DULUTH, Minn. – While the Beaver softball and baseball teams already swung into Championship action in South Dakota on Wednesday, the two more Minot State spring teams begin their Championship quest, as well, this weekend.
The Beaver men's and women's track and field teams head to the University of Minnesota Duluth for the NSIC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, competing Friday and Saturday in the season's first postseason meet.
Minot State student-athletes will be racing, jumping, and throwing for NSIC titles, All-NSIC honors, and a possible berth to the NCAA Division II National Championships later this month, hosted by Emporia State in Kansas.
"I'm looking for us to put out the best executed competition of the year," Minot State coach
Erik Stevens said. "We know the expectations of the program, and we know the level of competition that is here for the conference championship.
"I believe that the group of student-athletes who have given themselves the opportunity to be here have the ability to put forward great results," he added. "Execution, pride, and passion are what I expect to see out of this group."
Competing this weekend at the NSIC Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the Beavers will be
Justin Williams (men's 200 meters),
Peyton Tuhy,
Jacob Jackson, and
Zander Grover (men's 800),
Holter Bridwell and
Camden Jasmin (men's 3,000 steeplechase),
Jake Jenkins (men's 10,000),
Samuel Butikofer (men's high jump),
Brayan Augustin,
Khaliel Abdurrahman, and
Grayson Schaeffer (men's long jump),
Ethan Graham and
Braxton Rance (men's shot put),
Bailey Wride (women's 800 and 1,500),
Julie Folk and
Nicole Reeves (women's 3,000 steeplechase),
Jamie Ward (women's discus),
Kaiya Chell (women's discus and women's shot put),
Kyra Beckman (women's high jump),
Ava Ruthven (women's javelin), and
Afton Wride (women's triple jump). The Beavers also will compete in the men's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.
A handful of those Minot State competitors head into the weekend ranked in the top 10 in their respective event and are in position to score points for the Beavers; and with a good day of competition, could bring home All-NSIC honors with a top 3 finish, or even an NSIC title.
On the women's side, two-time NSIC indoor champion
Bailey Wride leads the way as she is 8
th in the NSIC heading into the 1,500 meters with a season-best time of 4 minutes, 42.92 seconds, and 10
th in the women's 800 with a top time this spring of 2:15.53.
While she leads the way for the Minot State ladies, a quartet of Beaver men turned in top-10 performances this spring prior to this weekend's championships, starting with long jumper
Brayan Augustin, who broke a 48-year-old school record and hit an NCAA national qualifying mark with a leap of 24 feet, 5.75 inches. Augustin heads into the championships 5
th in the men's long jump.
Minot State distance runners
Peyton Tuhy and
Holter Bridwell also head into the weekend ranked 5
th in their respective events, as Tuhy ran the 5
th-fastest time in the NSIC in the 800 meters this spring, a time of 1:53.25, while Bridwell has the 5
th-fastest time in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase of 9:45.74.
Jake Jenkins rounds out the quartet of Minot State men who turned in a top-10 performance during the regular season this spring, as his time of 32:51.49 in the 10,000 meters is 6
th fastest this season in the NSIC.
The NSIC Championships got underway on Thursday with competition in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon. No Minot State student-athletes are competing in the multi-events.
The Beavers open competition Friday with the women's 10,000 meters, which begins at 10 a.m. Field events begin with the women's hammer throw at 11 a.m.
Saturday, action begins with the women's javelin at 10 a.m. and the women's 4x100-meter relay at 1:05 p.m.
