Dickinson State University shines at NSAA Championships
Feb. 21—BROOKINGS, S.D. — The Dickinson State University Blue Hawks brought their A-game to the North Star Athletic Association Conference Championships on Sunday, Feb. 12, with the women's indoor track and field team dominating their competition to earn their fifth-consecutive title, while the men's team took a commendable second place.
The Blue Hawk women continued their impressive run in the NSAA with another title win after putting up a dominating performance.
Led by Kaitlyn McColly, who was named NSAA Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet after scoring an impressive 33 points, the team won all seven individual titles, and nine running titles. The team set a new NSAA Conference meet record of 296.5 points, crushing last year's record of 216.5 points.
McColly won the pentathlon, long jump and triple jump and placed sixth in the high jump in a single meet stand-out performance. Meanwhile, Wrenzi Wrzesinski earned the league Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet title, scoring 32.5 points in the running events. Wrzesinski won the 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, and was a member of the winning 4 x 400-meter relay team.
The team's stellar performance did not go unnoticed, as head coach Shayne Wittkopp was named NSAA Coach of the Year, and Kori Nagel and Wrzesinski were voted as the Most Valuable Athletes for the 2022-2023 indoor season by the North Star Athletic Association women's indoor track & field head coaches.
The Blue Hawks' quest for the title was also marked by five more NSAA Conference meet records, something of a habit of late for DSU, as Wrzesinski set a new record in the 60-meter hurdles, while Madison Wahl set a new pole vault record and Nagel set a new mark in the shot put.
McColly's performance in the Pentathlon was record-setting as well, scoring 3,632 points, besting the old record of 3,376 points. The Blue Hawks' 4 x 800 meter relay team, consisting of Jewel Olson, Natalie Lile, Lauren Taylor and Piper Perez, also set a new record.
In the men's indoor track and field team competition, the Blue Hawks took second place with 140 points, well behind Dakota State's 254 points.
Martin Farver's record-setting performance in the 200-meter dash was the highlight of the DSU effort for the men, which broke the old record with a time of 21.72. Quentin Lewis won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.95, and Galen Brantley III took home the shot put title with a throw of 16.14 meters.
The Blue Hawks' women's team's win marked a new era of dominance in the NSAA, while the men's team will be looking to regroup and come back stronger in the next season. Dickinson State University's athletic program is clearly on an upward trajectory and the performance of the women's indoor track and field team has only cemented their position as a powerhouse in the NSAA.
The athletic program at Dickinson State University continues to demonstrate impressive growth and the women's indoor track and field team's performance has reinforced their reputation as a formidable force in the NSAA.
