May 10, 2003

Moorhead, Minn. - [BSU Day 2 results][complete Day 2 results] Behind individual championships from sophomore Martha Miltich and Steve Schreiber and a total of 10 All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honorees, the Bemidji State men finished third while the women took sixth at the 2003 NSIC Outdoor Track Championships.

On a day when the temperature never rose above 50 nor the skies turned clear, there were no preliminaries for any events. In fact, the high jump was moved indoors today after the long jump and pole vault were handled inside yesterday.

But through the wet, soggy conditions the Beavers finished their season off - on a high note, according to head coach Craig Hougen.

" I was happy that the people who finished off the meet competed, and competed well for us," Hougen said. "There were a couple people who got hurt with injuries. We were hampered enough not to take second (for the men)."

Miltich, last season's NSIC champion in the 10,000m run, led the way for the women by shattering Christa Pribula's school record in the 5,000m with a time of 18:55.95. Pribula set the record last year with a mark of 19:19.97.

The two others that made an impact all season ended strong today: senior Melanie Hoheisel and junior Caesare Stimson.

Hoheisel finished second in the 100m hurdles (14.86), just one one-hundredth of a second shy of her school record set earlier this season. Also, she took third in the 100m with a mark of 12.45 to claim Honorable Mention All-NSIC honors.

Meanwhile, Stimson ended second in the high jump with a height of 5'6 3/4".

" We had some extraordinary individual performances for the women," said Hougen. "I am very happy with the seniors in Melanie, Josie (Muzquiz) and Martha. What Melanie and Martha did was fantastic. Then, Caesare's leap of over 5'6" puts her about 11th in the nation. She probably is a lock on going to nationals."

Overall, the women finished with 80 points, behind host MSU Moorhead (100 points), Concordia-St. Paul (102), Winona State (131.5), Northern State (151) and UM-Duluth (213).

Looking at the men's side, the Beavers took third as they squeezed past the Dragons with only two and a half points of separation (123.5 - 121). Northern State (161.5) and UM-Duluth (296.50) rounded out the top two teams.

Schreiber continued to dominate with his sixth individual title this spring season. His mark of 6'6 3/4" outlasted UM-Duluth's Kyle Nylander to give him All-NSIC accolades.

Steve Leuer closed out his green and white career with a gutsy effort, overcoming a leg injury to place second in both the 800m (1:58.43) and 1,500m (4:06.42). He also was an honorable mention pick in the 5,000m with a time of 15:54.36.

" I can not tell you how much the seniors gave it their all today," Hougen said. "Leuer and the two Quinns (Pat and Paul) ran their guts out - it was amazing."

Helping the men's cause was Mark Nordell in the triple jump as he finished second (44'11 1/4"), Tristan White in the 200m with a time of 22.23, which was good enough for third, and the 4x400m relay squad came home with a second-place finish (3:25.50).

Female Athlete of the Championships went to Andrea Vake from Minnesota-Duluth while Eric Longhenry from Northern State received the male award. Both the Female and Male Outstanding Coaches Awards went to Minnesota-Duluth.

**Addition: In yesterday's competition, BSU's Sara Olson set a new Beaver record in the hammer throw with a toss of 117'4" - the old record belonged to Erin Suhonen as she set it last season (107'11").

Note: The top two individual performers for each event receive All-NSIC recognition while the third-place finisher is Honorable Mention. Top finishes for the relays receive All-NSIC.