TOLEDO, Ohio ? The North Dakota State women's track and field team won its third consecutive Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in dominant fashion on Saturday, May 15. The Bison captured six league titles on the final day of action en route to scoring 260 points. Southern Utah was second with 192.50 points.
Head coach Ryun Godfrey was named Coach of the Year for the third straight year in a vote of all the league's coaches.
Junior Whitney Carlson won both hurdles titles on the final day of competition. She set a new league record of 59.49 in the 400 meter hurdles and ran a season-best 13.75 in the 100 meter hurdles final. Carlson also won the long jump on Friday to bring her point total to 30.
Freshman Ashley Tingelstad claimed the 400 meter title with a personal best time of 54.27. Her time is fourth on the NDSU performance charts. She also was the runner-up in the 200 meters with a personal best time of 24.30, which is third on the school's all-time charts. Junior Emily Black also ran the 400 meter final and came in eighth in 56.96.
In the 800 meters, the Bison took four of the top five places. Junior Christine Bruins won the event in 2:11.83, while fellow junior Brittany Gigstead was just behind her in second with a time of 2:11.98. Senior Amy Bestland was fourth after running a time of 2:13.81 and freshman Faith Kruchowski was fifth in 2:13.96.
Sophomore Kristen Killoran took first place in the triple jump with a personal best mark of 41 feet 1 ½ inches, improving on last year's second place finish. Senior Brittni Bruenjes also notched a personal best mark of 40-2 ¼ to finish second. Redshirt freshman Emily Roesler added points with a sixth place finish with a mark of 36-7 ½.
The 4x400 relay team of senior Heather Zander, Gigstead, Tingelstad and Bruins came in first in 3:42.52, beating second place Oral Roberts by over four seconds. NDSU's time is ranked eighth all-time.
Gigstead also finished second in the 1,500 meters behind Southern Utah's Sharla Manuele. Gigstead's time of 4:32.36 is sixth on the NDSU all-time performance charts. Bruins was fourth in the event with a time of 4:35.99 and junior Amy Jo Reuter was fifth in 4:39.40.
Zander was second in the 100 hurdles with a personal best time of 14.03, which is tied for third all-time at NDSU. Fellow senior Devon Wentz finished second in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:00.77 and fourth in the 100 hurdles in 14.34.
In the 100 meters, sophomore Brittany Page and junior Jennifer Nagberi finished third and fourth, respectively. Page posted a time of 12.02, while Nagberi was three-hundreths behind in 12.05. Page also placed fourth in the 200 meters in a time of 24.82.
Freshman Lauren Rice came in third in the 5,000 meters with a personal best time of 17:15.93, ranking sixth all-time at NDSU.
Summit League Champions
Ashley Tingelstad, 400 meters, 54.27
Christine Bruins, 800 meters, 2:11.83
Whitney Carlson, 100 meter hurdles, 13.75
Whitney Carlson, 400 meter hurdles, 59.49
4x400 relay, 3:42.52
Toni Tollefson, high jump, 5-5
Leslie Brost, pole vault, 13-5 ¼
Whitney Carlson, long jump, 20-1 ¾
Kristen Killoran, triple jump, 41-1 ½
Heather Zander, heptathlon, 5,328
Final Team Standings
1. North Dakota State, 260
2. Southern Utah, 192.50
3. Oral Roberts, 142
4. South Dakota State, 92
5. Oakland, 45
6. IPFW, 30
6. UMKC, 30
8. Western Illinois, 26.50
