Day 1 Recap

NORTHFIELD, Minn. --- Carleton College sophomore Ian Mortensen (Shoreline, Wash./Shorecrest) earned All-MIAC honorable mention after he finished fourth at the MIAC Decathlon.
 
Mortensen tallied 6,056 points, a figure that ranks him No. 9 all-time at Carleton and No. 18 in the country. His point total was the highest ever for a fourth-place finisher at the MIAC Decathlon, and this marks the first time that five student-athletes surpassed 6,000 points at the MIAC Championships.
 
"What a competitor Ian is," said Carleton head coach Dave Ricks. "He's been injured for most of the year and somehow finished fourth in one of the most competitive MIAC Decathlons in recent years."
 
Mortensen started Day 2 of the competition in eighth place and clocked a time of 16.94 in the 110-meter hurdles. After measuring 32.00 meters in the discus, his final three events of the day were the pole vault, javelin, and 1500-meter run, where he placed second, first, and fourth, respectively, in the 15-person field.
 
"Ian had not touched a pole vaulting pole since Feb 4, but still managed to clear 13 feet, 5.25 inches (4.10 meters), an improvement of 2-feet 5-inches over the height that he cleared at last year's MIAC Decathlon."
 
Mortensen shook off a couple of throwing events that did not go as well as he had planned and demonstrated why his is the defending MIAC javelin champ by uncorking the day's top toss of 54.02 meters.
 
"Ian is just so competitive. He may not have been in the best shape to run that 1500-meter race, but he was certainly the one that would run the hardest," Ricks said. "He ran a smart race early, followed by a tenacious finish over the last 500 meters."
 
Maguire Petersen of Saint John's finished with 6,677 points, followed by St. Olaf's Stephen Peper (6,623 points), Lukas Walton of Bethel (6,394 points), and Mortensen
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will travel across town for the Ole Open at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 7.