March 7, 2026

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three Dakota State (S.D.) athletes competed on the third and final day of the 46^th NAIA Women's Indoor Track & Field National Championship Saturday.  The three-day indoor track & field meet was being held at Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.

A pair of throwers competed in the shot put.  Oliviyah Thornton fouled on her first attempt and tossed 13.14 meters (43 feet, 1.5 inches) on her second attempt.  She improved to 13.41 meters (44 feet) on her third attempt and advanced to the final round.  She fouled on all three attempts in the final round, falling one place shy of securing an NAIA All-America where she finished ninth overall.

Bella Maxwell fouled on her first two attempts and threw 13.03 meters (42 feet, 9 inches) on her third attempt.  She did not advance to the final round, where she finished 14^th overall.

DSU closed the indoor track & field season where Valerija Curikova ran in the 3000-meter run.  She finished 18^th overall with a time of 10 minutes, 29.80 seconds.

Dakota State finished in a three-way tie for 31^st with Concordia (Neb.) and Warner (Fla.), each with 10 points, highlighted by Amelie Steins (pentathlon) and Thornton (weight throw – national runner up) top eight place finishers.

DSU prepares for their outdoor track & field season opener on March 21 in the Central Methodist (Mo.) Open.  Stay tuned to the dsuathletics.com for the full release of the outdoor track & field schedule early next week.