May 10, 2024

Photos credits by Michael Brown, Cody Welu

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) never trailed in the 2024 North Star Athletic Association Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, leading from start to finish Friday as they rolled to their program record fifth consecutive team title at The Dan Beacom Track Complex.  The athletes faced windy conditions on the second day of the conference meet.

Dakota State racked up 287 points to claim the conference title, finishing 114 points ahead of second place Dickinson State (N.D.) who finished with 173 points.  Viterbo (Wis.) was third with 143 points, followed by Waldorf (Iowa) fourth with 109 points.  Valley City State (N.D.) was fifth with 82 points and Bellevue (Neb.) sixth with 37 points.

Friday kicked off with the long jump, led by Treshawn Roberts with fifth place after leaping 6.47 meters (21 feet, 2.75 inches).  Nathan Ingalls was sixth after leaping 6.42 meters (21 feet, .75 inches).  Caleb Roberts registered a long jump mark of 5.46 meters (17 feet, 11 inches).

James McClain led the Trojans with a fifth place in the shot put, tossing 15.32 meters (50 feet, 3.25 inches).  Trenton Moran was seventh with 14.13 meters toss (46 feet, 4.25 inches), followed by Dylan Johansen ninth with 13.60 meters (44 feet, 7.5 inches).  Kacey Cauley placed 10^th with 12.78 meters (41 feet, 11.25 inches), while Jackson Zastera was 12^th with 12.02 meters mark (39 feet, 5.25 inches).

T. Roberts finished third in the discus for the Trojans, throwing 43.76 meters (143 feet, 7 inches).  Zastera followed up with a fourth-place finish with 43.44 meters toss (142 feet, 6 inches).  McClain was seventh (42.07 meters – 138 feet), followed by Lukus Mentele eighth (41.49 meters – 136 feet, 1 inch), and Zachary Haugen ninth (41.15 meters – 135 feet).  Moran threw 37.99 meters (124 feet, 7 inches) to place 11^th.

Tysen Grinde became the first DSU athlete to win the North Star men's high jump title.  He cleared a personal record 2.02 meters (6 feet, 7.5 inches) to win the title, which is also the NAIA 'B' provisional qualifying mark.  Jace Kelley added a seventh-place finish with 1.82 meters (5 feet, 11.5 inches), while Caden Gortmaker finished eighth with the same mark at 1.82 meters.  Bryant Paulsen cleared the height of 1.77 meters (5 feet, 9.75 inches).

Dalton Brouwer finished third in the 3000-meter steeplechase, recording a time of 10 minutes, 27.50 seconds.  Blake Schmiedt was fifth in 10:4.45, while Reese Henrie was seventh in 11:36.41, and Lucas Harr eighth in 12:09.28.

The Trojans did not score in the 4 x 100-meter relay, due to a late third exchange.

Cody Farland captured the NSAA 1500-meter run title for the third consecutive year for Dakota State.  He finished with a time of 4 minutes, 2.12 seconds.  Curtis Johnson was fourth in 4:05.22.  Lane Henrichs finished eighth in 4:19.06, followed by Dylan Hilger ninth with a time of 4:26.87.  Grayson Madsen was 10^th in 4:29.04 and Kaiden Akey 12^th in 5:07.26.

Lukas Bennett led the Trojans with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash finals in 10.93 seconds.  Willie Hutchins was fifth in 11.002 seconds, while Tramayne Black was seventh in 11.03 seconds.

The Trojans dominated the 800-meter run race, with six runners placing in the top seven spots.  Nolan Slominski won the title with a time of 1 minute, 55.97 seconds, marking the fifth straight year that DSU runner had won the NSAA 800-meter run conference title since 2019.  Evan Armstrong was third in 1:59.02, followed by Evan Slominski fourth in 1:59.19.  Tyler Nicke was fifth in 1:59.31, Roger Oliete Tejedor sixth in 1:59.93, and Dawson Miller seventh in 2:01.11. 

T. Roberts collected a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.63 seconds.  Paulsen finished the race with a time of 1:05.96, earning an eighth-place finish.

Bennett led the Trojans with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash, clocking a time of 22.66 seconds.  Hutchins was sixth in 22.99 seconds, Joseph Larson 13^th in 23.296 seconds, and Black 16^th in 23.46 seconds.

Taylor Myers earned a third-place finish in the 5000-meter run, posting a time of 16 minutes, 28.05 seconds.  Harrison Greathouse was fifth with a time of 16:37.51.  Joshua Tucker placed seventh in 16:51.76, followed by Henrichs eighth with a time of 17:16.45.  Brouwer was 10^th in 17:34.64 and Schmiedt 11^th in 17:35.81.

Dakota State wrapped up the conference meet by winning the 4 x 400-meter relay race for the fifth straight year.  The team of Armstrong, E. Slominski, Johnson, and N. Slominski finished with a time of 3:23.73.

C. Roberts was named to the North Star Athletic Association Men's Outdoor Track & Field Champions of Character recipient early Friday afternoon.

T. Roberts earned the NSAA Men's Outdoor Field Athlete-of-the-Meet for scoring the most points in the field events.  He scored 32 points in the field events, highlighted by winning the NSAA decathlon last month.

Anthony Drealan was voted to the North Star Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year award after guiding the Trojans to their fifth straight conference title.

It was the final career collegiate track & field meet for the following Trojan seniors – Dalton Brouwer, Dylan Hilger, Nathan Ingalls, Joshua Krull, Joseph Larson, Taylor Myers, Caleb Roberts, and Jackson Zastera.

Dakota State will be sending seven athletes – Cody Farland, Tysen Grinde, Curtis Johnson, James McClain, Treshawn Roberts, Evan Slominski, and Nolan Slominski – to the 2024 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.  The three-day national meet takes place at Wildcat Stadium on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan on May 22-24.