FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State women's track and field team will send three athletes to the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. The competition will be held June 9-12. Junior Whitney Carlson will compete in both the long jump and the heptathlon. Senior Heather Zander will join her in the heptathlon and redshirt freshman Toni Tollefson will compete in the high jump.
Road to the NCAA Championships
At the NCAA West Region Preliminary Round, redshirt freshman Toni Tollefson cleared the high jump bar on her first attempt at each height. She tied for first with a mark of 5-11 1/4 and advanced to the NCAA Championships. Tollefson is seeded 17th in the high jump, but all the athletes above her come in with the same mark of 5-11 1/4. In the long jump, junior Whitney Carlson finished 10th with a mark of 20-7 1/4 to move on to the NCAA Championships. She is seeded 16th, but her school record mark of 21-1 1/2 is tied for sixth in the nation. Carlson and senior Heather Zander will also compete in the heptathlon at the championships. Carlson is No. 20 going into the heptathlon with a school record mark of 5,343 points and Zander is No. 22 after winning the Summit League title with 5,328 points.
2010 NCAA Championships Schedule (All times Central)
Wednesday, June 9 - Heptathlon Day 1 (Carlson, Zander), 3 p.m.
High Jump (Tollefson), 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, June 10 - Heptathlon Day 2 (Carlson, Zander), 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, June 12 - Long Jump (Carlson), 11:30 a.m.
Championship Information
The 2010 NCAA Championships will be held Wednesday, June 9 through Saturday, June 12 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Live video streams will be available at NCAA.com. Tickets are available at GoDucks.com or 1-800-WEBFOOT.
NCAA Championship history
2009 was NDSU's first season of eligibility at the Division I level. Senior Laura Hermanson led the four-athlete contingent. She finished second in the 800 meters to become NDSU's first Division I All-American. Brittany Gigstead also competed in the 800 meters, finishing 23rd. Leslie Brost finished 12th in the pole vault and Whitney Carlson placed 23rd in the 400 meter hurdles.
Bison ranked No. 51 in the country
In the latest edition of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Assocation (USTFCCCA) rankings, North Dakota State is No. 51, dropping eight spots from the previous rankings. Texas A&M is the top-ranked squad going into the NCAA Championships.
Carlson, Zander earn Academic All-District honors
Junior Whitney Carlson was named to the 2010 ESPN the Magazine Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-District VII first team announced on Thursday, June 3. Senior Heather Zander was selected to the second team. Carlson advances to the national ballot for ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America® honors. She was a third team selection in 2009.
