For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
NSIC Media Relations
 
NSIC Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Irene Almarcha
Sophomore
Sevilla, Spain
Universidad de Sevilla
Augustana


NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
Women’s Track: Irene Almarcha (So., Sevilla, Spain) took first place in the 60-meter hurdles provisionally qualifying with a time of 8.71. Almarcha’s top mark in the 60-meter hurdles set a new school record at Augustana, and also pushed her to sixth-ranked in the nation this past Saturday at the MSU Multi and Open in Mankato, Minn.
Women’s Field: Bree Woelber (Jr. Pipestone, Minn.) reached 5’ 8” in the high jump at the MSU Multi and Open in Mankato, Minn. for a new personal record to rank eighth in the nation.
The Vikings continue competition on Jan. 30-31 at the Jack Johnson Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. and the Wildcat Open in Wayne, Neb.

Bemidji State
Women’s Track: Nicole Crummy established an indoor personal-best in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.29, finishing in second place.  Her time ranks 14th in the NSIC this indoor season.
Women’s Field: Sophomore Sara Melom placed among the top three in both of her events at the UW-Stout Open Jan. 24. Melom sprinted to third place in the 400-meter dash with a time of one-minute, 1.35-seconds. She then posted a second place finish in the high jump, clearing a height of 4-feet, 11-inches.
The Bemidji State indoor track and field team is back on the road this weekend when it travels to Moorhead, Minn. for the Cobber Duals.  Events are set to begin at noon.

Concordia-St. Paul
Women’s Track: Gloria Williams (Sprints, 5’5, So, Minneapolis, Minn, Roosevelt HS) won the 60m with a time of 8.04 and placed second in the 200m with a time of 26.65 at the St. Thomas Invite.  
 Women’s Field: Martina Ware (Throws, 5’6, Sr, Eagan, Minn. / Eastview HS) placed first in the shot put with a score of 45’3.75 at the St. Thomas Invite.  Her throw was over two feet farther than any other competitor as she broke the CU record that she set two weeks ago.  Ware also finished third in the weight throw with a toss of 50’ 8.75”.

University of Mary
Women’s Track: Cassandra Jones (Sprinter, Soph., North York, Ontario) registered two NCAA provisional qualifying times at the Jim Emmerich / Alumni Meet at South Dakota State on Saturday. The sophomore blazed her way to an NCAA provisional national qualifying time of 56.28 in the 400 meter dash to place fourth. She ranks first in the NSIC and ninth in the country in the event.  Jones also anchored the 4 X 400 meter relay that recorded to a provisional qualifying time of 3:51.49.
The Marauders posted five NCAA provisional qualifying marks at the SDSU Jim Emmerich / Alumni meet as Danylle Kurcywchak cleared 39-1 3/4 in triple jump; Alexis Zeis ran a 9:56.65 in the 3,000 meters; Davina Carr cleared 12’ 5.5” in the pole vault and the 4X400 meter relay team of Crystal Hovland, Josie Guptill, Bri Lynch and Cassandra Jones posted a time of 3:51.49.
 
Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota Duluth flexed some distance event muscle at Saturday’s Minnesota State University-Mankato Open as the Bulldogs finished 1-2 in both the 5,000-meter and mile runs.
Women’s Track: Sophomore Breanna Colbenson won the 5,000-meter race with a time of 17:48.48 while her teammate, freshman McKenzie Holt, was the next individual to cross the finish line, doing so in 18:20.83.  In the mile run, junior Hannah Olson outran the field of 32 runners, clocking in at 5:05.42 -- a little over six seconds ahead of runnerup and fellow team captain Alexandra Rudin (5:12.01).  Rudin also placed third in the 1,000-meter run (3:07.71) while sophomore Brittany Platt was fifth (3:09.60). The Bulldogs’ other top-six finishes Saturday were generated by freshman Erica Kesseh (second place in the 60-meter dash; 7.85), sophomore Katerin Ocariz (fourth place in the 600-meter run; 1:45.77), and sophomore Madison Sachs (6th place in the 800-meter run; 2:21.65).
Women’s Field: At the Minnesota State University, Mankato Open, Amelia Maher rolled up 3,503 points and topped the 11-person field to win the pentathlon. Maher, a native of Sauk Center, Minn., placed first in the 800-meter dash (2:28.57), second in long jump (5.25 meters), shot put (10.04 meters) and high jump (1.67 meters) and was fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47).
The Bulldogs will be at the University of Minnesota next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 30-31)

