MANKATO, Minn. – The Beaver quartet of Jacob Jensen, Joseph Green, Lewis Cotterill, and Nick Merillana led the way for the Minot State track and field teams, setting a new school record on the opening day of the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Minnesota State, Mankato on Friday.

The Minot State men turned in their top time this winter to break the NCAA Division II-era school record by finishing sixth in the distance medley relay in 10 minutes, 18.94 seconds. They bested the previous top time of 10:25.54 run by Trestin Mancillas-Finnerty, Chase Tandy, Cotterill, and Jensen last season.

That earned the Beavers three team points, putting the men 10^th overall in the team standings after the opening day of action at the Championships, which conclude on Saturday.

The Minot State women's distance medley relay also scored for the Beavers as the quartet of Alicia Murillo, Sidra Sadowsky, Emily Hansen, and Caitlin Cornell finished seventh in their race in 12:33.35, good for two points that puts the Beavers in 12^th as a team.

Cornell nearly added to the women's point total as she had a top-10 finish for Minot State, racing to ninth place in the women's 5,000 meters on Friday in 17:39.19.

Adding top-10 finishes on Friday for the Beavers were Cotterill in the men's 600-meter preliminary, and Juan Gutierrez in the 800-meters preliminary. Both advance to their respective event finals today as one of the top eight qualifiers. Cotterill was fourth in the 600 in 1:23.51, while Gutierrez was sixth in the 800 in 1:58.80.