Men finish second in six team field

February 4, 2006

[men's results] [women's results]

MOORHEAD, Minn. - Behind a record-breaking performance by Adam Wilson and two first place finishes from Todd Zeidler, the Bemidji State men's track and field team turned in a second place effort in a field of six teams as they competed in the Cobber Duals in Moorhead, Minn.

Wilson (Sr.; Forest Lake, Minn.) had a record-breaking performance , reclaiming his place at the top of Bemidji State's weight throw from Justin Cox (Jr.; Menahga, Minn.), who broke Wilson's record just on Jan. 28, at the Dairy Queen Blizzard Open in Superior, Wis. Wilson's toss of 55-7 is the 16th best toss in the nation among NCAA Division II athletes, the best toss in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and makes him the fourth member of the Beaver's track and field team to provisionally qualified to participate in the national championship in April. His toss earned him a second place finish in the event.

To go along with his new school record in the weight throw, Wilson turned in a third place performance in the shot put with his toss of 50-2.

In the shot put, Wilson finished behind teammates Joe Remitz (Soph.; Cass Lake, Minn.) and Cox. Wilson, who continues to hold the third best put in the NCAA Division II ranks this season, captured first place with his toss of 56-1 3/4, beating the rest of the field by 13 inches. Cox's distance of 50-2 was good enough for third place. Cox would also finish third in the weight throw with a toss of 53-5 1/2.

On the track, Zeidler (Jr.; Plentywood, Mont.) garnered two first place finishes. His first came in the 600-meter dash as Zeidler ran away from the competition by over two seconds with his time of 1:24.59. In the 1,000-meter run, Zeidler again ran away with the event, finishing two seconds ahead of the rest of the competition with his time of 2:44.44.

Zeidler currently leads the NSIC in both events.

Aside from his individual efforts, Zeidler also teamed up with Ben Hopkins (Sr.; Baudette, Minn.), James Winsor (Jr.; Hopkins, Minn.) and Kyle Mlynar (Fr.; Aitkin, Minn.) to finish third in the 4x400-meter relay. The team currently has the second fastest time in the NSIC.

Also shining outside of the relay team was Hopkins, who captured two third place finishes in the short sprints. Hopkins' third place finishes came in the 55-meter dash and the 200-meter dash as he finished the events in 6.65 and 22.87, respectively.

For the women, Sheena Devine (Soph.; Harris, Minn.) was able to capture the only individual first place finish. Her distance of 43-8 3/4 dominated the rest of the competition, who finished over five feet short of her. Devine also managed to capture a second place finish in the weight throw with her toss of 43-5 1/4.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Leah Grabil (Fr.; Bagley, Minn.), M'Kelle Tomberlin (Soph.; Cohasset, Minn.), Rebecca Hougen (Fr.; Bemidji, Minn.) and Kristen Mittness (Fr.; Morris, Minn.) shaved nearly 13 seconds off of their previous best time recorded this season. In doing so, the group moved from fifth in the conference to first. The group currently holds a near five second lead over Winona State University whose best recorded time this season is 4:13.41.

Outside of the relay team, Tomberlin captured top-five finishes in the 55-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. In the 55-meter dash, Tomberlin finished with a time of 7.69 to finish fifth while she was able to capture third place in the 200-meter dash as she was clocked with a time of 27.65.

In the team competition, the women's team finished third behind Concordia College and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Both teams will next be in action as they travel to St. Cloud, Minn., on Friday to compete in the Husky Invite. The meet was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday but due to scheduling conflicts with the venue, it was moved to Friday.

Other BSU top-five finishes - Name (place, event, result)
WOMEN
Shelby Hougen (second, 400-meter dash, 59.52); Shelby Hougen (third, triple jump, 33-1 3/3); Margaret Osgood (fourth, 3,000-meter run, 11:44.52); Angela Miller (fourth, pole vault, 10-6); Libby Schneider (second, shot put, 38-6); Sara Olson (fifth, weight throw, 40-4)
MEN
Michael Hougen (third, 55-meter hurdles, 8.31); Matt Bischof (fifth, 3,000-meter run; 9:21.96); Jon Clemons (second, high jump, 6-0 3/4); Tommy Crummy (tie for second, pole vault, 14-11 3/4); Phil McCollam (fourth, weight throw, 50-11)

--bsu--