For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
NSIC Media Relations
 
NSIC Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jagger Gran
Junior
Shore View, Minn.
Mound View HS
Sioux Falls


NSIC Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Emmanuel Matadi
Senior
St. Paul, Minn.
Johnson HS
Minnesota State

NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
The Augustana opened its 2015 season in fine fashion at the Dordt Invitational, hosted by Dordt College on Saturday with seven Vikings’ picking up individual victories.
Men’s Track: Jason Greenway finished in the top two spots in the 55-meter dash. He topped his brother Justin by one second clocking a time of 6.49 for first-place,
Men’s Field: Senior CJ Ham took second-place in the weight throw with an impressive toss of 58’ 3.75” which qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championship.  
The Vikings are back in action next weekend at the MSU Alumni Open on Jan. 23 and 24 in Mankato, Minn.

Concordia-St. Paul
Men’s Track: Antony Odera (Mid-Distance/Jumps, 6’6, Jr, Burnsville, Minn. / Burnsville HS)
was part of a 4x400 Relay team that finished 4th in time of 3:34.26.  He also placed 2nd in long jump with a leap of 6.77.  Antony finished his day in the 60m dash at the Minnesota Open.
Men’s Field: Josh Johanson (6-1, Fr, East Chain, Minn. / Granada-Huntley-East Chain HS) placed second in high jump as he recorded a height of 6’ 6.75”, which was tied with the first place finisher at the Minnesota Open at the University of Minnesota.

University of Mary
Men’s Track: Competing for the first time this season after missing the cross country season due to injury, Chris Jessop placed in the top five in two different events at the Bison Classic. The junior from Corvallis, Mont., placed fourth in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 8:53.77. He also placed fifth in the mile run, crossing the finish line in 4:26.12. All the runners who finished ahead of Jessop have or are competing for NCAA Division I programs.
At the Montana State University Open, freshman Corey Berner paced the U-Mary men’s efforts with third place finishes in the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. The Las Vegas, Nev., native was timed in 7.07 seconds in the 60 and 22.69 seconds in the 200. Jay Cooper had the best finish of the night, placing second in the 60 meter hurdles. The sophomore cleared the barriers in 8.64 seconds. Right behind in fourth place was fellow second-year hurdler Hwang Lee with a time of 9.13.
Men’s Field: William Kaigler turned in another top finish for U-Mary at the Bison Classic. The junior claimed fourth in the triple jump after sailing 44-04.
 
Minnesota Duluth
Senior captain Nick Moran set a school record in the 35 pound weight throw, while junior Gage Sachs and senior Phil d’Entremont both seized individual titles Saturday afternoon at the University of Minnesota Open in Minneapolis, MN. The 4 x 400 relay team ended the meet with a victory completing a successful day for the Bulldog men’s team.
Men’s Track: Sachs outran the field in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:10.46, edging runnerup and Bulldog rookie Cody Sedbrook (9:11.06). d’Entremont, a senior team captain, placed first in the 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:58.19 while freshman teammate Garrett Benz was next at 1:59.23. Benz and d’Entremont also teamed with rookies Connor Behm and Darrick Jackson to win the 4x 400-meter relay (3:30.48).
Men’s Field: Nick Moran’s school record toss in the weight throw (3rd place; 57’-09.50”), junior Drew Johnson in the mile run (3rd; 4:30.78),  junior Mark Emlaw in the long jump (4th; 20’-10.50”) and Behm (5th; 52.96) and Jackson (6th; 53.02) in the 400-meter dash highlighted the Bulldog’s day. Moran’s record setting throw broke the record previously held by UMD Assistant Throws Coach Tom Soldner.  Soldner’s mark of 17.46m (57-03.50) was set fice years ago in 2009.
Next up on the UMD indoor track and field agenda is the University of St. Thomas Invitational this Friday in St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesota State
The Mavericks split up their squad this past weekend sending athletes to both the Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., and the Minnesota Open in Minneapolis, Minn.  In Minneapolis, Justin McMurtry finished in second in the 400-meters and Benjamin Ojika and Zecheriah Copeland went first and seventh, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles.  The Maverick 4x400 relay team, consisting of Anthony Gustafson, Copeland, McMurtry, and Alex Schoneberger finished in third-place.
Men’s Track:  Senior Emmanuel Matadi (St. Paul, Minn.) had an impressive day down in Lincoln, Neb. at the Holiday Inn Invite. He not only won the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.73, but he also became the new school record-holder with that effort surpassing Roderick Warren by two-tenths of a second.  That time is also good enough to automatically qualify him for the NCAA Championships and is the third fastest mark in NCAA DII this season.  Matadi would also take home the crown in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.60.
Men’s Field: Sophomore Frank Veldman got his first win on the young season up in Minneapolis at the Minnesota Open.  Veldman’s jump of 6’6.75” was more than enough to come back to Mankato with the title in hand.
The Mavericks return to action next weekend as they are set to host the MSU Open and Multi within Myers Field House, in Mankato, Minn.

