Morris, Minn. – The Crown track and field teams participated in the UMAC Championships this weekend, traveling to Morris to compete against an entire field conference competition for the first time this season.  The Crown women finished in fifth place, with 35 points, and the men collected 31 points for a seventh place team finish.

The story of the weekend was the 30 mile per hour winds on Saturday, but Crown athletes overcame the elements all spring and collected three individual championships and five school records.

On the women's side, Abby Pausch won the steeplechase for the second consecutive year, finishing in a school record time of 12:08.4.  Pausch also took home a second-place finish in the 1500, racing to a time of 5:19.6.

Anna Brueckner also took home an individual title, winning the 800 meters in a school record time of 2:22.5.  Brueckner also placed in the 400 (third place in 63.1) and the 200 (eighth place in 27.94).

For the men, Jeremiah VanAcker won his sixth individual conference championship in the 5,000 meters, finishing in a time of 16:45.5.

Ryan Swecker set a new school record in the 100 meters, finishing fifth in a blistering 11.12 seconds.  He also placed sixth in the 200 meters in a time of 23.25.

Colten Pausch scored points in the Javelin, finishing seventh with a throw of 43.17 meters.

Ty Dill-Erickson got in on the records, scoring in the 400 meter hurdles with a seventh place finish.  Dill-Erickson ran a time of 63.55.

Titus Wiggins tacked on to the team score, running to an eighth place finish in the steeplechase in a time of 11:09.7.

The men had some relay teams that scored points as well, with the group of Pausch, Swecker, Dill-Erickson, and Seth Johnson taking seventh in the 4x100 relay in a time of 47.79, and the group of VanAcker, Swecker, Austin Carlson, and Jeremiah Osterlund clocking a time of 3:53.4 in the 4x400 relay to also finish seventh. 

The cream of that crop was the 4x800 meter relay team of VanAcker, Osterlund, Carlson, and Wiggins who placed fourth in a school record time of 8:24.8.

A number of track and field athletes have also qualified for the NCCAA national meet, scheduled for May 11-13 in Greenville, Illinois.