Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: May 9, 2009

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Final Team Results

1. St. Thomas - 182.0
2. Saint John's - 125.0
3. Hamline - 113.0
4. Bethel - 102.5
5. St. Olaf - 75.0
6. Concordia - 72.0
7. Gustavus - 65.5
8. Augsburg - 55.0
9. Carleton - 44.0
10. Macalester - 13.0
11. Saint Mary's - 9.0

Meet Recap:

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (5/9/09)-- Concordia came up three points shy of their goal at the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet and finished sixth at the conference meet. The Cobbers were eyeing their second straight fifth-place finish but ended with 72.0 total team points which was three points behind St. Olaf who finished fifth with 75.0 points.

The story of the meet was the going away party for Concordia senior Paul Westmark. A week after placing second in the decathlon, Westmark had a pair of top five finishes in the hurdle events. He finished third in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.95 to become the first Cobber to break the 15-second barrier in that event since 1989. That is the third fastest time in school history. He then clocked a 55.23 in the 400-meter hurdles and placed fourth. That time is a career best and is the 11th fastest in program history. Westmark almost added another top 10 finish to his meet but came up with a 12th-place finish in the pole vault with a height of 13-01.00.

The majority of Concordia's points were scored by the field athletes as Westmark and Tom Sederquist were the only Cobber runners to finish in the top nine of an event. Sederquist recorded a pair of ninth-place marks in the farthest distance events. On Friday he ran a 32:33.76 in the 10,000 meters and on Saturday he clocked a 15:15.53 in the 5000 meters. Both are season bests for Sederquist. His time in the 10,000 meters is the seventh fastest in school history and his time in the 5000 meters is fourth on the all-time school list.

The other highlight for the Concordia track athletes came in the 100 meters where junior Xavier Carroll ran a 10.97 in the qualifying heats. That time ties for the second fastest in school history.

Like the women, the javelin was the best event for Concordia at the conference meet as CC is quickly turning into Javelin University. The Cobbers placed five athletes in the top nine of the event and scored 19 team points in the one event. Tom Flynn had a season-best distance of 182-03.00 and finished second. Jeff Bakke placed fourth with a mark of 180-00.00 while Paul Shol, Nick Birchem and Marly Simmons pulled down the No.7, 8 and 9 slots.

Birchem was also ninth in the discus with a toss of 136-05.00.

Billy Oehlers finished his conference career with a pair of top eight finishes. He placed third in the shot put with a mark of 50-06.00 and was eighth in the discus with a distance of 137.05.00. His mark in the discus is a career best.

The triple jump was the best jump event of the meet for the Cobbers. A pair of Concordia freshman finished in the top eight. Felix Okoth posted one of his two top 10 finishes by jumping 45-03.50 and placing third. That is a career best for Okoth and ties for the fourth farthest in program history. He also finished ninth in the long jump with a mark of 20-11.25 which is also a career best.

Fellow freshman Joe Bruenjes finished eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 42-00.75. That mark is a personal best.

Finally, Luke Hvidston was the top Cobber in the long jump as he recorded a seventh-place finish with a mark of 21-02.75.

The top Concordia relay was the 4x100-meter squad of Jason Sather, David Beery, Jeff Bakke and Xavier Carroll who ran a 43.26 and finished in sixth place. That time ties for the fifth fastest in program history.

Concordia will now canvas the country as they try to qualify athletes for the NCAA National Meet which will be held on May 21-23 at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.