MONMOUTH, Ill. – Two races. Two titles. Less than two hours apart.
 
Cornell junior Isaac vanWestrienen achieved the difficult double in winning the 5000 meters and mile Friday at the Midwest Conference Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships inside the Huff Athletic Center.
 
VanWestrienen became the first runner in program history to win both races at the same conference indoor meet. He secured his third and fourth MWC individual indoor titles since 2024.
 
VanWestrienen repeated as the 5000 champion with a time of 15:01.55. He crossed five seconds ahead of Knox runner-up Lance Miller.
 
VanWestrienen battled senior teammate Gabe Soda for the mile crown, taking gold in 4:18.32. Soda came in a close second at 4:19.04 for his eighth career MWC medal. Gabe Hunt was fourth in 4:19.81.
 
Sophomore Hadley Beaty earned all-MWC status in the long jump, placing third with a season-best leap of 22-00.25. Beaty qualified fifth for Saturday's 60-meter finals in 7.06.
 
Beaty also ran the leadoff leg on the 4x200 relay that broke the school record in 1:30.58, topping the previous-best mark by .27 seconds set in 2013. The quartet included Jaxin McGuire, Niko Platre and sophomore anchor Jensen Meeker. They finished fifth.
 
Senior Caleb Schopen placed fourth in the 5000 (15:26.37). Freshman Ike Claussen-Tubbs took sixth in the high jump, clearing 5-10.75.
 
The Rams are positioned second in the team race with 51 points through eight scored events. Ripon leads with 60 points.
 
Competition resumes at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.