MSU Moorhead
Men’s Track: Jonathan Demus (Sr., Sprints, San Diego, Calif./Horizon HS) had a strong day for MSUM at the Bison Classic in Fargo, N.D. on Saturday as he won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.00 and won the 200-meter dash in 22.38.
Men’s Field: Brian Huber (RFr., Jumps, Staples, Minn./Staples-Motley HS) had a pair of NCAA provisional qualifying performances in his two victories at Bison Classic in Fargo, N.D. on Saturday. He won the high jump at 6-8, which is an NCAA qualifying height. He also won the long jump with a jump of 23-7 1/2, which is also an NCAA qualifying mark.

Minot State
Minot State University got off to a great start with three runners capturing individual titles in four events Saturday at the Bemidji State Super 8 Open.
Men’s Track: Tyler Flatland (Hurdles, 6-0, Sr., Watford City, N.D. / Watford City) was a double winner at the Bemidji State Super 8 Open Saturday, capturing titles in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. Flatland outraced teammates in both wins, finishing with a time of 51.30 seconds in the 400 and 23.03 in the 200 in the first meet in 2015 for the senior.
Wayne Peters (Sprints, 5-10, Jr., Carson, Calif. / Carson / Pasadena City College) won his first individual collegiate title in a photo finish over teammate Darin Malafa (Hurdles, 6-2, Sr., Bismarck, N.D. / Century), edging him 9.01 to 9.04. Glen Borel (Sprints, 5-5, Sr., San Jose, Calif. /  St. Francis / De Anza)  won the first race of his MSU track & field career as he sped to a 7.26 time in the 60-meter dash. He paced a group of MISU runners as the Beavers finished 1-2-3 in the event.
Minot State has a week break before traveling to the Concordia College Cobber Duals Jan. 31.

Northern State
Northern State competed for the first time since December inside Wachs Arena at the NSU Open. The Northern men took home 10 titles on the day.  
Men’s Track: Andrew Johnson took home the title in the 55 meters with a career-best time of 6.45. Johnson also was a part of the 4x400 relay team of Joe Parsley, TJ Hoshstetler and Mark Gilkerson that won the event with a time of 3:32.88.
Men’s Field: Austin Dancer took home a pair of titles in the jumps for the Wolves, winning the long jump with a leap of 21’-2.75” and taking the triple jump crown with a jump of 45’-2.5”. Zachary Busch placed second in the triple with a leap of 41’-8.75”. Lucas Osowski won both the shot put and the weight throw for NSU at the open. Osowski had a throw of 46’-6.75” in the shot and had a career-high toss of 50’-0.5” in the weight throw.
The Wolves return to action next weekend as they travel to Mankato, Minn., for the Minnesota State Open on Friday and Saturday.

Southwest Minnesota State
Men’s Track: Will Hanson (Jr., Aurelia, Iowa / Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn HS / North Iowa C.C.) won the 55-meter hurdles at the Dordt Invite last Saturday with a school record time of 7.54, which converts to an 8.12 in the 60-meter hurdles, which ranks second fastest in the NSIC and 11th in Division II this season.
Men’s Field: Ben Tonsager (Jr., St. James, Minn. / St. James HS) placed second in the shot put at the Dordt Invite on Saturday with a school record toss of 15.39m.
The Mustangs return to action next weekend as they travel to Mankato, Minn., for the Minnesota State Open on Friday and Saturday.

