February 16, 2025

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Despite trailing in the morning session of the 2025 North Star Athletic Association Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship Sunday at Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of NCAA Division I South Dakota State, Dakota State (S.D.) stormed with numerous placing in the top eight to win the conference title for the fourth consecutive year.  The Trojans scored 253 points in the conference meet, earning their sixth conference title in the past seven conference meets.

It is the first time in DSU men's indoor track & field school history to earn four consecutive conference titles (previous record was three consecutive conference titles in the former South Dakota-Iowa Conference in 1996, 1997, and 1998). 

The Blue Hawks finished second in the team standings with 200.5 points, followed by Valley City State (N.D.) third with 87 points.  Bellevue (Neb.) placed fourth with 51 points, while Jamestown (N.D.) was fifth with 45.5 points.

The scoring system was based on the top eight places with points scored – 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The day kicked off with the field events in the pole vault, led by Samuel Olson with a season best 4.15 meters clearance (13 feet, 7.25 inches).  He finished fifth in the event.  Mikal Bennett also placed sixth after clearing the pole vault of 4.15 meters. 

The day kicked off with the field events in the pole vault, led by Samuel Olson with a season best 4.15 meters clearance (13 feet, 7.25 inches).  He finished fifth in the event.  Mikal Bennett also placed sixth after clearing the pole vault of 4.15 meters, which was his career best.

Kacey Cauley led the Trojans with a fifth-place tie with Victor Ramos of Jamestown in the weight throw, tossing 16.34 meters (53 feet, 7.5 inches).  Jack Hemmen followed up with a career best 15.46 meters (50 feet, 8.75 inches) to finish seventh.  Houston Lunde placed ninth with 15.28 meters toss (50 feet, 1.75 inches), followed by Luke Borowicz with a tenth-place finish with 15.12 meters mark (49 feet, 7.25 inches).  Tarin Bingham finished with 13.71 meters toss (44 feet, 11.75 inches).

Lukus Mentele highlighted Dakota State with the NAIA 'B' provisional qualifying mark of 15.97 meters (52 feet, 4.75 inches) to place second in the shot put.  His shot-put mark is the fourth best in the DSU men's indoor shot-put school record book.  James McClain also threw the NAIA 'B' provisional mark of 15.91 meters (52 feet, 2.5 inches) to finish third.

Trenton Moran was eighth in the shot-put with 14.15 meters mark (46 feet, 5.25 inches).  Robert Begalka finished with 12.66 meters toss (41 feet, 6.5 inches), followed by Brock Tuttle with 12.46 meters mark (40 feet, 10.5 inches). 

Tysen Grinde earned a third-place finish in the long jump, leaping a personal best 6.36 meters (20 feet, 10.5 inches) for the Trojans.  Chantz Minear was seventh with 6.27 meters mark (20 feet, 7 inches).  Javon Newkirk leaped his personal record 5.93 meters (19 feet, 5.5 inches), while Caden Gortmaker posted 5.88 meters (19 feet, 3.5 inches).  Brock Krueger recorded 5.79 meters leap (19 feet).

Grinde was sixth in the triple jump with 12.30 meters leap (40 feet, 4.25 inches).  Krueger collected an eighth-place finish after registering a personal record of 12.28 meters (40 feet, 3.5 inches).  Bennett posted a mark of 11.60 meters (38 feet, .75 inches).

Grinde captured the NSAA men's high jump title after clearing 1.98 meters (6 feet, 6 inches) for the Trojans.  Minear was fourth with 1.93 meters clearance (6 feet, 4 inches).  Gortmaker cleared the height of 1.83 meters (6 feet) to finish sixth.  Krueger finished in a tie for seventh place with 1.78 meters mark (5 feet, 10 inches).  Bergen Irey cleared the height of 1.73 meters (5 feet, 8 inches).

The running events started with the 5000-meter run, led by Caleb Sayler with a runner up honor with a time of 15 minutes, 1.33 seconds.  Lane Henrichs finished seventh with a personal best time of 15 minutes, 44.37 seconds, followed by Joshua Tucker eighth with a career best time of 15:48.46.  Jonah Thiele also posted a personal record time of 16:30.70, followed by Reese Henrie with a personal best 17:18.80.  Kaiden Akey finished the race in 19:21.98.

Lukas Bennett clinched the top time in the 60-meter dash prelims with a time of 6.91 seconds for DSU.  Willie Hutchins was third in 7.13 seconds, while Minear was fifth in 7.15 seconds.  Ashton Sandbulte was seventh in 7.18 seconds.  Aaron Van Hemert finished tenth with a personal record time of 7.24 seconds, while Tayshaun Agard clocked a time of 7.48 seconds.

