth in 12.85. In the 200-meter dash, Gallagher scored points for CSB with a seventh-place finish and a time of 26.32.  Keiley Maahs placed fifth (11:29.32) and Mary Kenney was seventh (11:46.65) as CSB scored six points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Also, for CSB, Bridget Tetmeyer was ninth (11:50.37) four CSB runners recorded personal bests with Maah's time 22 seconds better and Kenney's 21 seconds better than her previous best. Tetmeyer bettered her previous mark by 4.9
Junior Ella Young also placed ninth in the 800 meters by going 2:21.02.