MINOT, N.D. – The excitement and anticipation typically hits the student-athletes this time of year hardest, but in this case, it might even be greater for Beavers head coach Jordan Aus.

Aus makes his collegiate coaching competition debut this Saturday as he leads the Minot State track and field teams into action at the season-opening Mike Thorson Open hosted by the University of Mary. Field events begin at 11 a.m. at the University of Mary Fieldhouse and Wellness Center, and running events start at noon.

"We've been looking forward to this weekend since I got here in June," said Aus, who will also be making his first trip to the Fieldhouse and Wellness Center. "I'm personally really excited; our team is really excited; this is a great opportunity for us to reward a lot of hard work this fall."

Of course, the debut for Coach Aus also will be the debut for several new Beaver student-athletes, and many returners, as Minot State will take the majority of the sprinters, jumpers, throwers, and hurdlers to this season-opening event while resting the distance runners who just completed their cross-country season a few weeks prior.

"Competing at the Mike Thorson Open is going to be a great opportunity and our kids and our coaching staff are really excited about it."

The meet provides a measuring stick and will be "informational" according to Coach Aus, giving the Beavers an understanding of how their early training has paid off and prepared Minot State's student-athletes for the bulk of the indoor season, a stretch of five meets in six weeks beginning January 18 with the Marauders Indoor Opener.

That condensed season culminates with the NSIC Indoor Championships hosted by Minnesota State, Mankato on February 28 and March 1, and excelling in that Championship meet will be the primary goal for the Beavers this winter.

"We talked about our expectations as a team and we want to put ourselves in a position to finish in the top half of the NSIC," Aus said. "We think that that's an attainable goal, and both indoor and outdoor.

"But really we're going to focus on the process of how we achieve that goal, right?" Minot State's new coach added. "Like I said, this Saturday, it'll be a great measuring tool for us and how we drive that journey for the next eight weeks until we get to our indoor conference meet at the end of February."

Based on the 2024-25 NSIC Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Polls released today by the conference, the Beavers will be exceeding the projections of their opponents as the Minot State men were picked 10^th in the preseason poll and the women 12^th in the Preseason Coaches' Polls.

Leading the way this winter on the men's side are returning star hurdlers Ramon Duran, who earned All-NSIC honors in the 400-meter hurdles outdoors in May, and Nathan Trujillo-Aragon, the 2023 NSIC Outdoor Champion in the 400-meter hurdles who is back after an injury-shortened 2023-24 season.

They'll be joined by top returning sprinters Micah Earnest, Zaccharius Brown, and Devontae Daley, all of whom had standout seasons in 2023-24 with Brown and Daley joining Duran as part of the Beavers 4x400 relay team which was 2^nd at the NSIC Outdoor Championships, earning them All-NSIC honors.

Aus expects that relay to be an NSIC power again this season, and the Beaver men's sprinters to have a big impact, as well.

In part, helped by the addition of some of the Minot State football players as Aus and Beaver head football coach Ian Shields have collaborated to recruit two-sport athletes who can compete all year long.

Some of those impact gridiron newcomers include throwers Evan Hartt, a defensive lineman, and Ethan Graham, an offensive lineman, along with jumper Brayan Augustin, a defensive back.

"They're going to surprise some people," Aus said. "Brayan Augustin is going to be a name to watch in the horizontal jumps; we're really excited about what he can do on the field side."

As for names to watch on the women's side, they start with the returning distance runners Paulette Dominguez, who recently earned All-NSIC honors in cross country, Sidra Sadowsky, who set an all-time school record in the 800 meters last year in 2 minutes, 14.11 seconds, and Bailey Wride, who won the NSIC Indoor Championship in the 600 meters in a school-record time of 1:36.76.

As for impact newcomers, Coach Aus says to watch out for local jumper and hurdler Kaydee Boyce, who holds Nedrose High School individual records in the 100 meters (13.24), the 100 hurdles (16.84), the 300 hurdles (49.21), the long jump (17 feet, 8.5 inches), and triple jump (34-10).

