BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Bemidji State University’s Amy Erickson (Sr., Roseau, Minn.) and Zac Preble (Jr., Coleraine, Minn.) have been selected as Beaver Pride Athletes of the Week for outstanding performances during the week of April 27-May 3.

Erickson, a four-year player for BSU, wrapped up her collegiate eligibility at the 2008 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferdnce Individual Championships May 3 battling her way to the No. 6 singles championship match before falling to St. Cloud State’s Boushek, 6-1, 6-1. En route to her second-place finish, Erickson defeated Southwest Minnesota State University’s Toni Pribyl in a quarterfinal tie-breaker, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5) and downed Upper Iowa University’s Nicole Henry, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the title match.

She finished the season with an overall record of 14-5 competing at both no. 5 and No. 6 singles.

After holding a lead in the NSIC 2009 decathlon through five events, Preble no-heighted in the pole vault and dropped out of the lead early in day two. But the multi-event veteran placed third in javelin (163-09), gaining 162 points on the leader. Preble then toed the line in the tenth and final event, the 1,500-meter run, four points out of the lead. The two-time defending champion ran an inspired race, crossing the line in fifth with a time of 4:49.14, but more importantly, he edged the point-leader, Concordia-St. Paul's John Pimental, by over 29 seconds and cruised to a 157-point victory and the 2009 NSIC Decathlon title.

In addition to Preble's impressive comeback down the stretch, his championship run was highlighted by first-place finishes in the shot put (47-09.75) and the discus throw (131-06), while he tied for second-place honors in the high jump clearing 6-02.

The NSIC Individual Championships drew the curtain on the Beavers' 2009 season. Under the direction of Toby Palmiscno, BSU posted a 4-14 overall record, were 4-7 in league play and finished eighth in the NSIC Team Tournament. Bemidji State is tentatively scheduled to begin its fall, non-championship season with a trip to Upper Iowa, Sept. 12-13.

Preble and the BSU track and field teams travel to Wayne, Neb. Thursday in preparation for the NSIC 2009 Outdoor Championships. Competition gets underway from Memorial Stadium, Bob Cunningham Field at 11 a.m. Friday with the men’s hammer throw and pole vault and the women’s javelin. Running events begin at 1 p.m. when the women toe the line for the preliminaries of the 1,500-merer run. The event continues at 11 a.m. again Saturday and will conclude with an awards ceremony at approximately 5 p.m.