Brand and Marathon Women place well at NAIA Outdoor Nationals

Jessica Olsen


Stacey Schueller


Mary Kate Dunne

Olsen leads Bee 26.2 milers

  Despite never completing an entire marathon before, all three Bee marathoners finished the 26.2 mile course at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Fresno, California.

  After qualifying for the National Marathon by completing a half-marathon in December, the women trained the entire spring for the May 26 final.

  Leading the way for the SAU distance crew was Jessica Olsen (Jr., Prophetstown H.S., Prophetstown, Illinois). Olsen finished in 21st place in the 37 woman field, running the course in 3:28:13. Her time also was good enough to qualify automatically for next year's NAIA National Marathon as well.

  Less than a half hour later, Stacey Schueller (Sr., Hempstead, Dubuque, Iowa) crossed the finish line. In just her first collegiate track and field season, Schueller finished 27th with a time 3:53:13.

  Working with Schueller for most of the day was Mary Kate Dunne (Jr., Carl Sandburg, Orland Park, Illinois). Dunne finished the course in 3:56:10 to finish just one spot behind Schueller in 28th place.

  "Their accomplishments in the marathon show that all the miles and time they put in are worth it," St. Ambrose cross country coach Dan Zeimet said. "It was really great to see them work together throughout the spring and train for this race."

  St. Ambrose has a long lineage of success in the marathon including the programs only All-American, Patches Elmore, who placed fourth at the 1999 NAIA National Championships in the Marathon.

  All three girls were also named NAIA Academic Scholar Athletes maintaining a 3.5 GPA while also showing excellence in the track and field program.

  "To have the mental strength to put in the miles they did and also keep their schoolwork up shows what kind of women they are," Zeimet said. "Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and they can parlay the spring season into a great fall cross country season."

  All three will be in the last year of eligibility this fall competing for the Bee XC program.

Brand caps off career

  With one final trip to the NAIA National Track and Field Championships, Marcus Brand capped off an illustrious career.

  Brand (Sr., Davenport West, Blue Grass, Iowa) once again established himself as one of the top throwers in the country, and for the first time, qualified in a pair of events.

  Always a stellar hammer thrower, Brand also qualified for nationals in the discus throw after a personal best in taking second place at the Midwest Classic Conference meet.

  At nationals, Brand finished 23rd in both the hammer throw and the discus throw. In the hammer, Brand's toss of 158-10 was just 15 feet away from All-American status.

  In the discus throw, brand tossed the disc 142-2 in the final day of competition, to conclude his collegiate career.

  In his two years as a Fighting Bee, Brand qualified for nationals twice during the outdoor season, finishing as high as 21st in the hammer in 2006. In his only indoor season, Brand finished 13th in the 35 lb. weight throw this past March.

  "Marcus is a good leader, and his presence will be missed," SAU head coach Dan Tomlin said. "He had a work ethic that a lot of the younger guys can look at and emulate."

Marcus Brand