Saint John's travels to compete at the 2010 MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships this Friday and Saturday, May 14-15, on the campus of Saint Mary's in Winona. Events are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday. – Championship Website

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: After finishing second at the 2009 MIAC Outdoor Championships, the Johnnies are aiming for their fifth conference championship in the last 14 years.
At the 2009 Outdoor Championships, nine Johnnies earned a total of 14 All-MIAC honors and claimed conference titles in five events. SJU's second-place finish was the seventh consecutive time the squad has finished second or better at the meet. 

SJU returns All-MIAC senior Patrick Lowder (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) and junior Dustin Franta (La Crescent, Minn.) as its top distance runners for the 2010 season. Lowder currently has the fifth-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:35.13), while Franta has the fourth-best time in the 10,000-meters (31:55.55) and is ninth in the 5,000 meters (15:26.35). Sophomore Ruairi Moynihan (Fargo, N.D./South), meanwhile, has the fifth-best time in the 5,000 meters (15:04.56) and the seventh-best recording in the 1,500 meters (3:59.13).

The Johnnies expect a strong showing from throwers Griffin Hayes (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy), Tim Juba (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Wade Powers (Hawick, Minn./New London-Spicer). Hayes won the discus (46.12 meters) at last year's Outdoor Championships, the first for SJU in the event since 1998. He qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships where he posted a throw of 47.06 meters, but failed to qualify for the finals by just 0.53 meters. Hayes is currently sixth in the shot put with a season-best 14.38 meters. Powers currently holds the MIAC's top discus throw (47.93), followed by Hayes (46.70) and Juba (44.33), in third and seventh, respectively. Juba set an NCAA provisional mark (54.31 meters) in the hammer throw May 8 and now has the third-best toss in the MIAC, followed by Powers in sixth (52.16m).

SJU's top sprinter, senior Josh Wallert (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy), is currently seventh (11.07) and 11th (22.42) in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, respectively.

Junior Andrew Norman (Maple Grove, Minn.) returns after claiming second place at last year's Outdoor Championships, for the second consecutive season. Norman currently has the second-best pole vault in the conference (4.58 meters).

Another top returner for the Johnnies is junior Matt Reeve (Fairmont, Minn.), who claimed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.45) last spring. He currently has the third-best time in the MIAC (15.35).
Freshman Brian Peterson (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) has the fourth-best distance in the long jump at 6.52 meters.

Head coach Tim Miles is in his 31st season as head coach of the Johnnies. Miles has been honored with four MIAC Coach of the Year Awards and has produced a program that has finished among the MIAC's top two squads 21 of the last 30 seasons.