Matt Jahnke finally had an off day. And it could not have come at a worse time.
Jahnke - a sophomore who has won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference indoor pole vault crown the past two years - was upset by Bemidji State's Tom Crummy Friday during the finals at the NSIC track and field championships at Ron Masanz track.
"The pole vault is a fickle event," MSUM pole vault coach Jon Heath said. "It's tough for (Jahnke). But that's the way it goes."
The MSUM women's team leads the field with 74 points after Day 1. Winona State is close behind in second with 61.
Northern State is atop the men's standings with 83 points. Bemidji State is second with 79. MSUM is fourth with 28. The final day of competition begins at 11 a.m. today.
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Crummy, who entered the event seeded third, won the event with a height of 14 feet, 6 inches. Jahnke was credited with clearing 14-53/4.
Crummy, a sophomore, cleared the winning height on his second attempt. Jahnke needed his third attempt to clear 14-6 and push the bar to 15 feet. Crummy was awarded the victory after both finalists were unsuccessful at 15 feet.
"Tommy is a good jumper," Heath said. "But this event was Matt's to lose."
Jahnke's first conference meet loss was not the only surprise of the event.
MSUM freshman standout Dirik Brugger, who entered the meet as the No. 2 seed, failed to record a height.
Brugger cleared 15-1 earlier this year to tie with Jahnke for the top height in the NSIC.
However, his off day was not exactly devastating to the team.
MSUM's Brandon Madery finished third and Daniel Sundeen sixth to give the Dragons 15 points in the event.
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"I think our pole vaulters came through like they always do," Dragons coach Keith Barnier said.
The Dragon women's pole vaulters fared slightly better than the men. MSUM sophomore Brooke Wehri won the event with a conference, school and track record vault of 12-4. Former MSUM standout DaLee Wilkinson set the record of 12-2 in 2003.
Wehri has won two consecutive indoor and outdoor pole vault titles. Wehri, who has qualified for the NCAA Division II national meet, failed in three attempts at clearing 13-1.
"I was just looking to win today," Wehri said. "It would have been nice to go 13 feet. But I am going to nationals knowing I can do it."
MSUM's Tiffany Spriggs finished third (11-2) and Jill Mostad was fourth (10-7).
Dragon sophomore Jessica Trautwein won the women's long jump with a leap of 17-11. Trautwein, MSUM's leading point scorer last year, also finished second in the high jump (5-53/4).
The MSUM men's 3,200-relay team of Dane Moreland, Joe Lynch, Wes Holtman and Steve Solum cruised to victory with a time of 7:55.02. Wayne State finished second at 8:04.20.
"I think our best performers performed today," Barnier said.
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For meet results, see Scoreboard on Page D2.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
