Burnsville, Minn. - Minnesota State men and the University of Mary women’s teams were the top choices in the 2013-14 NSIC Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches’ Poll. On the men’s side the Mavericks garnered eight first place votes and 118 points.  Augustana was a close second with 114 points and four first place votes. Sioux Falls was third (96) followed by MSU Moorhead (80) and St. Cloud State (79). On the women’s side, University of Mary was the coaches’ choice with 161 points and seven first place votes. Winona State was second with 157 points and six first place votes.  Minnesota Duluth was third (133) followed by Sioux Falls (131) and Minnesota State (126) to round out the top five.

Christopher Reed (Sr., Throws, Omaha, Neb. / Central HS)
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Reed was named the NSIC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year last season. He won his second straight NSIC championship in the shot put event as he set a new MSU indoor record with a toss of 59-07.50. At the NCAA Indoor Championships last season, he finished in fourth place in the weight throw event with a throw of 19.72 meters. He would follow that performance with a second place finished in the shot put event, setting a new school with a toss of 60-5. During the outdoor season, Reed earned three NCAA All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including a seventh place finish in the hammer throw (194-8), a seventh place finish in the discus (175-5) and a national championship in the shot put event (65-7).

NSIC Men’s Preseason Track Athlete of the Year
Jerrell Hancock  (Sr., Sprints,  St. Louis, Mo. / Anoka HS)
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Hancock won his third indoor All-American honor last season as he finished in second place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.17 at the NCAA Indoor Championships.  At the NSIC Indoor Championships last season, Hancock set a new conference record in the 400-meter dash event with a time of 48.48. He also won the 200-meter dash event and was a member of MSU’s NSIC-winning 4x400 relay team. For his efforts, he was named the NSIC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.


NSIC Women’s Preseason Field Athlete of the Year
Chanel Miller (Jr., Multis, Burnsville, Minn. / Apple Valley HS)
University of Minnesota Duluth

Miller earned All-American honors last season by placing sixth in the pentathlon at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. She became the first female Bulldog to ever do so in a multi-event at either the indoor or outdoor national event. Miller was named NSIC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year as she earned NSIC high point performer of the meet at the 2012 NSIC Indoor Championships. Miller won the NSIC Pentathlon with 3,798 points and  also placed second in the 60 meter hurdles, the long jump and the high jump.


NSIC Women’s Preseason Track Athlete of the Year
Katheryn Stewart (Sprints, Jr., Kingston, Jamaica)
University of Mary

Stewart was a key member of the last two NSIC indoor championship teams as she won four titles. The junior from Kingston, Jamaica, won the 200 meter dash and ran on the winning 4x100 meter relay team as a freshman in 2012. She placed 7th in the nation at the NCAA indoor championships. Last season she broke her own NSIC record in repeating as the 200 champion and also captured the 400 meter dash for the first time. She was a national champion at the 2013 indoor championships, running a leg on the Marauders first place Distance Medley Relay team. A four-time NCAA All-American after also placing in the 200 at the last two outdoor national championships, Stewart won three more conference titles at the 2013 NSIC outdoor meet (200, 400 and 4x100). She is also an NSIC all-academic team selection.

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