Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: May 9, 2007

MIAC Meet Preview

MIAC Meet Preview: MIAC Meet Preview

Cobber MIAC Meet Preview

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/09/07)-- The 2007 MIAC Outdoor Championship Meet could turn into the Heather Schuster (Sr., Grafton, N.D./Minto HS) show for the Cobbers. The middle-distance superstar has already automatically qualified for the NCAA National Meet in the 800 meters and has provisionally qualified in the 1500 meters. She has already broken the school record in the 800 meters twice and has been named the MIAC Track Athlete of the Week on three consecutive occasions. She has the fastest time in the conference in the 800 meters and second fastest in the 1500 meters and will be looking to back up her 800 meter and 1500 meter titles that she won at the conference indoor meet at the MIAC Meet on May 11-12. The senior will also help out a pair of Cobber relays as she tries to push the Cobbers into the top five at the end of the conference meet.

Joining Schuster in being able to score top points will be freshman Leah Kay (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato HS), sophomore Katlin Anderson (Lisbon, N.D.) and senior Kelly Olson (Minot, N.D./Bishop Ryan HS). Kay is ranked second in the high jump entering the conference meet. Anderson is turning into a top-flight javelin athlete and will also factor in the heptathlon and high jump. She is currently ranked third in the javelin, seventh in the high jump and fourth in the heptathlon. Olson is the top Concordia sprint threat. She is fourth in the 400 meters and 200 meters in the conference rankings.

Other Cobber field athletes who have a chance to succeed come conference time are Diane Moliva (Jr., Yaounde, Cameroon/Fustel de Coulanges) and Sara Sorbo (Fr., Adams, N.D./Adams-Edmore HS). Moliva has a distance of 142-11 in the hammer throw, which is the seventh best in the conference. Sorbo does double duty in the javelin and discus. She has the fifth best mark in the javelin and 11th longest discus too of the year.

The Concordia distance crew could once again help the team score points at the conference meet. Junior Maria Middleton (Northfield, Minn.) and freshman Anna Hagen (East Grand Forks, Minn.) have both posted top ten times in the MIAC this season. Middleton ran a 40:49.58 in the 10,000 meters and sits in eighth place and Hagen has the ninth fastest time in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:25.97.

Tara Ray (Fr., Darby, Mont.) has had a solid first season in the hurdle events. She is ranked in the top 11 in both the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. She is currently seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 67.66 and 11th in the 100-meter hurdles with a mark of 16.71.

The Cobber relay teams will once again be looked upon to score major points. The traditionally strong 4x400-meter relay team, which won the 200 MIAC Indoor event, is ranked second heading into the outdoor conference meet. Both the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x800-meter relay squads have the talent to finish in the top five in the conference.