May 19, 2026

MADISON, S.D. – The Dakota State University outdoor track & field teams are preparing for the upcoming 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships this week.  The three-day NAIA outdoor track & field national meet will take place at Karl Straus Track in Asheville, N.C.

Dakota State will have 18 athletes, along with three alternates, to the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.  The national outdoor track & field meet starts Wednesday at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time)/8 a.m. (Central Time) and continues through Friday evening.

The NAIA outdoor track & field national meet will conclude the 2025-26 athletics year at Dakota State University.

Glover named USTFCCCA Women's Midwest Region Coach of the Year

• Dakota State's Alex Glover was selected as the USTFCCCA (United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association) Midwest Region Women's Coach-of-the-Year.
• He led the Trojans to their first women's outdoor conference team title since 1997 in the former South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC), winning the inaugural Frontier Conference Outdoor Championships with 167 points and capturing three event titles.
• All four DSU's throwing crews ranked in the Top 10 in the national #EventSquad rankings.
• Glover also was named Frontier Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year, snapping Dickinson State's (N.D.) streak of eight consecutive women's outdoor track & field conference team titles.

Trojans open with hammer throw Wednesday morning

• Three Dakota State hammer throwers will start on Wednesday, starting with the men's division.
• Zachary Haugen will throw in the men's division at 9 a.m. (ET)/8 a.m. (CT).He is seeded 10^th in the men's hammer throw division with 58.45 meters mark (191 feet, 9 inches), set at the Frontier Conference Championships on May 2 in Dickinson, N.D.
• A total of 22 men's hammer throwers is set to compete.
• The women's hammer throw event will follow the men's hammer throw at 12 p.m. (ET)/11 a.m. (CT).
• The Trojans will have two throwers in the event – Oliviyah Thornton and Bella Maxwell.
• A total of 27 throwers is scheduled to compete.Thornton is seeded No. 4 with 56.04 meters mark (183 feet, 4 inches) at the Steinborn/Beacom Twilight meet on March 30.Maxwell is seeded No. 14 with 54.17 meters mark (177 feet, 9 inches) in the regular-season finale at USD Twilight on May 8.

Three Dakota State multi-events to start Wednesday

• A total of 16 multi-events in each gender division is set to compete in two-day competition, including three athletes from Dakota State.
• Tysen Grinde, who was an All-American decathlon athlete last year, gets underway Wednesday at 10 a.m. (ET)/9 a.m. (CT) for the Trojans.  He will compete in five different events, starting with the 100-meter dash, followed by the long jump, shot put, high jump, and the 400-meter dash.
• The decathlon continues Thursday at 11 a.m. (ET)/10 a.m. (CT) with the 110-meter hurdles, followed by discus, pole vault, javelin, and the 1500-meter run.
• Grinde is seeded No. 7 in the NAIA men's decathlon.
• Dakota State will have two athletes – Amelie Steins and Casey Olson – in the NAIA heptathlon competition.
• DSU and Central Methodist (Mo.) are the only two schools that qualified two athletes in the heptathlon.
• The heptathlon starts on Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. (ET)/9:15 a.m. (CT) with the 100-meter hurdles, followed by the high jump, shot put, and the 200-meter dash.
• The action continues Thursday at 9:30 a.m. (ET)/8:30 a.m. (CT) with the long jump, javelin, and the 800-meter dash.
• Steins is seeded No. 6 in the NAIA women's heptathlon, while Olson is seeded No. 13.Steins competed in last year's heptathlon where she placed 12^th.

DSU's 4 x 800-meter relay start semifinals Wednesday evening

• A pair of Dakota State's 4 x 800-meter relay teams will be competing on Wednesday evening
• The Trojan women's 4 x 800-meter relay team consists of Anna Schneider, Valerija Curikova, Lindsey Roth, and Caitlin Dyer.  Brooke Beaucaire and Kierra Miller serve as the alternate for DSU.
• The NAIA women's 4 x 800-meter relay semifinals take place at 6:15 p.m. (ET)/5:15 p.m. (CT) Wednesday, with the finals scheduled for Friday at 6:10 p.m. (ET)/5:10 p.m. (CT).
• The women's relay team is seeded No. 6 with a school record time of 9 minutes, 11.29 seconds, which was set at the Concordia (Neb.) Twilight meet (regular-season finale).
• A total of 26 women's 4 x 800-meter relay teams is scheduled to compete on Wednesday.
• Franklin Johns, Nolan Slominski, Cody Farland, and Tyler Nicke will run in the NAIA men's 4 x 800-meter relay semifinals Wednesday evening at 6:50 p.m. (ET)/5:50 p.m. (CT).  Mohamed Muse will serve as the alternate to the relay team.
• They are seeded No. 10 with a time of 7 minutes, 35.88 seconds, set in the regular-season finale at the Concordia Twilight meet on May 8.
• A total of 27 men's 4 x 800-meter relay teams is scheduled to run in the semifinals.
• The 4 x 800-meter relay finals are scheduled for Thursday evening, starting with the women's at 6:10 p.m. (ET)/5:10 p.m. (CT) followed by the men's at 6:30 p.m. (ET)/5:30 p.m. (CT).