Four Trojans were in the 60-meter dash finals.  Bennett edged Christian Bowden of Dickinson State by .01 second, posting a career best time of 6.88 seconds to win the title.  Bennett's time is the sixth fastest in DSU men's indoor 60-meter dash school history.  Sandbulte was fourth in 7.18 seconds, followed by Minear fifth in the same time.  Hutchins produced a seventh-place finish in 7.20 seconds.

Dakota State won the 4 x 800-meter relay title, their fifth time in the last six conference meets.  The team members of Tyler Nicke, Dawson Miller, Nolan Slominski, and Franklin Johns clocked a time of 8 minutes, 31.94 seconds in the race.

Minear established a new North Star Athletic Association indoor conference meet record by winning the 60-meter hurdles for the Trojans.  He clocked the NAIA 'A' automatic qualifying time of 7.96 seconds, breaking the previous NSAA conference record time of 7.98 seconds set by Jalen Anderson of Viterbo (Wis.) during the 2024 conference meet.

Van Hemert also posted his personal record time of 8.66 seconds to place third in the 60-meter hurdles for DSU.  Grinde added 9.06 seconds to finish fifth.

DSU had five runners placed in the top eight of the 1-mile run, led by Evan Armstrong who won the title in 4 minutes, 28.85 seconds.  Blake Schmiedt added a fourth-place finish after clocking a career best time of 4:31.82, followed by Logan Recoy fifth in 4:42.96.  Grayson Madsen was sixth with a personal record time of 4:46.41.  David Brock placed eighth with his personal best time of 4:59.52.

Minear posted his career best time in the 400-meter dash, finishing as a runner up in 49.99 seconds.  Bennett added a time of 51.04 seconds to place fourth, followed by Ben Witt with a fifth-place finish with his personal record time of 51.34 seconds, Brayden Houlette sixth in 51.37 seconds (personal record), Van Hemert in 51.53 seconds (personal best), and Payton Anderson ninth in 52.15 seconds.

Dakota State had five runners in the top eight in the 800-meters, led by Nolan Slominski with a runner up finish with the NAIA 'B' provisional qualifying time of 1 minute, 53.11 seconds.  Curtis Johnson was fourth in 1:55.89, followed by Johns fifth in 1:56.27 (personal record), Mohamed Muse sixth in 1:56.77 (personal record), and Nicke seventh in 1:58.80 (personal record).  Yohannes Kassa finished tenth in 2:01.29. 

Bennett collected his second title of the day by winning the 200-meter dash in 22.15 seconds.  Houlette added a fifth-place finish in 22.91 seconds (personal record), followed by Minear with an eighth-place finish with a personal record time of 23.06 seconds.  Van Hemert followed up with a ninth-place finish with a personal best 23.14 seconds (personal record).  Anderson finished with a time of 23.74 seconds in the race, followed by Sandbulte with a time of 24.09 seconds.

Sayler earned his second runner-up in the 3000-meter run for the Trojans, recording 8:58.36.  Henrichs added a fifth-place finish in 9:07.72, followed by Armstrong with a sixth-place finish with a personal record time of 9:10.83.  Tucker was eighth in 9:11.76.  Schmiedt recorded a time of 9 minutes, 24.99 seconds.  Benjamin Strunk finished with a time of 9:58.78.

The Trojans closed the conference meet by winning 4 x 400-meter relay title for the second straight year, their fourth time in the previous five conference meets.  The members of Houlette, Van Hemert, Johns, and Slominski finished with a time of 3 minutes, 26.32 seconds.

Dakota State swept the NSAA Men's Indoor Track & Field postseason awards.  Grinde was named the conference's Field Athlete-of-the-Meet for scoring the most points in the field events with 27 points.  Bennett earned the league's Track Athlete-of-the-Meet by scoring the most points in the running events with 25 points.  Minear was voted as the NSAA Men's Indoor Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete, most notably, he scored 40 points combined in both track and field events in the conference meet.

Anthony Drealan was named to the NSAA Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year for the fourth straight year for the Trojans.

The NAIA national office will announce the qualifiers list for the upcoming NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field National Championships this week.  The three-day national meet kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 27 and runs through Saturday, March 1 at Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe in Gainesville, Fla.

Dakota State men's qualifying list included Slominski (600-meter run and 800-meter run), Minear (heptathlon, 60-meter hurdles), McClain and Mentele in the shot put, distance medley relay (Armstrong, Braden Peterson, Slominski, Sayler), 4 x 800-meter relay (Armstrong, Johns, Johnson, Slominski), and Grinde (heptathlon, high jump).