Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: February 22, 2008

Meet Rewind:

Meet Results: Cobber Meet Results

Meet Recap:

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/22/08)-- Another indoor track and field season means another Cobber Open. Concordia hosted the annual indoor track and field festival on Friday as athletes from six different schools competed in the annual event.

For the fifth straight meet the Cobbers had improved individual performances and had a couple of near record marks.

Senior Josh Smith, who has turned in an outstanding senior season, was the only individual event winner in a meet that featured NCAA Division I and II opponents. Smith ran a 1:24.24 in the 600 meters and won by less than a second over teammate Paul Westmark. His time is a season best and currently ranks him third in the conference.

Smith and Westmark were also a part of the outstanding Cobber 4x400-meter relay team that won the event and inched even closer to the school record. The quartet of Smith, Westmark, Dusten Olejnicak and Michael Dunn turned in a time of 3:25.25 to nip the top team from MSU Moorhead by .18 of a second. Their finishing time is only .39 of a second behind the all-time program record set last year.

Besides Westmark in the 600 meters, Concordia had six other runner-up finishes. Olejnicak finished second in the long jump and 400 meters. Junior Billy Oehlers had a distance of 48-9.00 in the shot put and was less than three feet behind the event winner from DI NDSU. Oehler's mark is the fifth best in the conference this season.

The other runner-up finishes were turned in by Steve Astrup, who ran a 9:52.93 in the 3000 meters. Paul Lillehaugen clocked a 2:39.23 in the 1000 meters, while Jason Sather finished the 55 meters in a time of 6.81.

The Cobbers will tune up for the MIAC Championship Meet when they participate in the St. Olaf Invite on Mar. 1 in Northfield.