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.  Anna Veroeven finished the Holiday Inn Invitational in eighth-place in the triple jump.  Switching to Minneapolis, freshman Briana Holt finished in second-place in the 60-meter dash.  Holt would again finish in fifth-place in the 200-meters.  Bonnie Pickford took home the 400-meters crown at 1:00.01.  Teammates Maddi Sjelin and Halee Peterson finished behind in fourth and fifth, respectively.  One the field side, senior Amanda Stangler finished in fourth-place in the high jump.  
Women’s Track: Sophomore Brieanna Puckett (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) took home first in her only event of the weekend.  She had a final time in the 60-meter dash of 7.69.  This marks the second-time that she has won the 60-meter dash event this season out of three possible meets.  Her other finish was third at the University of Nebraska.
Freshman Becca O’Hotta placed fourth in the 600-meters at 1:45.27.  The 800-meters would be much of the same as Megan Allen and Maddi Sjelin finished third and fourth, respectively.  Marina Paul finished fourth in the 5000-meters at 18:48.16.  The Maverick 4x400 relay team ended up with third, from the team comprised of Bonnie Pickford, Brooke Foreman, Amelia Kjos, and Madison Alexander.
Women’s Field: Anna Veroeven (North Mankato, Minn.) took home another first-place finish as she led the pack in the triple jump with a lunge of 39’2.25” at the MSU Open and Multi held at Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.
Senior Amanda Stangler finished in third in the high jump with a leap of 5’3.25”.
The Mavericks return to action next weekend as they travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to take part in the Jack Johnson Classic.

MSU Moorhead
Women’s Track: Tia Knight (Sr., Sprints/Hurdles, Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon) was second in the 60-meter hurdles at MSU Open as she ran an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8.80, which is tied for 13th best in the nation.
Women’s Field: Chelsea Klemetson (Sr., High Jump, Sabin, Minn./Moorhead, Minn.) won the high jump at the MSU Open on Saturday with a season-best height of 5-5 1/4, which is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Minot State
Women’s Track: Minot State had two runners in take runner-up positions in the second indoor meet of the season for the Beavers at the Minnesota State Open & Multi Event Friday and Saturday. Sienna Dailey (Sr., 5-9, Sprints, Glasgow, Mont. / Glasgow) had two top 10 performances on the weekend, taking second in the 400-meters and sixth in the 200. She ran a 58.30 seconds in the 400 and added a solid 26.48 in the 200.
Breanne Sherlock (Jr., 5-4, Hurdles, Velva, N.D. / Velva) ran a time of 1 minute, 40.40 seconds to take second in the 600-meters.
Allison WIndish (Jr., 5-5, Distance, Wimbledon, N.D. / Barnes County North) finished eighth and was the highest among five MISU runners in the 3,000-meters, covering the distance in a time of 11 minutes, 2.38 seconds. She placed sixth overall in the 5,000-meters with a time of 19:07.82.
MISU moves forward in their schedule to next week as they travel to the Concordia College Cobber Duals.
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Northern State
The Northern State track and field teams had a solid weekend at the Minnesota State Open in its first road trip of 2015. The Wolves collected seven top-10 finishes at the meet.
Women’s Track: Dakotah Bullen took third in the 5,000 in a time of 18:38.77.  Makenzie Hageman took home a pair of top-five finishes in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Hageman placed fourth in the 60 with a time of 7.90 while taking fifth in the 200 with a time of 26.41.
Women’s Field: Gena Burley placed third in the high jump as she recorded a jump of 5’-3.25”.  Haylee Biel placed 10th in the high jump as well for the Wolves.
The Wolves return to action next weekend as they travel to Moorhead, Minn., for the Concordia College Cobber Open.

