Saturday, April 12, marked the beginning of the outdoor season for both St. Olaf Men’s and Women’s Track and Field. With meets at both Bethel University and St. Mary’s University, it was in Arden Hills where multiple Oles won events.
Andrew Cogley ’25 won the Men’s Javelin Event with a distance of 52.78 meters — a personal record for the senior from Grinnell, Iowa — which was also more than six meters ahead of the runner-up.
“I knew I could get over 50 meters, which was the goal heading into last season before I got hurt,” Cogley said. “So it was a long time coming.”
Cogley, a decathlete, competed in three events at Bethel, running the 110-meter hurdles and the 400 meters, in which he also set another personal record.
Cooper Gundersen ’28 was the other men’s event winner, finishing first in the men’s 10,000-meter race with a time of 33:09.61.
It was utter St. Olaf domination in the women’s 5,000-meter race. The Oles had a first, second, and third finish in the event, with Molly Kate McCloskey ’26 finishing in third with a time of 18:49.73 and Abigale Lindquist ’28 finishing exactly three seconds ahead of McCloskey at 18:46.73. Alison Bode ’25, hoping to build upon her 2024 All-American outdoor season, finished first with a blazing time of 17:09.80.
For Cogley and the rest of the track and field teams, the current focus is scoring points at the MIAC Conference Championships, which take place May 9 and 10.
“I want to perform as best as I can at conference,” said Cogley. “That’s what everything is leading up to, essentially.”
Alongside scoring well at conference, Cogley has another goal: making nationals. The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a competitive Division III track and field conference, meaning multiple nationals spots could be up for grabs.
“I think three or even four [MIAC decathletes] could get in this year. So that’s the ultimate goal is to sneak into nationals,” said Cogley.