For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 5, 2015
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year
Bree Woelber
Junior
Pipestone, Minn.
Pipestone Area HS
Augustana

Woelber won the NSIC Pentathlon with an NCAA Automatic qualifying score of 3892, which ranks third in the nation.  During the NSIC Pentathlon, Woelber broke the NSIC high jump record with a leap of 5’9.25”, which earned her a spot at the National Championships as she ranks fourth in the nation.  She also finished fourth at the NSIC Championships in the long jump with a mark of 18’ 9”.

NSIC Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
Kathryn Stewart
Senior
Kingston, Jamaica
University of Mary

Stewart won the NSIC Championship in the 60m dash, the 200m dash and was part of the winning 4X400 relay team, which set a new NSIC record. Stewart qualified for the NCAA Championship in all three events and will also compete on the U-Mary DMR squad at nationals as well.   

NSIC Women’s Indoor Newcomer of the Year
Alexis Zeis
Freshman
Bismarck, N.D.
Bismarck HS
University of Mary

Zeis won both the 3000m run (9:38.15) and 5000m run (16:59.75) at the NSIC Championships.  Zeis qualified for nationals in the 3000m run and is also the 1600 meter anchor leg of the Distance Medley Relay (11:33.21) that won the NSIC title and automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and is currently ranked second in the country.  

NSIC Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year
Mike Thorson
University of Mary

Thorson was voted by his peers as the NSIC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year.  Thorson led the Marauders to their fourth title in the last five years as they won the NSIC Championships by 23 points. Thorson coached nine athletes that will compete at the NCAA National Championships in Birmingham, Ala on March 13-14.  This marks the sixth time since 2007 Thorson has been named NSIC Indoor Coach of the Year.  

NSIC National Qualifiers
Irene Almarcha	So.	Augie	60m Hurdles
Charissa Etrheim	Jr.	Augie	4X400m Relay
Carina Hofmeister	So.	Augie	4X400m Relay
Kelsey Kaufmann	Jr.	Augie	High Jump
Kayla Mescher	Sr.	Augie	800m Run
			4X400m Relay
Anne Parsley	Sr.	Augie	4X400m Relay
Leah Seivert	Fr.	Augie	3000m Run
			5000m Run
Bree Woebler	Jr.	Augie	High Jump
			Pentathlon
Esther Jandrich	Sr.	CU	Pole Vault
Martina Ware	Sr.	CU	Shot Put
Brittany Brownotter	Fr.	Mary	DMR
Davina Carr	So.	Mary	Pole Vault
Josie Guptill	Jr.	Mary	4X400m Relay
Cassandra Jones	So.	Mary	4X400m Relay
			DMR
Danylle Kurywchak	Jr.	Mary	Triple Jump
Brienna Lynch	Sr.	Mary	DMR
Melanie Rodriguez	So.	Mary	4X400m Relay
Kathryn Stewart	Sr.	Mary	60m Dash
			200m Dash
			4X400m Relay
			DMR
Alexis Zeis	Fr.	Mary	3000m Run
			DMR
Emilee Trost	Fr.	UMD	Mile Run
			DMR
Sam Rivard	So.	UMD	3000m Run
			5000m Run
Hannah Olson	Jr.	UMD	3000m Run
			DMR
Madeline Schaeffer	Jr.	UMD	DMR
Maddison Sachs	So.	UMD	DMR
Alexandra Rudin	Sr.	UMD	DMR
Bryanna Sudman	Jr.	MSU	Pole Vault
Brieanna Puckett	So.	MSU	60m Dash
			Long Jump
Anna Veroeven	Sr.	MSU	Triple Jump
Tia Knight	So.	MSUM	60m Hurdles
Chelsea Klemetson	Sr.	MSUM	High Jump
Alissa Mears	So.	MSUM	800m Run
Molly Montonye	Jr.	MSUM	Mile Run
Sienna Dailey	Sr.	MISU	400m Dash
Breann Jackson	Jr.	NSU	Weight Throw
Courtney Crandall	Jr.	USF	Pole Vault
Sophie Harano	Sr.	USF	Pole Vault
Kimberly Peterson	Fr.	USF	Pole Vault
Katlyn Sawtelle	Sr.	USF	Pentathlon
Becky Schmidt	Sr.	SCSU	Long Jump
Patience Yalartai	So.	SCSU	Long Jump
			Triple Jump
Sara Wells	Sr.	WSC	Shot Put
Michaela Dendinger	So.	WSC	Shot Put
			Weight Throw
Shandan Platt	Fr.	WSC	Shot Put
Alissa Rausch	Sr.	WSU	Shot Put
			Weight Throw
Kaitlyn Long	Fr.	WSU	Weight Throw
Megan Seidl	So.	WSU	4X400m Relay
Kelsey Bethke	Sr.	WSU	4X400m Relay
Brittany Schyvinck	Fr.	WSU	4X400m Relay
Catherine Whitcomb	Sr.	WSU	4X400m Relay

NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
Augustana placed second at the NSIC Championships with a 119-point total. Kayla Mescher and Anne Parsley both took the top marks in their respective events. Mescher clocked a time of 2:13.00 to set a new NSIC record in the 800-meter run, while Parsley finished with a time of 1:34.67 in the 600-meter run. For the third time this season. Irene Almarcha set a new school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, finishing second provisionally qualifying with a time of 8.62 seconds.  
Augie will send eight females to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 13 and 14 in Birmingham, Ala.

Bemidji State
Bemidji State wrapped up its indoor season at the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Beavers were led by Nicole Crummy, who recorded a career-best in the 800-meter run to qualify for finals (2:20.39) and placed seventh clocking a time of two-minutes, 20.60 seconds to score team points for BSU. Others registering season-best marks at the meet were: Morgan Beattie, who posted a time of 1:49.87 in the 600-meter run; Nikki Anderson, who turned in a 9.60 on the 60-meter hurdles, as well as the Beavers’ 4x400-meter relay team of Beattie, Melom, Anderson and Crummy, which clocked a time of 4:15.63 and its distance medley team of Crummy, Beattie, Melom and Emily Turner, which finished with a 13:26.30.

Concordia-St. Paul
Gloria Williams (So., Minneapolis, Minn., / Roosevelt HS) set a school record in the 60m with a time of 7.76 to place fifth and set another school mark in the 200m dash with a time of 25.58 to place seventh at the NSIC Championships. CU placed 11th with 15 points at the championship.
Esther Jandrich is the first CU female athlete to compete at national in the pole vault, while Martina Ware will represent the Golden Bears in the shot put.

University of Mary
Led by the efforts of senior Kathryn Stewart and freshman Alexis Zeis, the Marauders regained the NSIC Women’s Indoor Track & Field title. After missing last year’s title by four points, the Marauders won their fourth title in five years and the sixth in nine by 23 points over Augustana (142-119). Stewart was part of three titles on the final day, winning both the 60 meter and 200 meter dash and running a leg of the championship 4x400 meter relay team. Zeis claimed both the 3,000 and 5,000 meter titles. Cassandra Jones won the 400 meter title. Danylle Kurywchak repeated as the NSIC triple jump title, setting a school and conference record with an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 12.49 meters. The Distance Medley Relay team also won a title. Overall, the Marauders claimed eight titles. U-Mary will send nine athletes to the NCAA National Championship in Birmingham, Ala.

Minnesota Duluth
Two Bulldogs claimed to individual titles at the NSIC Championships.  Junior team captain Hannah Olson in the mile run (an NCAA Division II provisional-qualifying time of 4:55.82) and freshman Emilee Trost in the 1,000-meter run (2:51.53) as the Bulldogs finished fourth.  Both athletes will compete at the NCAA Championships along with teammate Sam Rivard and the DMR squad.  

