2001 Outdoor Track and Field Recap

Northern State's track and field season ended in May at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships in Moorhead, Minn. The women's team finished second at the conference meet, while a men's team plagued with injuries still managed to take third.

As has become customary with the program, a slew of awards followed. At the outdoor meet this season, 13 NSU athletes earned 17 all-conference honors. All-conference honors are bestowed on the first- and second-place finishers in each individual event and to the first place team in each relay.

The women's squad ranked 25th in the nation according to the final USTCA Outdoor Dual Meet rankings, while the men's team ranked 26th.

2001 Indoor Track and Field Recap

The Northern State men's indoor track and field program earned its first-ever title last winter, tying Minnesota State-Moorhead for the 2001 NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championship. Both teams ended the meet with 144 points. Minnesota-Duluth took third with 138 points.

NSU junior Eric Longhenry (Ortonville, Minn.) earned Male Athlete of the Meet honors. After winning the conference pentathlon in Aberdeen a week prior to the championship meet, he also won the high jump in Bemidji at the with an NCAA national provisional qualifying mark.

Junior Torry Thompson (Layton, Utah) also won an event for NSU, tying a school record in the 55-meter dash at 6.48 seconds.

On the women's side, NSU took third as a team. The Wolves were behind conference champ Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State-Moorhead. Junior April Hericks (Gettysburg) won the 55-meter hurdles. Hericks also won the women's pentathlon in Aberdeen a week before the championship meet.

In all, 11 NSU athletes earned 14 all-conference honors during the indoor season. All-conference honors are bestowed on the first- and second-place finishers in each individual event and to the first place team in each relay.

The men's team also earned the program's highest-ever ranking in the final United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) NCAA II Indoor Dual Meet rankings, ranking 11th in the nation. Northern's women's team ranked 21st.

2001 Track and Field Notebook

Did you know? Under the 13-year guidance of Jim Fuller, no team in the NSIC has fared better in conference events. Fuller's Wolves have placed at least third in the men's and women's conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships 50 of 51 times. This year was no exception, as the men's squad placed first at the indoor meet and third at the outdoor meet. The women's team finished third indoors and second outdoors.

Fastest man in the conference, fastest man in NSU history! NSU junior Torry Thompson (Layton, Utah) earned the undisputed "fastest man in the NSIC" title this year after winning the indoor 55- and the outdoor 100-meter dashes at the conference championship meets. He's also proven to be the fastest man in NSU history, breaking NSU records in both events. Thompson's record-setting best: a 6.48 in the 55-meter dash and a 10.78 in the 100-meter dash.

Going out on top: NSU senior thrower Nichole Hall (Huron) may not have made the national meet this season, but still went out on top, being chosen the 2001 NSIC Female Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season after winning the NSIC discus and shot put titles at the outdoor conference meet. Throughout her career, Hall has won six NSIC championships in indoor and outdoor track, and is a seven-time all-conference performer. She holds the NSIC record in discus (152-6) and the NSU record in discus (154-4). The two-time all-American and 2001 NSU Hildred Wolfe Female Athlete of the Year award winner had an NCAA II provisional national qualifying mark in the discus this season, but was not chosen to compete at nationals.

Not bad, kid: NSU true freshman runner Kristin Peterson (Arlington) made her presence felt immediately over the past year. She earned all-conference honors in cross country for finishing as the runner-up at the conference meet, then added two more all-conference honors to her list during the indoor season (finished second in the mile run and 5,000 meter run). During the outdoor season, Peterson topped it all with an NSU record and NCAA II provisional national qualifying mark in the steeplechase and earned all-conference honors in the event at the outdoor meet. With the national qualifying mark and a 4.0 GPA, Peterson will very likely be named a USTCA NCAA II Academic All-American later this summer.

NSU throwers a heave ahead in the NSIC: Under the guidance of NSU head assistant Brenda Fuller, the NSU men's and women's throwers added three more NSIC titles at the outdoor meet and have claimed 44 individual NSIC titles over the past 13 years. No team in the NSIC has had such success in the throws over that period of time.