February 28, 2004

WAYNE, Neb. - After Friday’s events at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Bemidji State’s men were looking down on most of the competition from second place, but a subpar Saturday dropped them to a disappointing fourth-place finish. After a slow start on Thursday and Friday, the women failed to build up any momentum and wound up finishing seventh.

Both squads suffered through injuries, illness, and mishaps throughout the day. Not accustomed to the tighter turns of Wayne State’s 160-meter track, two BSU athletes were disqualified in the final leg of their events after stepping out of their lane. Head coach Craig Hougen was disappointed with the team’s results, but was still optimistic about their effort.

“The good thing about being a track coach is that there’s always some bright spots for every team at every meet,” Hougen said. “This weekend, we definitely had some of those birght spots.”

On Saturday, one of those bright spots was freshman Shelby McCrady (Montgomery, Minn.), who capped off her stellar indoor campaign with a win in the 800-meter race. Her title, won in a time of 2:22.24, was BSU’s only individual victory on the day and one of just three on the weekend. Highlighting the day for the men’s squad was a trio of third-place finishers, including junior Mark Nordell (Apple Valley, Minn.). Nordell posted a 44-4 3/4 leap in the triple jump, just five inches away from first place. Sophomores Tristan White (Portland, Ore.) and Phil McCollam (Idaho Falls, Idaho) both ended up in third place in the 200-meter dash and the weight throw, respectively.

Friday’s evnts saw junior Steve Schreiber (Forest Lake, Minn.) win the high jump and senior Mitch Cooper (Davenport, Iowa) earn top billing in the long jump, breaking his own school record in the process.

The next action for the track and field team will be at the Hamline Invite on April 3, kicking off the 2004 outdoor season.

Final Team Standings - Men
Minnesota-Duluth 215.5
Wayne State 125
Northern State 108
Bemidji State 102.5
Concordia-St. Paul 86
Minnesota State-Moorhead 56

Final Team Standings - Women
Minnesota-Duluth 145
Winona State 135
Minnesota State-Moorhead 117
Wayne State 92
Northern State 91
Concordia-St. Paul 86
Bemidji State 33

BSU Relay Results - Men
4th - 4x400-meter relay 3:32.13
4th - 4x800-meter relay 8:19.76

BSU Relay Results - Women
4th - 4x400-meter relay 4:08.87
4th - 4x800-meter relay 10:04.35

BSU Championship Point Scorers - Men
1st - Mitch Cooper Long jump 23-5 1/4
• Broke school record (Mitch Cooper, 2001, 22-10)
1st - Steve Schreiber High jump 6-7 1/2
2nd - Adam Wilson Shot put 49-9 1/4
3rd - Tristan White 200-meter dash 23.23
3rd - Mark Nordell Triple jump 44-4 3/4
3rd - Phil McCollam Weight throw 51-4 1/4
4th - Tommy Crummy Pole vault 13-1 1/2
4th - Justin Cox Shot put 48-3 1/2
5th - Justin Martin 400-meter dash 52.34
5th - Tim Girod 800-meter run 2:00.83
5th - Jacob Wojciechowski Weight throw 48-6
6th - Ben Hopkins 200-meter dash 23.54
6th - Tyson Kuznia 55-meter hurdles 8.36
6th - Mitch Cooper Triple jump 43-10 1/2
6th - Adam Wilson Weight throw 46-11
6th - Travis Schwarz Pentathlon 3022
7th - Ben Hopkins 55-meter dash 6.68
7th - Jon Patten 200-meter dash 23.64
T7th - Travis Schwarz High jump 6-1 1/2
8th - Mitch Cooper 400-meter dash 53.56
8th - Matt Bischof 1600-meter run 4:38.86
8th - R.J. Gross Shot put 44-8 1/4
T8th - Matt Bischof 1000-meter run 2:41.40
T8th - Scott Anderson 1000-meter run 2:41.40

BSU Championship Point Scorers - Women
1st - Shelby McCrady 800-meter run 2:22.24
6th - Caesare Stimson 55-meter hurdles 8.99
6th - Caesare Stimson High jump 5-3 1/4
7th - Caesare Stimson 55-meter dash 7.59
7th - Christa Pribula 1600-meter run 5:29.87
7th - Christa Pribula 1000-meter run 3:11.46
8th - Shelby McCrady Triple jump 35-0 1/4