April 23, 2005

ABERDEEN, S.D.- [men's decathlon ] [women's heptathlon] - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opened its outdoor championships in Aberdeen, S.D., on Sunday and Monday with the heptathlon and the decathlon. Ben Mettling (Pine City, Minn.) finished in fourth place overall with 5063 points in the decathlon while Nicole Friend (International Falls, Minn.) grabbed herself a fifth place finish with 3868 points in the heptathlon.

Mettlings best performance came in the discus throw where he out-threw the rest of the competition with his toss of 114-9.

Finishing right behind Mettling for the men was Travis Schwarz (Pine City, Minn.). Schwarz finished in fifth place with 4825 points and claimed second place in the high jump with his leap of 6-3 1/2.

Friend had both a first and a second place finish in the meet. She claimed top honors in the javelin throw with her toss of 104-5, the fourth best throw in the NSIC this season, and grabbed a second place finish in the 200-meter dash with her time of 27.12.

Also complete for the women, finishing in sixth place with 3693 points, was Ashley Spolarich (Maple Lake, Minn.). Spolarich finished in a tie for first in the high jump, clearing 5-7, and crossed the finish line in second place in the 800-meter run (2:31.32).