MIAC Athletes of the Week

Friday, St. Olaf's Brian Saksa (Dassel, Minn./Dassel Cokato) won the mile at the University of Minnesota's Snowshoe Open. Saksa setting a new meet record of 4:09.64. For his performance, Sasksa was named the MIAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week.

His  time is first in the MIAC this season by nearly three seconds, and it's the second-fastest time recorded in Division III in 2013. Saksa's latest heroics come after earning All-MIAC honors while helping St. Olaf capture the MIAC men's cross country championship in the fall.


A quartet of St. Thomas underclassmen won the 4 by 400 title at Saturday's University of Minnesota Parent's Day Open in Minneapolis. They finished second behind Division II Winona State with a new UST school record of 3:51.71, the best time in school history, and the best time in Divison IIIin the nation this season. For their record-setting performance, Angela and Erika Tipp, Emily Van Heel and Kayla Goeman were collectively named the MIAC Women's Indoor Track Athletes-of-the-Week.
 
St. Thomas' time in the 4x400 was 3:51.71, is a St. Thomas record  the best time in the nation this season for D-III. By comparison, the quartet's time is the only MIAC sub-four-minute mark and nearly 14 seconds better than the second-fastest time recorded in the conference this season (4:05.01). The Tipp sisters and Goeman are all sophomores and Van Heel is a junior. The same four runners are the MIAC's defending champions in the women's 4x400 relay.

 Hamline senior Becky Culp ( Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) had a career day at Saturday's Parent's Day Open.. The Piper thrower recorded career-best marks in both the shot put of 13.92 meters( 45 feet, 8 "). That ranks as the top throw in the MIAC by a full foot, and is the fifth-ranked throw in Division III this season.   

Culp added a fourth-place finish in the weight throw, with only teammate Shawny Kramer and D-I athletes ahead of her in the top three spots. Her distance of 15.63 meters(51' 3") is second in the MIAC behind Kramer and among the top 30 throws in D-III. Culp is the MIAC's reigning indoor shot put champ, and was fifth in the weight throw a year ago. For her performance, Culp was named the MIAC Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week.