Saturday, May 17
Fargo, N.D.
11 a.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Summit League Outdoor Championships - Day Three
Photo by: Richard Svaleson
Thrilling 4x400m Title Gives NDSU Men’s Track & Field 5th Straight League Crown
5/17/2014 8:03:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
Results | Photo Gallery
FARGO, N.D. – With the team title up for grabs and just one event remaining in the 2014 Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the North Dakota State men provided one of the most thrilling finishes in league history.
Trailing South Dakota by two points in the team race – and with a four-year streak of team titles on the line – the NDSU 4x400m relay team of Jonah Warwick, Dalton Herding, Alex Neumiller and Jerome Begin raced to a first-place finish and 10 crucial team points in 3:14.39. South Dakota edged South Dakota State for second in the relay to earn eight points, meaning for the first time in Summit League history, there would be a tie for the team champion.
After three days of competition and 21 total events, NDSU and South Dakota shared the men's team title with 260 points.
The shared title extended NDSU's streak of outdoor Summit League championships to five, with the Bison winning each season since 2010 – now the second-longest team title run in league history.
Senior Alec Espeland sparked NDSU on the final day, taking the lead on the final lap of the 1500m to run away with his first individual Summit League title in 3:52.57. Bison junior Lucas DeGree pulled off a fifth-place finish in the 1500m to give NDSU 14 points in the event.
NDSU picked up 23 critical points in the 800m, spearheaded by senior Moses Heppner winning his first outdoor 800m title in 1:51.58. Redshirt freshman Dalton Herding finished with a personal-best time of 1:51.64 for second place, and Espeland came back to take fourth place after winning the 1500m.
Begin defended his 400m hurdles title with a lifetime-best clocking of 52.30 that moved him up to fourth on the NDSU all-time list.
In the 400m, Warwick clocked a personal-best 48.72 for third place and All-Summit League honors. Neumiller was fifth in 48.73, and redshirt freshman Pres Harris placed sixth in 49.25 to score 13 points for the Bison in the event.
In the 5000m – the second-to-last event of the meet – junior Brett Kelly placed third and Marty Joyce finished sixth to keep NDSU within striking distance of South Dakota going into the 4x400m relay.
Senior Josh Eiler closed out his career with a third-place finish in the discus for the second straight year, throwing 156-1 (47.57m) for All-Summit League honors.
Sophomore Colin Paarmann posted a season-best mark of 45-05.25 in the triple jump for third place and also finished fifth in the 110m hurdles. Freshman Loren Bothun took fourth in the 110m hurdles and sixth in the 400m hurdles.
Redshirt freshman sprinter Ben Neyers took fifth in the 200m and eighth in the 100m to chip in five points in the team race.
Eastern Illinois' run of six outdoor team championships from 1987-92 is the only team title streak in Summit League history longer than NDSU's current streak.
FARGO, N.D. – With the team title up for grabs and just one event remaining in the 2014 Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the North Dakota State men provided one of the most thrilling finishes in league history.
Trailing South Dakota by two points in the team race – and with a four-year streak of team titles on the line – the NDSU 4x400m relay team of Jonah Warwick, Dalton Herding, Alex Neumiller and Jerome Begin raced to a first-place finish and 10 crucial team points in 3:14.39. South Dakota edged South Dakota State for second in the relay to earn eight points, meaning for the first time in Summit League history, there would be a tie for the team champion.
After three days of competition and 21 total events, NDSU and South Dakota shared the men's team title with 260 points.
The shared title extended NDSU's streak of outdoor Summit League championships to five, with the Bison winning each season since 2010 – now the second-longest team title run in league history.
Senior Alec Espeland sparked NDSU on the final day, taking the lead on the final lap of the 1500m to run away with his first individual Summit League title in 3:52.57. Bison junior Lucas DeGree pulled off a fifth-place finish in the 1500m to give NDSU 14 points in the event.
NDSU picked up 23 critical points in the 800m, spearheaded by senior Moses Heppner winning his first outdoor 800m title in 1:51.58. Redshirt freshman Dalton Herding finished with a personal-best time of 1:51.64 for second place, and Espeland came back to take fourth place after winning the 1500m.
Begin defended his 400m hurdles title with a lifetime-best clocking of 52.30 that moved him up to fourth on the NDSU all-time list.
In the 400m, Warwick clocked a personal-best 48.72 for third place and All-Summit League honors. Neumiller was fifth in 48.73, and redshirt freshman Pres Harris placed sixth in 49.25 to score 13 points for the Bison in the event.
In the 5000m – the second-to-last event of the meet – junior Brett Kelly placed third and Marty Joyce finished sixth to keep NDSU within striking distance of South Dakota going into the 4x400m relay.
Senior Josh Eiler closed out his career with a third-place finish in the discus for the second straight year, throwing 156-1 (47.57m) for All-Summit League honors.
Sophomore Colin Paarmann posted a season-best mark of 45-05.25 in the triple jump for third place and also finished fifth in the 110m hurdles. Freshman Loren Bothun took fourth in the 110m hurdles and sixth in the 400m hurdles.
Redshirt freshman sprinter Ben Neyers took fifth in the 200m and eighth in the 100m to chip in five points in the team race.
Eastern Illinois' run of six outdoor team championships from 1987-92 is the only team title streak in Summit League history longer than NDSU's current streak.
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