MIAC Championships: A Tommie Sweep?

The University of St. Thomas has a storied cross country tradition at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Both the men's and women's teams have won more MIAC titles than any other school.

The Tommie men have won 23 titles; the Tommie women 14.

Surprisingly, however, St. Thomas hasn't swept men's and women's team titles at the MIAC Championships since 1992. At tomorrow's meet at Como Golf Course in St. Paul, the MIAC's winningest teams could again drive home with both team titles.

The Tommie men enter the meet as the #1-ranked team in NCAA Division III's Central Region. The two-time defending MIAC champion Tommie women, who have swapped the MIAC's top regional ranking with Carleton throughout the season, enter the meet ranked just a slot below the Knights.

If the Tommie men win on Saturday, they'll likely have won a close victory over a number of evenly matched MIAC schols. St. Olaf, ranked #2 in the Central, #5 St. John's, the two-time defending champs, #6 Hamline, and #8 Bethel all have desgins on the team title.

If the Tommie women win, they'll likely need to prevail in yet another MIAC Championship tangle between themselves and Carleton -- the two programs that have won the last four MIAC crowns.

Meet to be Web-Cast ... St. Thomas, the host of the meet, plans to produce a live audio webcast of meet, starting at approximately 1:45 p.m. Besides audio, live highlights and results will be posted as they become available. Find the web-cast HERE on the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network.

Thornton to be Honored ... Former St. Olaf Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Coach Bill Thornton will be awarded the 2008 MIAC Distinguished Service Award at the meet.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to their institution and to the conference. The award is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual from the MIAC.

Thornton, who retired from his positions last spring, had been at St. Olaf for three and a half decades, coaching track and field for the entirety and cross country from 1970 through 1984 and 1997 to 2007. During his tenure, Thornton coached over 100 Midwest Conference and MIAC Champions, 30 All-Americans, and five national champions.