The St. Ambrose track & field teams put their entire season of work on display at the CCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend. The two-day meet was hosted by St. Francis (Ill.) in Joliet, Ill. with eight teams from the conference battling it out.

The women's team collected 110 points to place fourth in the conference, a one-spot improvement from the indoor championships. The men tallied 253 points to finish as conference champions, 32 points ahead of the defending champion Olivet Nazarene. Will Reemtsma was named Track Athlete of the Meet, Mick Saloninas earned Field Athlete of the Meet, and head coach Dan Tomlin was named the Men's Coach of the Meet.

Women's Meet

Paige Crippes got the Bees started with an eighth-place finish in the 100m dash (12.69). Katie Lambrecht then ran a 26.40 in the 200m dash to place sixth and then earned a silver medal in the 400m hurdles (1:06.07). Faith Dillman also placed in the 400m hurdles, finishing seventh with a time of 1:11.36. Lauryn Bennett placed sixth in the 100m hurdles (16.37).

The Bees made up half of the place finishes in the 400m dash: Megan Jansett was conference runner-up (59.59), Gabbi Butler won bronze (59.67), Karissa Koval finished sixth (1:02.34), and Jadie Knecht placed eighth (1:03.04).

Emma Duncan ended her season as a conference champion, going 18:34.37 in the 5k to finish first.

St. Ambrose earned bronze medals in the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay, crossing with the finish line with a time of 49.37 and 4:04.96, respectively. The Bees earned a sixth-place finish in the 4x800m relay (10:56.30).

Lambrecht followed up her impressive day on the track with a place-finish in the high jump, clearing 1.39m to place seventh. Olivia Sobieszczyk also cleared 1.39m in the high jump to earn eighth place, as well as earning eighth place in the javelin (25.30). Abby Camp placed fifth in the triple jump (10.64m) and won silver in the long jump (5.17m). Lexie Johnson hit a 5.05m mark in the long jump to place sixth while Leah Rose also earned sixth in the triple with a 10.35m jump.

Three-time CCAC Field Athlete of the Week Annah Miller showed out at the conference meet, winning a conference title in the discus (38.81) and a runner-up finish in the shot put (13.63m). Sarah Smith and Anna Dunne both placed in the shot put, going sixth (10.74m) and eighth (10.39m), respectively, while Julianna Jones earned a fifth-place finish in the discus (34.19m). Dunne also placed eighth in the hammer throw (35.25m).

Men's Meet

Will Reynolds got the Bees out to a fast start, blitzing out a 10.80 in the 100m dash to earn a conference runner-up finish and then winning a bronze medal in the 200m dash with a time of 21.73.

Will Reemtsma, three-time CCAC Track Athlete of the Week, turned heads at the conference meet. Reemtsma won two conference titles, 400m dash (48.43); 400m hurdles (53.90), finished runner-up in the 110 hurdles (14.99) and placed sixth in the 200m dash (23.64). Reemtsma was named Track Athlete of the Meet for his performance.

The Bees took up half of the place-finishes in the 400m hurdles: Reemtsma was the champ, Ben Wilson earned silver (54.07), Cody Thole won bronze (54.60), and Jonny Swarm placed fifth (58.30). Wilson also placed seventh in the 200m dash (23.77), fourth in 400m dash (49.99),and fifth in the 110m hurdles (15.82), while Thole went 400m dash (50.57) and seventh in the 110m hurdles (15.98).

The Fighting Bees swept the podium in the 3000m steeplechase: the champion was Nolan Rudd (10:06.89), George Barton the runner-up (10:17.64), and Kale Cartee in third (10:22.90). Rudd also finished as conference runner-up in the 5k, crossing the finish line at 15:02.94, with Matt Jung not far behind in fifth place (15:37.54) and Barton in eighth place (15:49.91). Jung found the podium in the 10k, finishing with a time of 32:14.47 to earn the bronze. Chris Borschnack also placed in the event, finishing eighth at 34:37.13.

St. Ambrose won bronze for their efforts in the 4x400m relay, crossing the line at 3:24.95. The Bees placed fourth in the 4x800m relay (8:27.31).

The Bees took up half of the place positions in the pole vault: Sam Rush was the runner-up (4.25m), Nate Long and Isaac Mojica split third place (3.80m), and Jacob Rossmiler placed fifth (3.65m). Mojica also placed fourth in the high jump (1.85m). Freshman jumper Teagan Bowers collected a pair of bronze medals in the long jump (6.50m) and triple jump (13.54m). Justin Wright placed fourth in the triple jump with a 13.21m mark.

Not only did the Bees sweep the podium in the shot put, they went 1-2-3-4-5 in the event. Mick Saloninas was the champion (16.49m), Alec Seifert was the runner-up (15.39m), Jonah Wilson took bronze (15.38m), Bryce Peacher finished fourth (14.17m), and Kyle Uhl placed fifth (14.09m).

Saloninas was also the conference champion in the discus, launching off a 52.42m throw to win gold. Peacher joined him on the the podium in third (42.77m), Wilson placed fourth (42.68m), and Hunter Kasap rounded it out in eighth (39.14m). Saloninas won Field Athlete of the Meet for his efforts.

Payton Woods won silver in the hammer throw with a 48.57m toss, while Kaden Swanger placed sixth in the event (44.56m) and Kasap placed seventh (41.17m). Tobi Bierle placed fifth in the javelin (42.90m).

Head coach Dan Tomlin was named the Men's Coach of the Meet, leading the Bees to their first-ever CCAC conference title. 

The Fighting Bees will now host the SAU Mini Meet on May 11.