2007 Indoor Wrap-Up

June 18, 2007
ABERDEEN, S.D. - The Northern State University track & field squad finished their indoor season and again had some impressive results. Six athletes were named to the All-NSIC Team, two school records were broken, four athletes were named NSIC Athletes of the Week, two athletes met NCAA National Qualifying marks, both the men’s and women’s teams ended the season ranked nationally in the top 30, and Jake Hamik was named the NSIC Male Track Athlete of the Year and earned NCAA Division II All-American Status at the National meet.

The season kicked off at the NDSU Bison Open where Northern earned 34 top eight finishes and placed in all but two events they entered on the day. Making their first appearance in Northern uniforms and placing in the top four of their first collegiate events were Marisa Aldinger (Aberdeen, SD), Amanda Madden (Herreid, SD), and Paige Paulson (Clark, SD). Jake Hamik (Aberdeen, SD) won the 60m Hurdles and was followed closely by freshman Bill Cameron (Aberdeen, SD) in fourth place. Senior Josh Baltzell (Aberdeen, SD) took second in the 600m Run and the men’s 4x400m Relay also finished in second place. Jake Hamik was named NSIC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on January 17 for his exceptional performances at the first meet.

Success continued for the Wolves at the USD Graphic Edge Open on January 20. Leading the way for Northern were two Milbank, SD natives, Jeremy VanVeen and Ryan Conrad, who won the 3,000m (8:37.50) and 400m (51.08s) runs, respectively. Conrad also placed fourth in the 200m Dash with a time of 22.94s. Hamik added the team’s third win of the day by taking the 500m Dash in 1:06.74. He came in second in the 60m Hurdles. Jenny Baus (Veblen, SD) and Paulson each picked up a second place finish for the women’s side. Baus completed the 1,000m Run in an NSIC-leading 3:10.68 and Paulson marked a time of 59.81s in the 400m Dash. A fourth place finish in the 200m Dash propelled Paulson to an NSIC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week award on January 23.

The season continued with a dual against Jamestown College on January 25, where the Wolves came out with an 81 to 65 win on the women’s side and an 85.5 to 58.5 decision for the men. VanVeen took home NSU’s third Athlete of the Week award on February 7 after placing sixth in the 5000m Run at the Husker Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His time of 14:48.83 was an NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark and ranked him at first in the NSIC in the event.

The Wolves set two new school records at the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolf Invitational on February 16, 2007. Ryan Conrad placed eighth in a field of 63 athletes after covering the 400m Dash in 49.71s, a time that put him on top of the NSU record list for a time before Hamik would break the record later in the season. Conrad came back in the meet and joined Joe Fettig, Taylor Ford, and Hamik to place fifth in the 4x400m relay with an NSU record-setting time of 3:20.58. Conrad was named NSIC Track Athlete of the Week on February 20 after his great performances. Also at the meet, VanVeen shaved precious seconds off of is 5000m Run time to win the event with a mark of 14:43.36s.

Portions of the Wolves squad traveled to the NDSU Bison Classic on February 16. Among the top finishers were Lance York (3rd, Shot Put), Kevin Dahlberg (5th, 800m Run), Josh Schmeichel (6th, 1-Mile Run), Ray Bentley (6th, 60m Dash), Marissa Aldinger (6th, Long Jump), and Danielle Nickolas (6th, 800m Run).

NSIC Championships
Northern’s final team entry of the 2007 Indoor season came at the NSIC Championship meet, hosted by Bemidji State. The men’s team pulled off a second place finish while the women came in at seventh place. After the first day of action, the Wolves had placed in the top five of four final field events and had secured good positions in the day’s track preliminaries. Laura Smith took fifth place in the Women’s High Jump with a mark of 5-01.25 and Bryant Feterl took fifth in the men’s side of the event after jumping 6-00.75. Troy Brock came in fourth in the Men’s Weight Throw (53-11.00) and the Men’s Distance Medley came in third (10:57.26). The men’s team pulled out the stops to propel up to a second place finish after the second day of action. Leading the way for the Wolves was Jake Hamik who placed first in the finals of both the 55m Hurdles (7.60s) and the 400m Dash (49.39s). Hamik’s time in the hurdling event converted to a mark of 8.13s in the 60m length, which set a personal best time and would later give Hamik a chance at the National meet. Hamik was named the 2007 NSIC Male Athlete of the Year following the meet.

