Rhonemus Leaps Into MIAC Postseason Record Book
t was only fitting on Leap Year Day that Cobber senior Wade Rhonemus lept into the conference record books by being named the MIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/29/24)---It was only fitting on Leap Year Day that Cobber senior Wade Rhonemus (Foley, Minn.) lept into the conference record books by being named the MIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
Rhonemus earned the award by winning the heptathlon in record-setting fashion at the recently completed MIAC Track & Field Championship Meet. He also finished ninth in the pole vault during the team indoor meet competition.
| Complete List Of MIAC Indoor Track & Field Meet Award Winners |
Rhonemus becomes the first Concordia athlete to receive the honor since 2015 when Brandon Zylstra claimed the award for winning the long jump and finishing second in the high jump.
Rhonemus used the strength of personal-best marks in the final three events of the MIAC heptathlon to break the Concordia school record, which had stood since 2017. He was also the first Cobber athlete to win the MIAC heptathlon since Matt Bye in 2020.
Rhonemus entered the final three events in second place with 2,636 points - 91 points behind the leader. He opened Day 2 by clocking a time of 8.74 in the 60-meter hurdles, which was .06 seconds faster than his previous PR mark in the event. His time was good for 804 points and kept him within striking distance of the leader.
Rhonemus made his move in the pole vault – the sixth event of the competition. Rhonemus cleared an indoor PR height of 14-05.25. That mark earned him 731 points and vaulted him into the lead (pun intended).
Rhonmus needed to run a time of 2:50.00 in the 1000 meters to break the school record in the heptathlon and have a shot at qualifying for the national meet. His previous PR in the 1000 meters was 2:50.91.
Determined to not let the chance slip away, Rhonemus stayed with the race leaders the whole way and they pulled him to a finishing time of 2:47.15. That time was good for 796 points an MIAC championship and a new school record.
Rhonemus finished the heptathlon by scoring at least 600 points in six of the seven events and posted over 700 points in four events.