FARGO, N.D. ? The North Dakota State women's track and field team is in first place with 82 points after one day of competition at the Summit League Indoor Championships. Senior Heather Zander, junior Whitney Carlson and redshirt freshman Toni Tollefson all won league titles, while Carlson set two league records and Zander notched one.
Zander got the day off to a good start for the Bison, winning the pentathlon with a new league record 3,710 points. Her score is an NCAA provisional mark. Fellow Bison Carlson placed second with 3,696 points. Freshman Emily Stalpes was fifth with 3,369 points, which ranks 10th all-time at NDSU.
Carlson set a league record of her own in the long jump, winning the event with a mark of 20-6 ½. The mark also shatters the school record of 20-4 ½ that she set two weeks ago at the Bison Open. It is a new Bison Sports Arena record, breaking South Dakota State's Tiffini Schuebel's 1995 mark by one and a quarter inches.
With Carlson leading the way, the Bison swept the top four spots in the long jump. Sophomore Kristen Killoran was second with a mark of 19-1 ¼, while senior Brittni Bruenjes placed third with a leap of 18-8 1/2. Zander was fourth with a mark of 18-7 3/4.
Redshirt freshman Toni Tollefson won the league high jump title with a mark of 5-8 ¼. Stalpes finished third with a leap of 5-4 ¼.
The distance medley relay team of junior Christine Bruins, junior Emily Black, senior Amy Bestland and sophomore Jordan Krahn placed second in 12:12:97 behind South Dakota State. Their time is fourth on the NDSU all-time performance charts.
Freshman Lauren Rice came in third in the 3,000 meters after posting a personal best time of 10:02.37, which ranks 10th all-time at NDSU.
The Bison also had several student-athletes advance to Monday's finals.
Carlson set a league record in the 60 meter hurdles preliminaries, finishing in 8.55. Zander and senior Devon Wentz also advanced to the final in 8.86 and 9.04, respectively.
In the 60 meters, freshman Deborah John posted the second fastest qualifying time in 7.68. Sophomore Brittany Page also progressed to the final with a time of 7.72, which ranks fourth all-time at NDSU.
Page also advanced to the 200 meter final with a time of 25.22. Carlson will join her after posting a time of 25.63.
Freshman Ashley Tingelstad led three Bison in the 400 with the second fastest overall qualifying time of 57.94. Junior Emily Black will also compete in the final after posting a time of 59.43. Wentz rounds out the trio after finishing in 58.66.
The league championships conclude Monday, March 1 at the Bison Sports Arena. Field events start with the women's shot put at 11 a.m. and running events begin at 12 p.m. with the women's mile run.
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY ONE
1. North Dakota State, 82
2. South Dakota State, 60
3. Southern Utah, 35
4. Oral Roberts, 29
5. Western Illinois, 12
6. UMKC, 7
7. Oakland, 6
8. IPFW, 3
