NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The men's track & field team finished the 2026 MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships in fourth place, their best since 2012, scoring a 74. The team scored 32 more points on day two, staying steady in fourth. 

The day started with junior Jade Anstine (Sioux Falls, S.D.) competing in the 55-meter finals. Anstine qualified for the finals with a time of 6.51. In the final, the Sioux Falls native ran just one-hundredth slower, finishing in third place and earning six points to start the day. 

In the 1000-meter, junior Nick Brauer (Mankato, Minn.) set his second school record in as many days, finishing in fourth with a time of 2:28.10. Brauer beat Tyler Smith's record time of 2:28.59, just shaving off .49 seconds. A margin that small proved to be important on Saturday, as the champion of the race finished just 0.66 ahead of Brauer, but the Mankato native earned the Gusties five more points. 

The 200-meter was the best overall event for the men, where two Gusties cracked into the top six. Anstine led again, finishing in third with a time of 22.43, just .22 behind the school record, set in 2001. Sophomore Conner Martens (Nicollet, Minn.) finished in fifth with a time of 22.57, earning a total of 10 points for the Gusties in the event. 

The 4x400 relay, consisting of first year Luke Scheel (Mankato, Minn.), juniors Cullen Arneson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Brauer, along with Martens finished fifth in the event with a time of 3:24.16. The mark is just three seconds behind the school record and earned the team four more points towards their team score. 

The triple jump was the only spot the team earned any honors in the field, with sophomore Liam Frommelt (Woodbury, Minn.) finishing in sixth to be named an honorable mention. Frommelt finished with a leap of 13.29m, which earned three more points for the team. 

Overall, the team scored 74 points, their best finish since 2012 and looks to improve next week at the last chance meet, hosted by UW-La Crosse next Saturday.