Tied Atop MIAC Heptathlon After 4 Events? That's Inconceivable
In an inconceivable turn of events on Day 1 at the MIAC Heptathlon Championship, Cobber first-year teammates Lauren Pearson and Kaili Malvey are tied for the lead after four events.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (4/30/26)---In an inconceivable turn of events on Day 1 at the MIAC heptathlon championship, Cobber first-year teammates Lauren Pearson and Kaili Malvey are tied for the lead after four events.
The odds of having two athletes having the same point total after four events in a heptathlon are the same as having a farm boy-turned-pirate rescue his true love with the help of a giant and a swashbuckling swordsman – it's inconceivable! (stop making these metaphors and I mean it – would anyone like a peanut?)
Pearson and Malvey sit atop the individual standings for the heptathlon with 2,784 points. The two Cobbers used similar paths to get to the top of the leaderboard. Both athletes scored at least 700 points in three of the four events and had their lowest point total come in the shot put.
Pearson, who won the MIAC pentathlon in February, posted her top point total in the final event of the day when she ran a 26.29 in the 200 meters and scored 772 points. Malvey had her high point total of the day come in the high jump where she set a personal best mark of 5-04.25. That height was the best among the 18 competitors in the event and gave Malvey 771 points.
Pearson and Malvey were separated by a single point after the first event when they finished within .01 seconds of one another in the 100-meter hurdles. Malvey clocked a 15.60 while Pearson ran a career-best time of 15.61.
Concordia had a trio of other athletes compete in the outdoor multi-event. Lauren Selle scored 2,577 points on Day 1 and is in fifth place. Abby Lovelace climbed into the Top 10 after the four events and her total of 2,482 points has her locked into eighth place, while sophomore Taylor Christenson, who is competing in her second consecutive MIAC heptathlon, is in 12th place with a score of 2,364 points.
Selle's top-scoring event of opening day came in the high jump where she cleared the bar at 5-01.75 and earned 701 points.
Both Lovelace and Christianson posted their top point total of the day in the 200 meters. Lovelace crossed the line in 27.33 to score 685 points and Christenson clocked a 26.77 to post 731 points.
The five Cobbers will continue to "storm the MIAC heptathlon castle" on Friday, May 1 at 12:30 p.m. The athletes will look to avoid the "Fire Swamp" and finish off the 7-event competition by participating in the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.
As you wish.