May 20, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (May 20, 2025)—Nine Dakota State (S.D.) athletes are preparing for the 2025 U.S. Marines NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Wednesday through Friday.  The 73rd annual running of the men's national meet and the 44th annual running of the women's national meet are being hosted by Indiana Wesleyan at Wildcat Stadium in Marion, Ind., for the third consecutive year.  The NAIA National Championships are free to watch on NAIANetwork.com.

All nine athletes will be in action on the first day Wednesday, starting with Tysen Grinde and Amelie Steins in the multi-events.  Grinde kicks off the decathlon at 10 a.m. (Eastern Time)/9 a.m. (Central Time), followed by Steins with the heptathlon at 10:30 a.m. (ET)/9:30 a.m. (CT).  The multi-events continue Thursday.  The NAIA opening ceremony is set for 2:30 p.m. (ET)/1:30 p.m. (CT), while Gabriella Peitzmeier is set to compete in the hammer throw at the same time.

The action continues late Wednesday with Chantz Minear in the 400-meter hurdles semifinals at 4:55 p.m. (ET)/3:55 p.m. (CT) and Casey Olson with the javelin at 6:30 p.m. (ET)/5:30 p.m. (ET).  The men's 4 x 800-meter relay semifinals (Evan Armstrong, Curtis Johnson, Mohamed Muse, and Nolan Slominski) is set for 6:50 p.m. (ET)/5:30 p.m. (CT), with the national final set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (ET)/5:30 p.m. (CT).

Minear runs in the 110-meter hurdles semifinals Thursday at 2:15 p.m. (ET)/1:15 p.m. (ET).  The hurdles finals are set for Friday at 2:30 p.m. (ET)/1:30 p.m. (CT) in the 110-meters and 3:20 p.m. (ET)/2:20 p.m. (ET) in the 400-meter hurdles.

Next Up:  Stay tuned to the DSU Athletics website on dsuathletics.com for the upcoming 2025-26 indoor track & field schedule.

NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Nationals preview
Marion, Ind. (May 14, 2025)—The season ending outdoor track & field action concludes with the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Ind., on Wednesday through Friday.  The three-day national meet also concludes Dakota State's head coach Anthony Drealan era as he prepares for his coaching retirement.

Curtis Johnson will be making his third appearance to the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.  Tysen Grinde, Evan Armstrong, and Nolan Slominski are set to make their second appearance to the national outdoor track & field meet.  Chantz Minear, Gabriella Peitzmeier, Casey Olson, Amelie Steins, and Mohamed Muse are making their first appearance at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Meet.

The multi-events kick off on Wednesday morning as Grinde compete in the decathlon and Steins in the heptathlon for the Trojans.  A total of 16 athletes are competing in the each multi-events.  Grinde ranks ninth in the decathlon field with 6,450 points, while Steins ranks No. 14 in the heptathlon field with the school record of 4,375 points.

Peitzmeier ranks sixth in the field of 20 NAIA women's hammer throwers for the Trojans.  She holds the school record mark of 54.26 meters (178 feet).  Each thrower will have three attempts in the first round, followed by three more attempts for the throwers advancing to the final round. 

Minear will be one of the 28 athletes to compete in the 400-meter hurdles Wednesday afternoon.  He is ranked No. 14 with the school record of 52.67 seconds for Dakota State.

The Trojans compete in a pair of events in the evening session on Wednesday, starting with the javelin with Olson.  A total of 26 throwers are set to compete in the javelin.  Olson ranks 21st with a school record 41.27 meters (135 feet, 5 inches).

Armstrong, Johnson, Muse, and Slominski run in the men's 4 x 800-meter relay on Wednesday evening.  A total of 31 relay teams are set to run in the semifinals, with the Trojans ranking No. 20 with a time of 7 minutes, 40.75 seconds.  Logan Recoy, Yohannes Kassa, and Franklin Johns are the alternates on the Trojan men's 4 x 800-meter relay team.

Minear also compete in the men's 110-meter hurdles semifinals on Thursday.  A total of 20 athletes are set to compete in the 110-meter hurdles.  Minear ranks seventh with a school record time of 14.07 seconds.  The 110– and 400-meter hurdles national finals are set on Friday afternoon.