Also finishing in first place of their events was Matt Walberg (Aberdeen, SD) in the 1000m Run (2:35.34) and Jeremy VanVeen in the 5000m Run (15:19.64). Freshman Ryan Conrad came in second in the 400m Dash with a time of 49.78s, while Bill Cameron (Aberdeen, SD) took third in the 55m Hurdles with a time of 7.78s. In the Pole Vault, sophomore Wade Royer (Murdo, SD) took third place, followed by fellow sophomore Ross Pfeifle (Rapid City, SD) with marks of 4.50m and 4.35m, respectively.

The NSU women’s team finished the 2007 season in seventh place in the NSIC. The top finishers on the women’s side included a second place finish by Jenny Baus in the 1000m Run (3:08.41) and a third place finish by Paige Paulson in the 400m Dash (1:00.36).

NCAA Division II National Indoor Track & Field Meet
Northern State junior Jake Hamik (Aberdeen, SD) made a trip to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track National Championships, held in Boston, MA on March 9-10. Hamik’s provisional time of 8.13 seconds in the 60m Hurdles tied him for ninth in the nation among male hurdlers. He was one of 12 athletes who qualified for the event. Hamik made the cut for Nationals in the last weekend of the regular season, as he placed a personal best time and took first place in the event at the NSIC Championships.

In order to qualify for the final race at Nationals, Hamik had to place among the top nine in the preliminaries. He made the cut with a seventh place finish and a time of 8.14s. Hamik finished the meet in seventh place at the final race with a time of 8.18s. As one of the top eight placewinners, Hamik reached All-American status for the second time in his career.

 

NSIC Indoor Championships
Men: 2nd
Women: 7th

NCAA II Final Indoor Rankings (National)*
Men: 22nd
Women: 27th
*Note: In 11.5 years, every Northern team (men and women) has ranked within the Top 40 in the nation (46 consecutive times).

NSIC All-Conference Selections*
Jake Hamik: 1st 55m Hurdles
Jake Hamik: 1st 400m Dash
Ryan Conrad: 2nd 400m Dash
Matt Walberg: 1st 1000m Run
Jeremy VanVeen: 1st 5000m Run
Jenny Baus: 2nd 1000m Run
*Note: 158 different NSU athletes have now earned 651 All-NSIC selections over the past 18.5 years.

NSIC Athletes of the Week
Jake Hamik: January 17, 2007
Paige Paulson: January 23, 2007
Jeremy VanVeen: February 7, 2007
Ryan Conrad: February 20, 2007

NSU School Records Set In 2007
400m Dash 49.39s Jake Hamik
4x400m Relay 3:20.58 Ryan Conrad
Joe Fettig
Taylor Ford
Jake Hamik

NCAA Div II National Indoor Qualifying Marks
Jake Hamik: 60m Hurdles 8.13s (provisional)
Jeremy VanVeen: 5000m Run 14:43.36 (provisional)

NSIC Awards*
MVP Track: Jake Hamik (1st 55m Hurdles, 1st 400m Dash, 6th 200m Hurdles,
2nd 4x400m Relay)
*Note: Hamik becomes NSU’s 22 NSIC MVP and the 7th in the past four years.

NCAA Div II All-American*
Jake Hamik: 60m Hurdles, 7th place at National Indoor Meet
*Note: Jake Hamik earned his second NCAA II All-American Award (he placed 8th in the 400m Hurdles at the 2006 Outdoor National Meet). Hamik earned NSU’s 38th All-American Award under Coach Jim Fuller.