For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week:
Minnesota State junior Nathan Hancock (Independence, Mo.) won the championship in the NSIC Heptathlon at the NSIC Multi Championships this past weekend. Hancock, who also won the event last year, totaled 5,030 points and had first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash (7.15), long jump (21’ 8”), shot put (38’ 4.75”) and the high jump (6’ 6.75”). He placed second in the pole vault (13’ 3.5”), fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.81) and seventh in the 1000-meter run (2:59.40).

NSIC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week:
Minnesota State freshman Myles Hunter (Conyers, Ga.) ran a personal-best time in the 60-meter hurdles finishing with a time of 7.95. He currently has the best time in the conference and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II qualifying. He missed auto qualifying for the NCAA Championships by one tenth of a second.

NSIC Women’s Field  Athlete of the Week:
Minnesota Duluth junior Amelia Maher (Sauk Center, Minn.), who finished fifth at the NSIC Pentathlon one year ago, topped the 21-competitor field at Minnesota State University’s Myers Field House with a point total of 3,605. Maher tied for first in the high jump (1.66 meters), was second in the 800-meter run (2.22.44) and third in the long jump (5.26 meters).  

NSIC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week:
Minnesota State sophomore Holly Suss (Parker, S.D.) placed first in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the MSU Open on Saturday. Her provisional-qualifying time of 7.75 in the 60-meter dash ranks third in the conference while her time of 25.24 is second in the conference and also meets the provisional qualifying standard.

NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
Augustana had another big weekend at Myers Fieldhouse in Mankato, Minn., earning eight bids to the NCAA Championships, but it was the Viking distance medley relay squads that stole the show. Augustana’s men recorded an automatic qualifying time of 9:54.65 which ranks second in NCAA Division II this season. The women clocked a 11:50.58, the third-fastest D2 time this season, racing the event against no other teams. CJ Ham turned in two more qualifying performances, improving both his marks in the shot put and again breaking his school record in the weight throw. Kyle Blakeslee and Kayla Mescher doubled up on qualifying times after their DMR performance, winning the 3,000-meter and 800-meter runs, respectively. Ryan Heuer earned the first qualifying mark of his career, clocking an 8.30-second run in the 60-meter hurdles. John Klecker turned in the second-fastest time in Augustana history in the men’s 3k and won the event with a provisional mark.
Men’s Track: John Klecker (Distance, So., Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) recorded the second-fastest 3,000-meter time in Augustana history and earned a provisional mark with his 8:23.65. Klecker earned a bid in the mile run last week, but his 3k time now ranks as the 17th-fastest time in Division II.
Women’s Track: Kyle Blakeslee (Distance, Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS) earned two provisional marks while winning the women’s DMR and 3,000-meter run. Blakeslee ran the 1,600-meter run leg on the DMR team that clocked the third-fastest time in Division II this season. Blakeslee also earned her third provisional mark of the season with a 10:00.76 mark in the women’s 3k.

Bemidji State
Women’s Track:  The Bemidji State University track and field team competed in its own Alumni Meet Feb. 15. As a part of the meet, BSU recognized its 1974 women’s track and field team as its was inducted into BSU Athletic Hall of Fame.  The Beavers return to Gillett Recreation and Fitness Center Feb. 20 to host the BSU Twilight. The meet will begin at 3 p.m.

Concordia-St. Paul
Women’s Track: Williams ran a time of 7.78 seconds in the 60m sprints to pick up a second place finish in the finals. She followed it up with a mark of 25.29 seconds in the 200m to grab another second place finish to complete her record-breaking performance.
Women’s Field:  Martina Ware (Throws, 5’6”, Jr., Eagan, Minn., Eastview HS) finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 12.57m and finished 10th in the weight throw with a throw of 15.37m in what was a strong field.
Men’s Field:  Colin Goligoski capped off an excellent indoor multi season by finishing just behind Minnesota State’s Nathan Hancock for the top spot in the NSIC Heptathlon. Hancock finished with 5030 points while Goligoski collected 4703, just shy of his total point PR. He set a PR in the 1000m run and is provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Bryan Elyea-Wheeler (Pole Vault, 6’0”, So., Eden Prairie, Minn. / HS) followed up a strong performance last weekend with a school record mark of 15’7” in the pole vault. The mark resulted in a third place finish and was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. The previous record was 15’3.75”.

