FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State women's track and field team will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1.  The meet will feature over 3,000 athletes, ranging from middle schoolers to collegiate athletes.  Action begins Friday at 12:30 p.m. with the women's hammer throw.  Collegiate track events start at 3:30 p.m. with the women's 4x100 relay.  On Saturday, field events begin at 8 a.m. with the women's discus and track events kick off at 9:30 a.m.

Bison ranked No. 6 in Midwest region, No. 34 in the country

North Dakota State cracked the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional rankings for the first time this season.  The Bison are ranked No. 6 in the Midwest Region.  Oklahoma holds down the top spot, while Nebraska is No. 2 and Minnesota is No. 3.  Illinois and Southern Illinois are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.  NDSU also made it into the national top 40 at No. 34.  The Bison are ranked on the strength of their performances on a national level.  Currently, Toni Tollefson, Whitney Carlson and Leslie Brost have posted national top 10 performances.

Bison lead 10 events in Summit League

Junior Whitney Carlson leads the Summit League in four events while four other Bison also lead their respective events.  Carlson holds the top spot in the 100 hurdles (13.80), the 400 hurdles (1:00.02), the long jump (21-1 1/2) and the heptathlon (5,343).  Freshman Ashley Tingelstad leads the 200 meters in 24.45.  Redshirt freshman Toni Tollefson is tops in the high jump with a school record mark of 5-11 1/2.  Junior Brittany Gigstead leads the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.86 and sophomore Leslie Brost is no. 1 in the pole vault with a mark of 14-1 1/4.  Freshman Lauren Rice is tops in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:04.19.  The 4x400 relay team of senior Heather Zander, Tingelstad, senior Devon Wentz and junior Emily Black is first with a time of 3:42.89.

Carlson leads Bison at Drake Relays, named athlete of the week

Junior Whitney Carlson became the third NDSU athlete to win an individual event at the Drake Relays as she captured the long jump title on Saturday, April 24.  Carlson's mark of 21-1 1/2 is a new school record, breaking the one she set in 2009 by a quarter inch.  She is currently tied for fourth in the country in the long jump.  For her achievement, Carlson earned Summit League athlete of the week honors for the second time this season.

Sprint medley school record highlights relay performances at Drake

The sprint medley relay team of senior Heather Zander, sophomore Brittany Page, freshman Ashley Tingelstad and junior Brittany Gigstead set a new school record of 3:52.56 in a third place finish.  The previous record was 3:52.95 set in 2009. Three other relays also cracked the NDSU all-time top ten.  The 4x200 relay team of sophomore Jennifer Nagberi, Page, Tingelstad and junior Whitney Carlson posted a time of 1:38.33 to finish eighth.  The time is second on the NDSU all-time performance charts.  In the 4x800 relay,  Gigstead, senior Amy Bestland, junior Christine Bruins and junior Amy Jo Reuter finished fifth in 8:54.51, which ranks fifth all-time.  The 4x400 relay team of Zander, Tingelstad, senior Devon Wentz and junior Emily Black was 12th with a time of 3:42.89.  It ranks eighth on the school's performance charts.