FARGO, N.D. – The indoor track and field season is beginning to heat up for Minot State, and the Beavers are ready to show off their talents.
With just three regular-season meets left before the NSIC Championships at the end of this month, the Beavers look to make some big moves this weekend as they compete against a talented field of NCAA Division I athletes at the Bison Open hosted by North Dakota State.
Action gets underway for the Beavers with the weight throw at noon on Friday, while the 3,000 meters kicks off the running events at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Action continues Saturday with field events beginning at 2 p.m. and the 60-meter hurdle prelims at 2:30 p.m.
Now into the heart of the indoor season, first-year Beaver head coach
Erik Stevens is liking what he's been seeing from his student-athletes, both in competition and in training.
"I feel that we are progressing very well in all event areas," he said. "Some areas came into this indoor season a little behind in some capacity, but I feel we are making pretty big improvements fairly quickly. Several of the football players who cross over, obviously, we're not track sharp, but are really starting to show what they are capable of.
"I feel like the culture of the group is developing well, and that will really be the catalyst that gets the rest of the season moving in the right direction."
With 4-of-7 indoor meets in the books,
Summer Krebsbach and
Bailey Wride have led the way for the Minot State women. Both are in the top 20 in the NSIC this winter.
Peyton Tuhy and
Brayan Augustin have led the Beaver men, both with top-20 NSIC performances, to date.
Kresbach ranks No. 13 in the 200 meters (25.59 seconds), and 14th in the 60 (7.74), while Wride is 14th in the mile (5:16.16).
Augustin set a new NCAA Division II school record earlier this season and is 17th in the NSIC in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 6 inches, while Tuhy is 14th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.76.
"I always look for the way that we prepare going into these meets. I always want the team to prepare the same way for a meet like this, with slightly higher competition, the same way we would for a practice or a smaller meet," Stevens said, looking ahead to the weekend. "I don't change that moving through the heart of the season. I want to see the competitive energy brought to each event area.
"I think we have been doing really well on that over the last several weeks of competition, and I don't see that changing this week."
