GRINNELL, Iowa -- This one was twice as nice for Ian Thomas.
    The Lawrence University track and field standout won his second straight Midwest Conference Championships title in the javelin on Friday at the Darren Young Track and Field Complex at Grinnell College. 
    Thomas and Lawrence teammate Jaydon Watson went 1-2 in the event, which was contested on the natural turf at Rosenbloom Field. Lawrence's Will Eggert placed eighth in the event to give the Vikings three placewinners.
    Thomas, who broke his own Lawrence record in the event earlier this season, posted the winning toss on his second throw of the day. He heaved the javelin 171 feet to take the title by almost nine feet. 
    Watson set a personal record with his second-place throw of 162-4. Battling an arm injury, Eggert gritted his teeth to finish eighth at 135-0.
    Sean McLaughlin joined the throwing contingent in scoring points as he grabbed seventh place in the hammer throw with a toss of 134-6. 
    Lawrence also scored in the long jump as David Benjamin leaped to sixth place with a distance of 21-8. Adam Bruce also scored for the Vikings in the 10,000 meters as he took eighth in 33:53.28.
    Led by the throwers, the Lawrence men are in fifth place with 25 points.
    On the women's side, Lawrence placed two runners in the top seven in the 10,000. Althea Foster held off her own teammate to place sixth in 42:31.75. Aasma Haider made up a huge deficit on the final lap to finish seventh in 42:31.88, just .13 seconds behind Foster.
    Lawrence's female throwers also grabbed a pair of places on Friday. Grace Fox fired the javelin 105-7 to take sixth place. Rookie Myra Johnson grabbed eighth place in the discus with a toss of 118-2.
    The Lawrence women are in eighth place with nine points.
    Due to concerns over possible severe weather on Saturday, the start of the second day of competition has been moved up to a 9 a.m.