After the first day of competition, the BSU men found themselves
just 10 points behind Northern State University and three
points back from the hosting Wayne State College for second
and third place respectively, but with a push from their field
events on day two, the Beavers surpassed NSU to claim second
(170) over 50 points behind Wayne State (225) who ran away
with the 2006 outdoor team title.
In the nine field events displayed at the championship, BSU
grabbed individual titles in four while adding second place
finishes in four additional events. BSU's throwers topped
the list as Joe Remitz took first in the
shot put (55-03.75), Justin Cox collected
the discus title (155-06) while gathering runner-up honors
in the shot put (48-08.75). Adam Wilson also
captured the hammer throw title with a throw of 157-03 while
Phillip McCollam took home All-NSIC accolades
finishing second in the event (154-08). In the javelin, Todd
Zeidler posted the event's second-best throw (169-04).
Moving to jumping events, Jon Clemons solidified BSU's name a the home of the high jump champion for the fourth consecutive season. Following a three-year run by Steve Schreiber, Clemons cleared 6-06.75 to take his first NSIC crown in the event. 2006 NSIC Indoor Champion and NCAA Championship participant Rodney Williams took third in the triple jump (44-08.25) followed by Tommy Crummy who leaped 44-04.25 to finish fourth. Crummy also placed in the pole vault and long jump taking fifth place (14-05.50) and fourth place (22-03.50) respectively.
Speedster Jonathan Hawks stood out in the running events as he successfully defended his 100- and 200-meeter titles in times of 10.57 and 22.11 respectively in the windy Wayne, Neb. conditions. Hawks also teamed with Williams, Ben Hopkins and James Winsor for a first place finish in the 4x100-meter relay (42.77).
Mike Hougen also earned all-conference honors when he captured second place in the decathlon.
On the women's side of the championship, BSU (64) finished
just nine points behind Northern State (73) for fourth but
were more than 100 points behind MSU-Moorhead (181) and Winona
State University (171) who finished in the top two spots.
The Beavers were led by the fleet-footed Nicole Friend.
The three-sport standout captured first place in the 400-metter
dash while finishing sixth in the 200-meters and third in
the javelin throw (104-05) and fifth in the heptathlon. She
also ran a leg on BSU's 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800-meter relay
teams which each garnered points for the team led by a third
place finish by the 4x800-meter team.
Christa Pribula wrapped up her stellar four-year running career at the meet grabbing second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:03.38) and running legs on the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relay teams.
In the field events, Sheena Devine led all
BSU performers capturing the shot put title with a distance
of 48-04.00. Her throw not only earned her the NSIC crown
and all-conference honors, it also stands as the fourth-longest
throw in all of NCAA Division II this season and provisionally
qualifies her for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
May 25-27 at Fran Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kan.
In all 13 individual men and women an the men's 4x100-meter
squad took grabbed All-NSIC honors while four additional participants
finished with All-NSIC Honorable Mention status.
Although the teams have concluded their respective spring
seasons, there are still a number of BSU athletes, including
Devine, that have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships
at the end of May. Those student-athletes will find out if
they have earned a spot in the meet this week.