Minnesota State
Brieanna Puckett snagged the long jump title with a lunge of 19’2.75” at the NSIC Championships.  Senior Bryanna Sudman vaulted her way into the national championships with a final height of 12”9.5”.  Another school-record was taken down at the hands of Anna Veroeven as she set the new mark in the triple jump at 39’10”.  Puckett finished second in the 200-meters at 7.63.  Brooke Foreman continues to boost her performances in the 60-meter hurdles finishing fourth with a time of 8.85.  Sophomore Taylor Glover finished the 600-meters in second with a final time of 1:35.06.  Overall, the Mavericks finished third in the points race with a combine 101 points.  
Senior Bryanna Sudman (Eden Prairie, Minn) will make her return to the championships following her tenth-place finish a year ago in Winston-Salem, N.C. Sudman’s conference vault of 12’9” seeds her as the seventh-best athlete going into nationals.
Fellow senior Anna Veroeven (North Mankato, Minn.) will also be making the trek south to Alabama. Similar to Sudman, Veroeven put in the best performance of her career this past weekend at the NSIC Conference Championships. She finished first in the conference setting a new school-record in the triple jump with a lunge of 39’10”. She ranks 14th in the country.
Sophomore Brieanna Puckett (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) will test her school-record in the long jump against the nation as she heads in ranked 11th. Puckett owns the record with a jump of 19’5.25”. In addition to the long jump, she just got into the field for the 60-meter dash with a seed time of 7.61, in 18th.

MSU Moorhead
Senior Chelsea Klemetson became the first MSUM women’s champion of the meet during Friday’s competition at the NSIC Championships. She won the high jump with a personal-best effort of 5-8 3/4, which is tied for fifth-best in all of Division II. It is her sixth win of the indoor season as she qualified for nations.  Senior Tia Knight recorded the second NSIC indoor title of her career in impressive fashion, winning the 60-meter hurdles in 8.53, which is tied for fourth-best in all of Division II and qualified her for nationals. That time broke the school record of 8.58 she had set earlier this season at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic. Knight also earned All-NSIC in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.27 and added a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter dash in 7.73. Junior Molly Montonye earned two All-NSIC honors. She was part of the distance medley relay that placed second in 12:07.89 (junior Emily Mammenga, junior Jasmine Nelson and sophomore Alissa Mears also earned All-NSIC honors in that event. Montonye was third in the mile to earn All-NSIC honors in that event. Mears and Montonye both will make appearances at the NCAA National Championships.

Minot State
Minot State University finished in 12th place at the 2015 NSIC / US Bank Indoor Track & Field Championships. MISU scored 12 points, three behind 11th Concordia St. Paul and 10 more than both Bemidji State and Southwest Minnesota State.
Sienna Dailey (Sprints, 5-9, Sr., Glasgow, Mont. / Glasgow) ran a fantastic final 150 meters to earn a second place finish in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 56.69 seconds. She lowered the school’s record and is ranked 15th in the nation in the event. She also anchored the women’s 4x400-meter relay team that finished fifth overall. Dailey’s 400 time was good enoug to earn her a spot at nationals.  Dailey is the second indoor track & field participant for Minot State, joining Kirk Capdeville who qualified in the pole vault last season, becoming the Beavers first-ever NCAA Division II All-American with a fifth-place finish.
Erica Clark (Mid-Distance, 5-8, Sr., Gardena, Calif. / Gardena / West Los Angeles College) was a member of the team’s 4x400-meter relay team, taking fifth place overall. She finished just outside the finals, with a ninth place finish in the women’s 800-meters with a 2:23.70.

Northern State
The Northern State women’s track and field team earned a tenth place finish from the NSIC Indoor Championships. Breann Jackson sparked the women on day one by smashing her personal best for the second consecutive week in the weight throw, finishing second overall and ending the regular season with the 10th best mark in NCAA Division II at 18.50m (60’8.5”). That mark was good enough to earn her a trip to the NCAA National  Championships.  Gena Burley finished eighth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.58m (5’2.25”).  Sasha Hovind added a pair of podium finishes for the Wolves with a sixth place showing in the 3,000m run on (10:06.82), followed by a fourth place mark in the 5,000m run(17:23.63). The NSU women finished with 23 total team points.