Sioux Falls
In their second meet of the New Year, the University of Sioux Falls track and field team continued to perform at an extremely high level, this time at the Dordt Open on Saturday. A total of three USF vaulters recorded provisional qualifying marks. Jordon Bents swept the men’s shot put and weight throw, hitting provisional marks in both. Austin Schaffer took the men’s long jump and nearly added a second win with a runner-up finish in the triple jump.
Men’s Track: Jase Kraft (Mid-Distance, Fr., Wessington Springs, S.D. / Wessington Springs HS) recorded two top-eight finishes at the Dordt Open. He took fifth in the men’s 1,000-meter run, and was the top Division II finisher, with a time of 2:33.94.  He placed seventh in the men’s 600-meter run at 1:25.38.
Men’s Field: Jagger Gran (Jr., Shore View, Minn. / Mound View HS) won the men’s pole vault at the Dordt Open by nearly a foot and posted the third highest mark in the NCAA this season.  He equaled his previous indoor-best mark, clearing 5.05 meters (16’ 6.75”) for the event win, with the next closest competitor finishing at 4.75 meters (15’7”).  Gran’s mark was six centimeters shy of an automatic qualifying mark.
Jordon Bents (Throws, Sr., Worthington, Minn. / Worthington HS) won two events at the Dordt Open, recording two NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the process. He took the weight throw title and nearly broke his school record with an 18.06-meter (59-3) toss.  He doubled up with a shot put victory, posting a best mark of 15.77 meters (51-9) for the win. The weight throw mark would rank 15th in the NCAA, behind his previous best of 18.07 meters (59-3.5).  His shot put mark would rank 26th this year, but Bents currently stands 16th at 16.09 meters (52-9.5)

St. Cloud State
Men’s Track: Isaiah Pitchford (Waukesha, Wis.) won the 400 meter dash in 50.59 at the Minnesota Open on Jan. 17.  The meet was hosted by the University of Minnesota and held at the U. of M. Fieldhouse in Minneapolis, Minn.   He also placed sixth in the 200 meters at the Minnesota Open with a time of 23.15.
Freshman Shaheed Hickman (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished second in the 60 meter dash in a time of 6.90. Junior JoVonte Suber (St. Louis, Mo.) ran to a third place finish in the 200 meter dash in a time of 22.83.
Men’s Field: Keyshawn Davis (So., Milwaukee, Wis.) captured first place in the long jump at the Minnesota Open on Jan. 17.  He won the event with jump of 7.04 meters (23-01.25).
Junior Ryan Johnson (Amery, Wis.) placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 56-01.25.
The Huskies return to action on January 24 when they travel to the SDSU Jim Emmerich/Alumni Invitational in Brookings, S.D.

Wayne State
Men’s Track: Braxton Adams (Fr., Omaha, Neb.) raced to a second place finish in the 60 meter dash in a time of 6.93 seconds, which ties his personal best mark in the event.  It currently ranks him fourth in the event in the NSIC and is just .03 off of the NCAA Provisional National Qualifying Mark.
Men’s Field: Bryan Dunn (Jr., Coleridge, Neb.) placed fifth in the 35 pound weight throw with his season best mark of 55’ 1”.  He currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in the event.
The Wildcats will travel to Mankato, Minn. to compete on Friday and Saturday in the Minnesota State Open & Multi at Myers Fieldhouse.

NSIC Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s Field
12/09/14    Michael Sandle, Minnesota State
1/13/15    Michael Sandle, Minnesota State (2)
1/20/15    Jagger Gran, Sioux Falls
Men’s Track
12/09/14    Myles Hunter, Minnesota State
1/13/15    Kyran Stewart, Minnesota State
1/20/15    Emmanual Matadi, Minnesota State