University of Mary
Men’s Field:  Hwang Lee (Multis/High Jump, Fr., Hamilton, Ontario) placed fifth at the 2014 NSIC Men’s Multi Championships after compiling 4,429 points. Competing in his first collegiate conference championship event, the freshman earned the Marauders four team points in the NSIC track and field championships. Twice he was runner-up in one of the seven heptathlon events. The Hamilton, Ontario, native placed second in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.29 seconds. He also claimed second out of the 14 competitors in the 1,000 meter run with a clocking of 2:49.81... Aaron Teigen (Sr., Rugby, N.D.) landed in the top five in two events at the Bison Classic in Fargo, N.D., on Saturday. The senior jumper native took second in the long jump, clearing 22’ 5 3Z4”. He also placed fifth in the triple jump with an effort of 44’ 9 1Z2”.
Men’s Track:  Chris Jessop (Distance, Jr., Corvallis, Mont.) claimed the Marauders lone win last weekend when he placed first in the one mile run at the Minnesota State Coaches Open. He captured the event in a time of 4:19.85 and finished 3.61 seconds shy of meeting the NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
Women’s Field: Molly McDonald (So., Lakewood, Colo.) placed third at the NSIC Women’s multi championships with a tremendous all-around effort.  The sophomore from Lakewood, Colo., posted an NCAA provisional qualifying total of 3,432 points in the five event pentathlon. Her best effort of the day came in the high jump, tying the top performance of the day with a provisional qualifying height of 5’ 5 1Z4”... Davina Carr posted a provo mark in the pole vault for the second straight week, clearing 11’ 9” to place fifth at the Minnesota State Coaches Open.
Women’s Track: Janet Johnson (Sr., Kingston, Jamaica) had another brilliant weekend for the University of Mary, winning two events at the Minnesota State Coaches Open on Saturday by posting NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Showing off her versatility, Johnson won both the 60 meter hurdles and the long jump. In the 60 hurdles, Johnson ran an 8.52 and is currently ranked first in the NSIC and sixth in the NCAA in the event. In her second leap of the day, Johnson sailed 18’ 3 1/4” to capture the long jump... Also posting a provisional qualifying mark in the 60 meter hurdles was senior Brittney McKinley. The Los Angeles native ran a time of 8.73 seconds to finish third overall.
 
Minnesota Duluth
Men Field: James Ryan placed ninth out of 12 competitors at the 2014 NSIC Heptathlon Championships, which wrapped up today in Mankato, Minn. Ryan, a sophomore from Oakdale, Minn., racked up 4,031 points during the two-day event with his highest finish coming in the 60-meter hurdles where he place third in a time of 8.72 seconds. One other Bulldog, junior Brooks Zamzow, also took part in the meet, but did not finish.
Men Track Three different meets in two days resulted in two provisional-qualifying performances, two school-record efforts, and six individual titles for the University of Minnesota Duluth.The Bulldogs’ weekend kicked off Friday at the St. Thomas University Showcase in St. Paul, Minn., where junior Nick Moran placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 17.09 meters and qualified provisionally for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. On Saturday, a small group of Bulldogs took part in the Minnesota State University Open in Mankato, Minn. Junior Phil d’Entremont captured top honors in the 600-meter run, finishing in a school-record time of 1:21.76, while the distance medley relay unit of senior Tyler Stevens, D’Entremont, junior Chris Wilson and senior Cole Toepfer attained a provisional-qualifying mark of 10:00.03, and another school record.
Women Track/Field: Junior Amelia Maher, who finished fifth at the NSIC Pentathlon one year go, topped the 21-competitor field at Minnesota State University’s Myers Field House with a point total of 3,605. Maher, a native of Sauk Center, Minn., tied for first in the high jump (1.66 meters), was second in the 800-meter run (2.22.44) and third in the long jump (5.26 meters).

Minnesota State
The fourth-rated Mavericks hosted the MSU Open on Saturday as well as the NSIC Multi Championships on Sunday and Monday. On Saturday senior Chris Reed rewrote the record books again in the weight throw with a throw of 66’ 7”, beating his previous school record almost two feet. On the women’s side in the pole vault junior Bryanna Sudman improved upon her provisional qualifying mark vaulting 12’ 6.75”. That currently ranks her eighth on the NCAA Division II qualifying list and second in the conference. At the NSIC Multi Championships junior Jenni Vanttinen finished in seventh place with 3,249 points while senior Moriah Miller placed tenth totaling 3,054 points.
Men’s Track:  Freshman Myles Hunter (Conyers, Ga.) ran a personal-best time in the 60-meter hurdles finishing with a time of 7.95. He currently has the best time in the conference and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II qualifying.
Men Field: Junior Nathan Hancock won championship in the heptathlon at the NSIC Multi Championships this past weekend. Hancock totaled 5,030 points and had first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash (7.15), long jump (21’ 8”), shot put (38’ 4.75”) and the high jump (6’ 6.75”). He placed second in the pole vault (13’ 3.5”), fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.81) and seventh in the 1000-meter run (2:59.40).
Women Track:  Sophomore Holly Suss (Parker, S.D.) placed first in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the MSU Open on Saturday. Her provisional-qualifying time of 7.75 in the 60-meter dash ranks third in the conference while her time of 25.24 is second in the conference and also meets the provisional qualifying standard.
 