Coach Aus adds that the team will be adding a few surprise recruits mid-year who will join the Beavers in competition once the bulk of the indoor season resumes in January.
 
Minot State men picked 10^th, women 12^th in Preseason Coaches' Polls

LINK TO NSIC MEN'S PRESEASON COACHES' POLL                LINK TO NSIC WOMEN'S PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State track and field teams will be underdogs at the NSIC Indoor Championships held February 28 and March 1 in Mankato, Minnesota according to the league's coaches.

The 2024-25 NSIC Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Polls, Preseason Track and Field Athletes of the Year, and Athletes to Watch all were announced today by the league and the Beaver men were picked to finish 10^th by the coaches with 19 points, while the Minot State women were picked to finish 12^th with 47 points.

The Minnesota State, Mankato men and women were picked to repeat as NSIC Indoor Champions. The Maverick men have won the title 13 years in a row and the Maverick women five straight. The Minnesota State men received 10 first-place votes and 100 points, and the women received 13 first-place votes and 169 points.

Highlighted as NSIC Track and Field Athletes to Watch for the Beaver men were All-NSIC hurdler Ramon Duran, a senior from Hollister, California, and thrower Dallas Reese, a senior from Wolf Point, Montana.

Duran was second outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.53 seconds, earning All-NSIC honors, and 10^th in the 400-meter dash indoors in 50.70 last winter, while Reese was 18^th in the shot put indoors last season with a throw of 47 feet, 7 inches.

On the women's side, senior middle-distance runner Sidra Sadowsky, from Hettinger, North Dakota, and incoming freshman sprinter and hurdler Kaydee Boyce, from here in Minot, North Dakota, were named the Track and Field Athletes to Watch from Minot State.

Sadowsky holds the all-time school record in the indoor 800 meters of 2 minutes, 14.11 seconds and was fourth in the 800 at the 2023-24 NSIC Indoor Championships in 2:17.53.

Boyce comes to Minot State as the Nedrose High School individual school record holder in the 100 meters (13.24), the 100 hurdles (16.84), the 300 hurdles (49.21), the long jump (17 feet, 8.5 inches), and triple jump (34-10).

While Minnesota State, Mankato led the way as favorites to win both NSIC team titles, Augustana was picked No. 2 on the men's side with one first-place vote and 90 points, then Minnesota State Moorhead in third with 73 points, Northern State was fourth with 69 points, Minnesota Duluth was fifth with 61 points, Mary was sixth with 58 points, Concordia, St. Paul was seventh with 48 points, Sioux Falls was eighth with 43 points, Wayne State was ninth with 34 points, Minot State was 10^th with 19 points, and Southwest Minnesota State was 11^th with 10 points.

Augustana senior distance runner Ryan Hartman, who was the runner-up national champion this fall in cross country, was named the men's NSIC Preseason Track Athlete of the Year while Sioux Falls' fifth-year senior thrower Tyler Hiatt, who was the 2023 NSIC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, was named NSIC Preseason Field Athlete of the Year.

On the women's side, Mary was picked to finish second with 151 points followed by Augustana, which received one first-place vote and 145 points in third. Sioux Falls was fourth with 126 points, Minnesota Duluth was fifth with 123 points, Winona State was sixth with 106 points, Northern State was seventh with 105 points, Bemidji State was eighth with 76 points, Minnesota State Moorhead was ninth with 59 points, Concordia, St. Paul was 10^th with 56 points, Wayne State was 11^th with 53 points, Minot State was 12^th with 47 points, Southwest Minnesota State was 13^th with 31 points, and St. Cloud State was 14^th with 27 points.

Minnesota State, Mankato's senior sprinter Adeyah Brewster, the runner-up national champion in the 60-meter hurdles, was the women's NSIC Preseason Track Athlete of the Year and Sioux Falls' fifth-year senior and pentathlete Emily Swanson, who was an All-American last year in the pentathlon, was named the NSIC Preseason Field Athlete of the Year.