Southwest Minnesota State
Eisha Oden finished in eighth place in the 400-meters with a time of 59.09 at the NSIC Championships.  During Thursday’s opening round, the SMSU women’s distance medley finished in eighth place with a time of 12:51.51, while the men’s distance medley team finished in third place with a time of 10:31.53.

Sioux Falls
After an impressive showing at the conference championship meet, the University of Sioux Falls track and field teams will send four athletes to the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on March 13 and 14. Three of the athletes will be pole vaulters as Kimberly Peterson won the NSIC Championship title in that even. She enters the NCAA Championships with the third-highest qualifying mark this season. Peterson will be joined by Courtney Crandall and Sophie Harano, who both set PRs to qualify as the seventh- and 11th-seeded vaulters in Division II. Katlyn Sawtelle rounds out the Cougar entrants into the NCAA Championships and will compete in the women’s pentathlon on March 13. Sawtelle took second at the NSIC multi-event championships, but her pentathlon total from the first meet of the season earned her the spot in the 12-athlete field as well as broke the USF record.

St. Cloud State
In day two competition at the NSIC Championships, sophomore Patience Yalartai (Bloomington, Minn.) placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 39-05.25
Senior Becky Schmidt (White Bear Lake, Minn.) finished with a pair of sixth place finishes. She was sixth in the 60 meter dash in 7.82 and followed that up with a sixth place finish in the 200 meters in 25.38. Sophomore Jasmine Grant (Surrey, Canada) was sixth in the 400 meter run in a time of 58.61.
The women’s 4x400 relay gained points with an eighth place finish in a time of 4:02.86.
Schmidt and Yalartai both qualified for nationals.  Schmidt will compete in the long jump on Friday, March 13 at 2 p.m. Yalartai is also a decorated competitor as she has competed all season in multiple events in the pentathlon. She will take flight with Schmidt in the long jump and will also compete on Saturday, March 14th in the triple jump event. Most recently Yalartai placed third in both the triple jump and long jump at the NSIC Indoor Championships

Wayne State
Three athletes from the Wayne State have qualified in four events for next weekend’s NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Senior Sara Wells (Boone Central HS) qualified in the shot put for the third straight year and is a two-time All-American in the event.  She ranks third in NCAA Division II with a top throw of 52’ 8 ¼” at the South Dakota State Invite on February 13th.  Wells will compete in the shot put on Saturday, March 14th at 2 p.m.
Sophomore Michaela Dendinger (Hartington HS) qualified for indoor nationals in the shot put and weight throw.  She is listed fourth in the shot put with a top mark of 52’ 2 ¾” at the Wildcat Open on January 31st and is ranked 17th in the weight throw with a top throw of 59’ 2 ¼” at the Wildcat Open.  Dendinger will compete in the weight throw on Friday, March 13th at 1 p.m. and the shot put on Saturday, March 14th at 2 p.m.
Freshman Shandan Platt (Ainsworth HS) will compete in the shot put on Saturday, March 14th at 2 p.m. after recording the 14th best mark in NCAA Division II this season, 47’ 3 ½”, at the NSIC Indoor Championships in Mankato, Minnesota on February 26th.

Winona State
Six members from Winona State will be representing the Warriors at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham Ala. Kaitlyn Long and Alissa Rausch will be competing as individuals, while WSU’s 4x400 meter relay team of Kelsey Bethke, Brittany Schyvinck, Megan Seidl and Catherine Whitcomb also will compete.
Long and Rausch both will compete in the weight throw. Long earned a trip to the national championship with an automatic qualifying throw of 68’ 5.75” (20.87m), the third-best throw in Division II this season. Long has the top throw from a freshman this year and is the only first-year thrower competing in the event. Rausch recorded a throw of 60’ .5” (18.30m), good enough for the 14th-best throw in Division II this season.
Rausch also will be competing in the shot put, as her heave of 49’ 11.25” (15.22m) is the eighth-best toss in Division II this year.
A strong season from WSU’s top 4x400 meter relay team also was enough to punch a ticket to the national championships, as the team of Bethke, Schyvinck, Seidl and Whitcomb enter the meet with the 11th best race in Division II, clocking in with a time of 3:50.47.