MSU Moorhead
Men’s Track: Junior Jason Dowell (Jr., Wheaton, Ill.) won the unseeded 5,000 meters at the Bison Open last weekend. Dowell won the event at 15:18.83, which is the third-fastest time in the NSIC this season.
Women’s Track: At Saturday’s Bison Open in Fargo, N.D., Tia Knight (Jr., Spring Valley, Calif.) won the 60-meter hurdles at 8.99. She is ranked second in the conference in that event. Knight added a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash at 7.80. She is also ranked second in the NSIC in that event.
Women’s Field: Chelsea Klemetson (Jr., Sabin, Minn.) was fifth in the high jump at 5-4 1/4 at the Bison Open on Saturday as she continues her solid season in that event.

Minot State
Minot State University women’s and men’s indoor track & field competed for the second straight week at North Dakota State University.
Women’s Track & Field: In Saturday’s Bison Open, Sienna Dailey (Jr., Sprints, Glasgow, Mont.) improved her school record in the 400 meter dash as she finished second overall with a time of 57.32 seconds. With that time, Dailey is now qualified for NCAA Division II nationals at the 400 meter. Dailey also placed fifth in the 200 meter dash, with a time of 26.10 seconds  Also on the women’s side Allison Windish (So., Distance, Wimbledon, N.D.) recorded a personal best time in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18 minutes, 4.87 seconds for a ninth place overall finish. Catie LeDesma (Fr., Distance, Chula Vista, Calif.) placed second in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:30.43. Freshman Mary Roy (Jumps, Mount Vernon, Ore.) also had a solid day with three top 10 finishes including a personal best time in the women’s 200 meter dash with a time of 26.61 seconds, placing her fourth on the MISU all-time list; Roy also placed seventh and tenth in the Triple Jump and Long Jump.
Men’s Track & Field: The Beaver men were headlined by Tyler Flatland (Jr., Sprints/Hurdles, Watford City, N.D.) with a second place overall finish in the 400 meter dash with a  time of 50.25 seconds. He also placed sixth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.74 seconds. Also on the men’s side, Adedamola Sobande (Sr., Throws, St.Paul, Minn.) placed eighth in the weight throw with a best throw of 53 feet. Cyrille Litche Zouogbo (Jr., Jumps/Sprints, Abidjan, Ivory Coast) also placed eighth in the men’s long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 3 inches. Minot State, women and men together, combined for 15 personal bests and four season bests on the day. The Beavers will not compete next weekend and will gear up for the NSIC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 from Bemidji, Minn.

Northern State
Men’s Track: Andrew Johnson (Jr., Aberdeen, S.D.) set a new school record Saturday at the Bison Open running a time of 22.21 in the 200-meter dash to place third for Northern State in the event. The meet was hosted by North Dakota State. Johnson was also part of NSU’s 4x400-meter relay team that placed seventh in the meet, running a time of 3:28.81 for the Wolves.
Men’s Field: Tyler Robel (So., Watertown, S.D.) recorded a new career-best throw in the shot put Saturday at NDSU. Robel placed sixth at the meet with a throw of 47’-6.25”.
Women’s Track:  Kendra Woytassek (Fr., Aberdeen, S.D.) finished in 8th in the 1,000-meter run Saturday. Woytassek recorded a career-best time of 18:08.37. Woytassek joined MaKayla Perryman, Elizabeth Raeckeand Molly Wynn on Northern’s 4x400 relay team that placed eighth with a time of 4:15.88.
Women’s Field: Yvonne Freese (Sr., Lanesboro, Minn.) placed eighth in the shot put, recording a career-high throw of 41’-11.50” in the event.

