> NSIC Championships Results
MANKATO, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University men's track team had two individual champions, which helped earn an eighth place finish at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/US Bank Championships at Meyers Field House on the campus of Minnesota State on Friday.
The SMSU men's team earned 42 points to finish eighth, while the SMSU women's team earned two points to finish tied for 13th. Minnesota State won its fourth straight men's title with 163 points, while the University of Mary captured the women's title with 142 points.
SMSU, in just its second season since reinstating track & field in 2013, finished the two-day event with 14 medal winners.
Alejandro Sanchez highlighted the day for SMSU earning a first place finish in the 800-meters with a conference record time of 1:52.93, breaking the previous record of 1:53.49, set by Augustana's Aduo Omot last season.
Also shining today was Will Hanson, who earlier in the day captured first place in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 7.97. Hanson and Sanchez are the first SMSU individuals to earn conference titles at the NCAA Division II level. Both will now await word on Sunday or Monday to find out if their times qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 14-15 in Birmingham, Ala.
Several other SMSU athletes had strong finishes today in the finals earning top eight accolades. Chris Kveseth placed fourth in the 600-meters with a time of 1:23.10, while Austin LaFollette finished fifth with a time of 1:23.72.
Alex Bloomquist joined Sanchez on the podium in the 800-meters, with a personal best time of 1:58.05 to finish in seventh place.
Ben Tonsager also scored points for SMSU, recording a toss of 14.92m in the shot put to finish in seventh place.
The SMSU men's 4x400 relay team also earned a podium spot with a third place finish time of 3:24.34.
Zach Jones just missed out scoring team points in the triple jump as he recorded a personal best 13.74 to earn ninth place.
For the SMSU women,
Eisha Oden finished in eighth place in the 400-meters with a time of 59.09.
During Thursday's opening round, the SMSU women's distance medley finished in eighth place with a time of 12:51.51, while the men's distance medley team finished in third place with a time of 10:31.53.
