Track Breaks Record at Point Competition

Natalie Wolf

(Photo courtesy of Cam Blegen)

The men’s distance relay team for indoor track set a new school record March 5 at the UW-Steven’s Point Pointer Qualifier. The team, with members Dan Thoresen, Cam Blegen, Mike Mangian and Sam Stevens, had only one goal: have the fastest distance medley time.

“We only decided to go after the record during the week prior to the meet — we had run fairly well at conference, taking third, and thought if we went for time rather than place we had a strong shot at breaking it. The record was a result of a season’s worth of hard workouts and long runs culminating in four solid efforts,” Thoresen commented.

The team ran the relay in 10:33:27, breaking the previous record of 10:39:83, which was set by Stevens, Mark Sprtel, Matt Frelich and Sam Estrem in 2010. The team was honored as Viking Players of the Week for Feb. 28-March 6 for this great accomplishment.

The runners also attributed their success to a close team connection. Blegen stated, “I wasn’t just running for myself — I didn’t want to let Sam, Dan and Mike down.” He later added, “The four of us got each other pumped up during the week leading up to the meet, and we all got together and dubbed ourselves ‘Team FSU,’ the meaning of which [The Lawrentian] probably can’t print.” The team could not have done it without each other’s support.

While there is no distance medley for outdoor track, the team is optimistic for the upcoming spring season. Thoresen believes that this record break will send “a message to the rest of the conference that we’re going to be even stronger at outdoor conference than we were indoors.”