Southwest Minnesota State
Men Track & Field: Redshirt freshman Alejandro Sanchez (Plano, Texas) recorded a first place finish in the 800-meter with a time of 1:55.46 at the Minnesota State Open on Saturday. He was also a member of SMSU’s 4x400 relay team that posted a team season-best time of 3:23.30 to finish in fourth place.
Women Track: Freshman Amanda Grengs (Minneota, Minn.) earned a fourth place finish in the mile run with a time of 5:29.65 and later finished 12th in the 1,000-meter with a time of 3:14.78 at the Minnesota State Open.
WomenField: Freshman Rylee Armstrong (Peace River, Alberta, Canada) finished 19th at the NSIC Pentathlon on Sunday finishing with 2,839 points.

Sioux Falls
The Cougars track & field team made the trip to Mankato, Minn. to take part in the Minnesota State-Coaches Open hosted by Minnesota State at the Myers Fieldhouse on Saturday. USF came away from the meet with nine top-two finishes, eight NCAA provisional qualifying marks and three school records. The Cougars will compete next at the USD Twilight  Meet in Vermillion, S.D. on Friday February 21.
Women Field:  Marissa Whipple (Throws, Jr., Baltic, S.D./Baltic HS) earned runner-up honors in the Weight Throw with her NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 57-2.75 (17.44m). Whipple crushed a school-record that she previously held, besting her old mark by over two and a half feet. She also holds the 4th farthest throw in the NSIC and the 19th farthest in DII. She also finished third overall in the Shot Put with her launch of 42-4 (12.90m).
Women Track: In the 400m dash, Kendra Knight (Sprints, Sr., Mitchell, S.D./Mitchell HS) brought home the title with her time of 57.14. Knight’s time is a NCAA provisional qualifying mark, the top mark in the NSIC and the 18th fastest time run in Division II this year.
Men Track: Billy Brockmueller (Distance, Jr., Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley HS) helped lead the Cougars Distance Medley Relay as they broke the previous school record by nearly ten seconds and also hit a NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Brockmueller anchored the relay by running his mile leg in time of 4:13.4. Brockmueller also competed in the 3000m run where he came away with a third place finish thanks to his time of 8:40.89.
Men Field:  A NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 57-8.25 (17.58m) propelled Jordon Bents (Throws, Jr., Worthington, Minn./Worthington HS) to a second place finish in the Shot Put. Bents’ mark bests his own school record by over a foot. He currently holds the second farthest mark in the NSIC and the 6th farthest mark in DII.

St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State track and field competed hard this past weekend as they kicked it off with the MSU Coaches Open on Saturday in Mankato and then had three athletes competing in the NSIC Multi Championships Sunday and Monday.
Men’s Track: JoVonte Suber recorded his in the 400m dash off a personal best time of 49.52, which provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA Indoor Nationals and is now ranked second in the conference. In the men’s 200m dash, freshman Dillando Allotey took fourth with a time of 22.45. Running the distance was junior Paul Greenwood in the 1,000m run and freshman Mahdi Koliso in the mile run, both posting fourth place finishes.
Men’s Field: Keyshawn Davis earned a first place title in the men’s long jump as he posted a mark of 23-01.75 and earned a second place finish in the triple jump on a mark of 46-06.00. Sophomore Joe Mooney made his mark in the men’s high jump, placing fourth off a jump of 6-07.00. In the shot put teammates sophomore Ryan Johnson (52-06.50) and junior Rafael Saez (48-10.75) found themselves in fourth and fifth respectively. With Johnson’s mark in the shot put he is now ranked fourth in the conference and provisionally qualifies for Nationals. Johnson also finished fourth in the weight throw as he posted a throw of 59-09.00.
Women’s Track: On the track freshman Jasmine Grant (58.85) and sophomore Alicia Evans (59.27) finished third and fifth respectively in the 400m dash. In the 3,000m run it was junior Kassie Vaness posting a time of 10:18.88 for third, while freshman Sam Sunstrom was close behind in fourth off a time of 10:29.00. The Huskies women’s 4x400m relay team posted a third place finish as they recorded a time of 3:58.33.
Women’s Field: For the women’s field events, freshman Cassie Cardinal placed second in the shot put on a throw of 42-05.50 and now ranks seventh in the conference. Freshman Patience Yalatrai jumped to a third place in the long jump on a mark of 17-08.25.
Pentathlon: Olson tallied 3,253 points for a sixth place finish in the women’s pentathlon and recorded a new personal best, which also provisionally qualifies for the NCAA Indoor Nationals. Olson top two finishes came in the shot put where she earned a first place title on a throw of 36-07.75 and in the long jump on a mark of 17-02.25 for second place.
Heptathlon: Myers ended the multi with a total of 4,157 points, while Weber finished with a total of 3,927 points for a new personal best in the heptathlon and posted new personal bests in five of the seven total events. Myers recorded a first place finish in the shot put as he made a mark of 40-02.00 and had another top finish came in the high jump on a height of 6-03.25 to take third place finish. Weber posted a fourth place finish with a time of 2:51.40 in the 1,000m run and had another top finish come in the high jump, taking sixth place off a mark of 5-09.25.
The Huskies will be back in action on Feb. 21-22 as they head down to Minneapolis, Minn. for the Snowshoe Open on Friday and the Parents’ Day Invite on Saturday

