NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Senior Connor McCormick scored the most points in school history in the decathlon on Thursday and Friday, finishing second at the MIAC Championships. The two other Gusties competing also had some of the top marks in program history while the group overall had 14 personal bests.  

The day started off hot for senior Connor McCormick (Stillwater, Minn.), finishing first in the 110-meter hurdles with a 15.44 time, which was a personal best. The time earned him 797 points and first-year Amos Anderson (Mankato, Minn.) finished in sixth place with a 16.75, earning him 651 points. Sophomore Alex Palmer (Albert Lea, Minn.) was the third and final Gustie competing in the event and across the two-day decathlon, running an 18.14, a personal best, in 14th place. 

The second event of the day was the discus, where McCormick continued to apply pressure to the top of the table, earning a 34.39 meter mark to stay in second place through seven events. The heave earned him 551 points and was a personal best, just under three meters past his previous best. Anderson followed in fifth place with a 32.75 meter mark for 519 points to move up to fourth, while Palmer sat with a 24.53 for 15th. 

In the pole vault, Palmer, McCormick, and Anderson were all in the top five, showing the prowess all around in the skill. Palmer tied for first in the event, clearing 4.22 meters, a season-best in the conference meet. Both McCormick and Anderson cleared 4.12 meters, which was good for fourth and 651 points each. 

The last event in the field of the decathlon was the javelin, where McCormick finished fourth with a 46.22 meter toss, which was good for 533 points and would move him just over 200 points behind first place before the last event. Anderson and Palmer came 10th and 11th, with marks of 32.00 and 31.15 meters. 

McCormick did all he could in the 1500-meter to finish the decathlon, winning the event in 4:40.95 and scoring 674 points to round up to a total of 6519. Anderson got third in the 1500-meter for 628 points and Palmer got eighth, crossing in 5:00.56. 

McCormick had personal bests in six of the 10 events on the day to bring in the school record in the decathlon with 6519 points, the 16th best mark in the country. Anderson sits fourth all-time in program history after his inaugural MIAC decathlon, scoring 5940 points while Palmer garnered the 11th best time in school history by scoring 5321 points. 

While the decathlon athletes will take the weekend off and prepare for the MIAC Outdoor Championships, the rest of the team will compete at the Ole Open tomorrow.