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May 7, 2004
DULUTH, Minn. - Sophomore Christa Pribula (East
Grand Forks, Minn.) posted the highest individual finish for
Bemidji State after the first day of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Duluth,
Minn. Pribula finished in second place in the 3000-meter steeplechase
with a blistering 11:51.99 time, smashing her own school record
in the process.
Both the men’s and the women’s 4x800-meter relay
teams finished in second place. The men’s team, consisting
of seniors Corey White (Winthrop, Minn.) and Kipton
Solmonson (Glencoe, Minn.), sophomore Tim Girod
(Apple Valley, Minn.) and freshman Richie Babler (Perham,
Minn.), finished behind Wayne State with a time of 8:22.35.
Freshmen Nicole Friend (International Falls, Minn.)
and Shelby McCrady (Montgomery, Minn.), Pribula, and
junior Paige Ferguson (Robbins, Calif.) made up the
women’s team, who finished behind only Concordia-St.
Paul with a time of 10:06.96.
After the first day of competition, the women’s team
sits in fifth place with 31 points, just six behind fourth-place
Northern State. With 28 points, The men’s team stands
in sixth place, but remains optimistic for a high finish after
tomorrow’s events. Sophomore Tyson Kuznia (Argyle,
Minn.), who entered the championship ranked in third place
in the 400-meter hurdles, now stands in first place in the
event and is poised to score major points for the Beavers
in the finals tomorrow.
“I’m very optimistic that tomorrow should go extremely
well for us,” head coach Craig Hougen said. “We
have several athletes in scoring position in the 100-meter,
200-meter, and hurdles. The shot put, discus, and high jump
also hold excellent possibilities for our teams.”
Senior Caesare Stimson (Chisago Lakes, Minn.) now accounts
for 15 of the women’s team’s 28 points. Already
the holder of the NSIC heptathlon title, she added five championship
points tonight after finishing fourth in the javelin throw.
Stimson is in an excellent position to score points in three
additional events tomorrow, as she currently sits in fifth
place in each of the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 100-meter
hurdles.
Representing their highest-scoring event of the day, the steeplechase
was also kind to the men’s squad. Sophomore Matt Bischof
and freshman Scott Anderson, both hailing from Fergus
Falls, Minn., combined for five points in the event. Bischof
ended up in fifth place with a time of 10:07.19, while Anderson’s
time of 10:50.04 earned him an eighth-place finish.
Three other Bemidji State athletes scored points for the men’s
team. Sophomore Jason Jacoby (Clements, Minn.), senior
Mitch Cooper (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Phil
McCollam (Idaho Falls, Idaho) drew blood in the 10,000-meter
run, long jump and hammer throw, respectively.
Field events will commence at Minnesota-Duluth’s Griggs
Field at 10:00 am Saturday morning, with the meet wrapping
up in the late afternoon.
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