Southwest Minnesota State
Women’s Track: Freshman Kim Shabino, Spencer, Iowa / Spencer HS, shined at the Minnesota State Open on Saturday with a third place finish in the 200-meter with a time of 26.30 and also advanced to the semifinals of the 60-meter, finishing in ninth place with a time of 8.08.
Women’s Field: Freshman Naomi Dalton, Madrid, Iowa / Madrid HS, finished 11th in the shot put with a throw of 12.31m and was 28th in the weight throw with a mark of 12.12m.
Southwest Minnesota State continues action next weekend competing at both the Jack Johnson Invite at the University of Minnesota on Friday and Saturday and at the Wayne State Open on Jan. 31.

Sioux Falls
University of Sioux Falls headed to Mankato, Minn. for the MSU Multi & Open on Jan. 23 and 24. A total of three pole vaulters recorded provisional qualifying marks
Women’s Track: Katlyn Sawtelle (Hurdles, Sr., Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) tallied a pair of top-three finishes on the track, including a personal-best. She took third in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best 8.88-second run, 0.04 seconds off a provisional mark and ran the anchor leg on the women’s 4x400-meter relay that finished runner-up (3:59.88) by less than a second.  She also recorded an 11th-place finish in the high jump with a  1.51-meter (4-11.5) clearance.
Women’s Field: Courtney Crandall (Pole Vault, Jr., Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Central HS) took second, first among attached competitors in the women’s pole vault by reaching a provisional mark or 3.70 meters (12-1.5) to tie for second overall, but won the tiebreaker over a USF teammate based on clearing her top height on her first attempt. Crandall’s mark on Friday night registered greater than the provisional standard, the fourth time she has hit a provisional mark this season.

St. Cloud State
The St. Cloud State University track and field competed in the Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitational on Saturday, Jan 24.  The indoor meet was hosted by South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D.
Women’s Track & Field: Patience Yalartai (So., Bloomington, Minn.) took a third place finish in the triple jump with a performance of 39-07.75 (12.08m), improving her to seventh in the country in the triple jump.  Samantha Sunstrom (So. Sauk Rapids, Minn.) placed 10th in the 3000-meters at 10:23.30 while Stephanie Waletzko (Jr., St. Cloud, Minn.) charted a 10th place finish in the weight throw at 51’ 6.25”.

Wayne State
Women’s Track: Kelsey Dietrich (Fr., Laurel, Neb.) placed eighth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.66 seconds at the Minnesota State Invite. She also ran a leg on the 4 x 400 meter relay team of Mary Alderson, Rebecca Davenport, Dietrich and Danielle Hart came in fourth place in a time of 4:09.38.
Women’s Field: Shandan Platt (Fr., Ainsworth, Neb.)  improved her season best marks in both the shot put and the weight throw with two NCAA provisional national qualifying marks and a pair of fourth place finishes.  Her first mark came in the weight throw on Friday night with a new personal best of 56’ 2 1/2” which is currently #24 in the event in NCAA DII.  Her second mark came on Saturday in the shot put with a throw of 46’ 0’, which is 13th best in the NCAA DII rankings.  Her mark is the best freshman mark in the shot put by almost 1’ 6” and is the second best freshman mark in the weight throw.
The Wildcats will host the WSC Alumni Open on Saturday, January 31.  Teams participating will include:  Augustana College, Southwest Minnesota State, University of Sioux Falls, Dakota State, York College, and the University of South Dakota.

Winona State
Women’s Track: Megan Seidl (So., Bartlett, Ill.) won the 200 meters in a personal best time of 25.77 seconds at the MSU Open on Saturday besting a strong field of NSIC opponents.  Megan’s time moves her up to fourth in the NSIC.
Women’s Field:  Kaitlyn Long (Fr., Cottage Grove, Wis.) beat all collegians in the weight throw at the MSU Open on Saturday at Minnesota State with a toss of 58’ 3 ¾” (17.77m) besting a field that includes seven NCAA II national qualifiers.  Kaitlyn currently sits fifth in NCAA II and the number one freshman weight thrower in the country from any division of the NCAA.

NSIC Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Women’s Field
12/09/14   Sara Wells, Wayne State
1/13/15    Kimberly Peterson, Sioux Falls
1/20/15    Kimberly Peterson, Sioux Falls (2)
1/27/15    Kaitlyn Long, Winona State
Women’s Track
12/09/14   Alissa Mears, MSU Moorhead
1/13/15    Brieanna Puckett, Minnesota State
1/20/15    Molly Montonye, MSU Moorhead
1/27/15    Irene Almarcha, Augustana