BISMARCK, N.D. – Minot State's Leif Nelson led the way for the Beavers, continuing Minot State's record-setting efforts on Saturday at the Mike Thorson Open indoor track and field meet hosted by the University of Mary.

Nelson finished second overall in the high jump with a season-best and NCAA Division II-era record performance as he cleared 6 feet, 6.75 inches on Saturday, leading the way for the Minot State men's team.

On the women's side, it was thrower Tori Nygard who provided the biggest highlight of the day as she claimed victory in the weight throw, leading a one-two Beaver sweep of the top spots with her throw of 49 feet, 6.5 inches. She bested teammate Kori Nagel, who was second in the event with a mark of 49-1.

That trio led the way for the Minot State track and field teams, who returned to action for the first time in more than a month with strong individual efforts to start a six-week run toward the NSIC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will be hosted by Minnesota State, Mankato, the weekend of Feb. 25-26.

Nelson himself added to the strong performances, backing up his record-setting effort by finishing third in the shot put with a throw of 49-9, and teammate Nick Merillana also added a third-place finish in the men's mile with a time of 4 minutes, 33.50.

And in a team effort, the quartet of Lewis Cotterill, Joseph Green, Jaylan Brown, and Damian Nino added a second-place performance for the Beavers in the men's 4x400-meter relay, clocking a time of 3:31.01.

One the women's side, Nygard and Nagel led the way with their one-two finish in the weight throw, while Jenna Hardy led the way in the shot put as she finished third with a throw of 41-6.5 for Minot State.

On the track, Paulette Dominguez added a second-place finish in the mile with a time of 5:31.44 while Jessica Martinez added a third-place finish in the 1,000 meters in 3:25.15, and Ashley Miller was third in the 60-meter dash in 8.38 seconds.

And rounding out the top performances on the day was the Minot State women's 4x400-meter relay team of Emily Hansen, Sidra Sadowsky, Maelyn Sanders, and Miller as they finished second overall in 4:29.48.

Having knocked the rust off following the holiday break, the Minot State track and field teams now travel to Brookings, South Dakota, for a pair of meets hosted by South Dakota State this coming Friday and Saturday.