The points scored toward to the team standings would be the top eight place finishes in each event.  The top eight finishers in each event (including the relay events) will be awarded NAIA All-America.

Thirty Trojans earn final NSAA All-Conference honors
Madison, S.D. (May 13, 2025)—The North Star Athletic Association held their final outdoor track & field conference field at Biesiot Activities Center in Dickinson, N.D., on May 8-9.  The Trojans finished second in both men's and women's team standings.  The men's squad scored 251 points, while the women's set a team conference meet record of 241 points.
 
A total of 30 Trojan athletes earned the All-Conference distinction at the North Star outdoor track & field conference meet.  Individuals need to place in the top three and top two relay teams in ach event to receive All-Conference recognition.     

Lukas Bennett collected the NSAA Outdoor Track Athlete-of-the-Meet award, scoring the most points in the running events.  He won the 100-meter dash in 10.71 seconds, second in both the 200-meter dash in 21.47 seconds and the 400-meter dash with a personal record time of 48.95 seconds.  He also ran a leg on the winning 4 x 400-meter relay team with a season best time of 3 minutes, 21.34 seconds.  Bennett was on the 4 x 100-meter relay team that placed third in 42.39 seconds.  He completed the season sweep of the  conference's Track Athlete-of-the-Meet awards (Indoor 2025 in Brookings).

Chantz Minear also completed the sweep of the NSAA Men's Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete.  He collected four All-Conference awards during the outdoor conference meet, including the decathlon and a pair of hurdles conference titles (110– and 400-meter hurdles).  He also earned an All-Conference award in the 400-meter dash for the Trojans. 

Nolan Slominski established a new North Star conference outdoor meet in the 800-meter run in 1:52.71.  He broke the previous conference meet record by Alex Derr with a time of 1:54.81 during the 2017 meet.

The team of Evan Armstrong, Yohannes Kassa, Logan Recoy, and Curtis Johnson broke the conference meet record time of 7:42.74 (previously held by the Trojans in 2017 conference meet in 7:48.97).

Dakota State received 15 All-Conference athletes in each gender.  The Trojans set a new school record in women's outdoor track & field All-Conference athletes, previously with 14 athletes during the 2021 outdoor conference meet.

DSU outdoor track & field record highlights
Madison, S.D. (May 19, 2025)—Prior to the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships this week, six new Dakota State school records were set this season.  Chantz Minear clocked a time of 14.07 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, set in the Minnesota State-Mankato Open on April 12.  He broke his previous own school record time of 14.25 seconds in 2024.

Minear also broke a 36-year-old school record in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a new school record time of 52.67 seconds at the 2025 North Star Athletic Association Outdoor Track & Field Championships.  Magic Walton held the school record since 1989 with a time of 53.80 seconds.
 
The Trojan women's 4 x 400-meter relay team (Amelie Steins, Anna Schneider, Molli Thornton, and RayLee Wallis) broke a school record time of 3:57.27 in the final regular-season meet, USD Tune-up on May 3.  The previous record was 4:01.39 in 2021 held by Jennifer Giles, Shaylee DeBeer, Jessica Giles, and Kezley Yeager.  Steins broke Jessica Giles' heptathlon record of 3,593 points (in 2019 conference meet) after scoring 4,375 points in the 2025 NSAA Outdoor Multi-Events Championships.

Casey Olson broke Jaci Kirschenheiter's javelin record of 40.61 meters (133 feet, 3 inches) in 2003.  Olson hit a new school record of 41.27 meters (135 feet, 5 inches) at the Drake Relays last April.

Gabriella Peitzmeier broke Oliviyah Thornton's hammer throw record of 53.14 meters (174 feet, 4 inches) at the NSAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with a new school record of 54.26 meters (178 feet).


