GREELEY, Colo.--Opening the day with a 70-point advantage in the team race, the North Dakota State women's track & field team started right where they left off with a dominating all-around performance in the final day of competition at the Division I independent championships hosted by the University of Northern Colorado on Saturday, May 13.
With a group of 17 student-athletes, 12 of whom are either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen, the Bison gathered a tally of 262 points to runner-up and defending team champion UC Davis' 134. NDSU claimed seven titles on Saturday for a total of 11 individual victories.
Not to be outdone by the youngsters, the two seniors on the squad made lasting impressions in their Bison finale. Carrie Mueller came back from a win in the 10,000-meter run on Friday with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 in 19:07.75.
Alicia Mindermann-Bement capped off her NDSU career with a pair of victories. A day after taking the triple jump with a personal best 40-5, the senior topped the long jump field with a 19-1 1/4. Mindermann-Bement also placed fourth in the 100 with a 12.10, another personal record. For her efforts, Mindermann-Bement was named the Field Athlete of the Meet.
True freshmen Heather Zander, Nora Narloch, and Halley Odegaard each reached the top of the award stand in their respective events. Zander tied UC Davis' Danielle Green in the 200 with both runners crossing in 24.81.
Positioned in second place while running against the wind in the 800, Nora Narloch took the lead while rounding the final curve and held on for the win with a 2:16.52.
Halley Odegaard became the third rookie to claim an individual championship by clearing 5-7 in the high jump. Teammate Dee Rae Honl made it a 1-2 Bison finish by also successfully jumping the height.
Redshirt freshmen Laura Hermanson ran the sixth fastest time in school history in the 400 when she crossed the line in 55.66, while fellow 400 runner Anne Zmyslinski used a late charge to pull even with IPFW's Angie Suel, but finished just short of second place with a 56.97 to Suel's 56.93.
Kalie Seltvedt led a Bison sweep in the shot put with a meet-winning 45-10 1/2. Amanda Benz went 44-3 1/2 for second and Friday's hammer throw winner Barbora Ungermannova finished third at 42-7 1/2.
The trio earned a total of 63 points in the throwing events over the course of the two days of competition.
Capping off the day the quartet of Zmyslinski, Zander, Narloch and Hermanson brought home the 1,600-meter relay title with a season-best time. Hermanson received the baton 25 meters behind Northern Colorado's Amy Engbretson, the meet's runner-up in the 800. By the halfway mark, Hermanson closed the distance and shadowed the Bear's anchor leg through the final curve before taking the race 3:49.01 to 2:49.80.