Wayne State
Men’s Track: Zach Thomsen - (Junior - Wayne, NE) ran away from the field in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:55.91 at the Concordia Invite in Seward, NE on Friday.  Thomsen also ran the anchor leg on the 4 x 400 relay that ran the teams best time of the season of 3:23.94, which ties them for sixth in the NSIC.
Men’s Field: Derek Lahm - (Freshman, Columbus, NE) - Lahm leaped to a fifth place at 21’ 11” in the long jump and was fourth in the triple jump 44’ 2 ¾” at the Concordia Invite in Seward, NE on Friday.  Lahm also ran the anchor leg on the 4 x 400 relay that ran the teams best time of the season of 3:23.94, which ties them for sixth in the NSIC.
Women’s Track: Lexi Guhl - (Senior, Omaha, NE) placed second in a season best time of 9.15 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles, just getting edged out for first place by .01 seconds at the Concordia Invite in Seward, NE on Friday.
Women’s Field: Carly Fehringer  (Senior, Wayne, NE) won the weight throw with a mark of 60’ ½” at the Concordia Invite in Seward, NE.  She currently leads that event by over 3 feet in the NSIC and is ranked #4 in the NCAA National rankings.
Fehringer also hit an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put with a third place mark of 48’ 7 ½” which moves her up to #8 in the NCAA National rankings, and #2 in the NSIC behind teammate Sara Wells, who has a mark that is 2 1/2” better.
The Wildcats will be in action again next Friday at the South Dakota Invite at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion, South Dakota starting at 4:30 p.m.

Winona State
Women’s Track: Catherine Whitcomb (Jr, Shakopee, MN) anchored the Warriors’ winning 4x400 relay team at the MSU Open Saturday.  The Warrior relay squad of Kelsey Bethke, Taylor Vogel, Katie Bagley, and Whitcomb crossed the line in a conference leading 3:51.36 which also lands them at 6th in NCAA II this winter.
Women’s Field: Elisa Kupferschmid (Sr, Perham, MN) won the MSU Open Saturday with a life time best weight throw of 59’ 2” (18.03m) which moves her up to #2 in the NSIC and #11 in NCAA II this winter.

Past NSIC Athletes of the Week
Men’s Field
12/10/13    Chris Reed, Minnesota State
1/13/14    Keyvan Rudd, Minnesota State
1/21/14    Chris Reed, Minnesota State (2)
1/28/14    Chris Reed, Minnesota State (3)
2/4/14    Chris Reed, Minnesota State (4)
2/10/14    Scott Greenman, Sioux Falls
2/18/14    Nathan Hancock, Minnesota State
Men’s Track
12/10/13     Harald Karbo, Augustana
1/13/14    Jerrell Hancock, Minnesota State
1/21/14    Cole Toepfer, Minnesota Duluth
1/28/14    George Kawalawu, St. Cloud State
2/4/14    Jerrell Hancock, Minnesota State (2)
2/10/14     Harald Karbo, Augustana (2)
2/18/14    Myles Hunter, Minnesota State
Women’s Field
12/10/13    Brigitte Gross, Sioux Falls
1/13/14    Brigitte Gross, Sioux Falls (2)
1/21/14    Hannah Mueller, Winona State
1/28/14    Sara Wells, Wayne State
2/4/14    Carly Fehringer, Wayne State
2/10/14    Kelsey Kaufmann, Augustana
2/18/14    Amelia Maher, Minnesota Duluth
Women’s Track
12/10/13    Kristin Brondbo, Augustana
1/13/14    Zevin Carter, Minnesota State
1/21/14    Cassandra Jones, University of Mary
1/28/14    Kayla Mescher, Augustana
2/4/14    Samantha Rivard, Minneosta Duluth
2/10/14    Kendra Knight, Sioux Falls
2/18/14    Holly Suss, Minnesota State

NSIC Indoor Championships
Fri.-Sat., Feb.28-March 1 - Gillett Rec Center
Bemidji, Minn.