2025 Dakota State University Trojan Outdoor Track & Field Top Marks
 

Women's	Events	Men's
Molli Thornton - 12.34 seconds	100-meter dash	Lukas Bennett - 10.66 seconds
RayLee Wallis - 25.33 seconds	200-meter dash	Lukas Bennett - 21.46 seconds
RayLee Wallis - 58.06 seconds	400-meter dash	Lukas Bennett - 48.95 seconds
Anna Schneider - 2:22.84	800-meter run	Nolan Slominski - 1:52.06
Lindsey Roth - 4:53.66	1500-meter run	Evan Armstrong - 4:02.80
Brooke Beaucaire - 18:36.86	5000-meter run	Caleb Sayler - 14:57.24
Brooke Beaucaire - 38:37.05	10,000-meter run	Caleb Sayler - 33:00.28
Amelie Steins - 14.68 seconds	100-/110-meter hurdles	Chantz Minear - 14.07 seconds
Ella Carstensen - 1:10.65	400-meter hurdles	Chantz Minear - 52.67 seconds
Brooke Beaucaire - 11:56.53	3000-meter steeplechase	Lane Henrichs - 9:48.40
Molli Thornton, Averie Marshall RayLee Wallis, Amelie Steins - 48.81 seconds	4 x 100-meter relay	Willie Hutchins, Ashton Sandbulte, Aaron Van Hemert, Lukas Bennett - 42.36 seconds
Amelie Steins, Anna Schneider, Molli Thornton, RayLee Wallis - 3:57.27	4 x 400-meter relay	Lukas Bennett, Ben Witt, Mohamed Muse, Nolan Slominski - 3:21.34
Anna Schneider, Kierra MIller, Saddie Palmquist, Lindsey Roth - 9:48.05	4 x 800-meter relay	Evan Armstrong, Curtis Johnson, Mohamed Muse, Nolan Slominski - 7:40.75
N/A	Sprint Medley Relay	Lukas Bennett, Ben Witt, Mohamed Muse, Curtis Johnson - 3:35.49
Kierra MIller, Ella Carstensen, Anna Schneider, Lindsey Roth - 12:46.08	Distance Medley Relay	Nolan Slominski, Lukas Bennett, Mohamed Muse, Evan Armstrong - 10:34.94
Amelie Steins, Ella Carstensen - 1.51 meters	High Jump	Tysen Grinde - 1.98 meters
N/A	Pole Vault	Samuel Olson - 3.91 meters
Molli Thornton - 5.39 meters	Long Jump	Chantz Minear - 6.62 meters
Ella Carstensen - 10.79 meters	Triple Jump	Brock Krueger - 12.67 meters
Bella Maxwell - 13.08 meters	Shot Put	Trenton Moran - 14.82 meters
Oliviyah Thornton - 40.82 meters	Discus	Luke Borowicz - 44.13 meters
Gabriella Peitzmeier - 54.26 meters	Hammer Throw	Zachary Haugen - 57.03 meters
Casey Olson - 41.27 meters	Javelin	Xander Sheehan - 53.81 meters
Amelie Steins - 4,375 points	Heptathlon/Decathlon	Chantz Minear - 6,455 points

2025 Dakota State University NAIA National Qualifiers list
 

Athlete	Event	NAIA Standard	Appearance	National Seed	Where/When Qualifying Mark Set
Chantz Minear	110-meter hurdles	A Automatic	1st	No. 7	14.07 seconds Minnesota State-Mankato Open - April 12, 2025
Chantz Minear	400-meter hurdles	B Provisional	1st	No. 14	52.67 seconds NSAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships - May 8-9, 2025
Casey Olson	Javelin	B Provisional	1st	No. 21	41.27 meters (135 feet, 5 inches) Drake Relays - April 26, 2025
Tysen Grinde	Decathlon	B Provisional (Need Top 16 to qualify	2nd	No. 9	6,450 points NSAA Outdoor Multi-Events Championships - April 15-16, 2025
Amelie Steins	Heptathlon	B Provisional (Need Top 16 to qualify)	1st	No. 14	4,37 5 points NSAA Outdoor Multi-Events Championships - April 15-16, 2025
Gabriella Peitzmeier	Hammer Throw	B Provisional	1st	No. 6	53.04 meters (174 feet) Maverick Invitational - April 18, 2025
Evan Armstrong Curtis Johnson Mohamed Muse Nolan Slominski	4 x 800-meter relay	B Provisional	2nd 3rd 1st 2nd	No. 21	7 minutes, 40.75 seconds Drake Relays - April 24, 2025