Action continues Thursday with 100-meter hurdles, shot put, javelin, and another relay

• Action continues Thursday on the second day of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
• Amelie Steins is scheduled to run in the 100-meter hurdles semifinals at 2 p.m. (ET)/1 p.m. (CT).  She is seeded No. 22 with 14.08 seconds.  A total of 29 hurdlers is set to compete in the semifinals.
• Oliviyah Thornton and Bella Maxwell will throw shot-put Thursday evening at 5 p.m. (ET)/4 p.m. (CT).A total of 20 throwers is set to compete.
• Thornton is seeded No. 3 with 14.68 meters mark (48 feet, 2 inches), while Maxwell is seeded No. 11 with 13.88 meters mark (45 feet, 6.5 inches).
• Daynica Witzel and Casey Olson are two of the 39 women's javelin throwers set to compete Thursday evening at 7 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (CT).
• Wtizel is seeded No. 20 with 42.23 meters mark (138 feet, 6 inches), while Olson is seeded No. 22 with 42.10 meters mark (138 feet, 1 inch).
• Olson was an All-American women's javelin for Dakota State last season, the first Trojan women's javelin thrower to earn the status.
• Dakota State concludes their action Thursday evening at 8:15 p.m. (ET)/7:15 p.m. (CT) with the women's 4 x 400-meter relay semifinals.
• The members of Steins, Caitlin Dyer, Molli Thornton, and RayLee Wallis are seeded No. 19 with a school record time of 3 minutes, 51.75 seconds.  Anna Schneider will serve as the alternate.

NAIA national meet concludes Friday

• The three-day NAIA national outdoor track & field meet concludes Friday, starting at 9 a.m. (ET)/8 a.m. (CT) with the discus.
• Oliver Tordsen will make his debut at the national outdoor track & field meet as the No. 2 seed in the field of 20 throwers.
• Tordsen holds the DSU school record of 55.33 meters (181 feet, 6 inches), set at the USD Snooze Button Classic on April 8, breaking his older brother Connor's school record.
• Oliviyah Thornton will compete in her third national throwing event at the NAIA outdoor track & field national meet at 11:45 a.m. (ET)/10:45 a.m. (CT).
• O. Thornton is seeded No. 17 with 45.22 meters mark (148 feet, 4 inches) in the women's discus.
• If advanced from Thursday's semifinals, the women's 100-meter hurdles national final is set for 3:30 p.m. (ET)/2:30 p.m. (CT).
• The women's 4 x 400-meter relay national final is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. (ET)/4:15 p.m. (CT).

2026 Dakota State University Trojan Outdoor Track & Field Top Marks
 

Women's	Events	Men's
Averie Marshall – 11.94 seconds	100-meter dash	Lukas Bennett – 10.23 seconds
Amelie Steins – 25.00 seconds	200-meter dash	Lukas Bennett – 21.60 seconds
Amelie Steins – 57.92 seconds	400-meter dash	Franklin Johns – 49.67 seconds
Caitlin Dyer – 2:15.47	800-meter run	Franklin Johns – 1:53.77
Valerija Curikova – 4:52.65	1500-meter run	Blake Schmiedt – 4:18.86
Valerija Curikova – 18:03.21	5000-meter run	Joshua Tucker – 15:46.22
Brooke Beaucaire – 38:16.45	10,000-meter run	Joshua Tucker – 35:32.22
Amelie Steins - 13.91 seconds	100-/110-meter hurdles	Tysen Grinde – 15.61 seconds
Ella Carstensen – 1:08.34	400-meter hurdles	Franklin Johns – 1:00.02
Brooke Beaucaire – 11:44.66	3000-meter steeplechase	Blake Schmiedt – 10:33.74
Averie Marshall, RayLee Wallis, Molli Thornton, Amelie Steins – 48.71 seconds	4 x 100-meter relay	James Burke, Jagger Lombard, Talon George, Lukas Bennett – 41.60 seconds
N/A	4 x 200-meter relay	Jagger Lombard, Lukas Bennett, Ben Witt, Franklin Johns – 1:33.82
Amelie Steins, Molli Thornton, Caitlin Dyer, RayLee Wallis – 3:51.75	4 x 400-meter relay	Jagger Lombard, Lukas Bennett, Ben Witt, Franklin Johns – 3:22.28
Anna Schneider, Valerija Curikova, Lindsey Roth, Caitlin Dyer – 9:11:29	4 x 800-meter relay	Franklin Johns, Nolan Slominski, Cody Farland, Tyler Nicke – 7:35.88
Casey Olson – 1.62 meters	High Jump	Tysen Grinde – 2.02 meters
N/A	Pole Vault	Tysen Grinde – 4.47 meters
Amelie Steins – 5.78 meters	Long Jump	Trevor Heinz – 6.90 meters
Ella Carstensen – 11.06 meters	Triple Jump	Brock Krueger – 14.30 meters
Oliviyah Thornton – 14.68 meters	Shot Put	Dylan Johansen – 15.99 meters
Oliviyah Thornton – 45.22 meters	Discus	Oliver Tordsen – 55.33 meters
Oliviyah Thornton – 56.04 meters	Hammer Throw	Zachary Haugen – 58.45 meters
Daynica Witzel – 42.23 meters	Javelin	Miles Eide – 51.91 meters
Amelie Steins – 4,796 points	Heptathlon/Decathlon	Tysen Grinde – 6,667 points

 
 2026 Dakota State University NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Qualifiers list (Bold means competing at NAIA Nationals this week)
 

Athlete	Event	NAIA Standard (NAIA seed)	Where/When Qualifying Mark Set
Amelie Steins	Long Jump	B Provisional (will not compete)	5.78 meters (18 feet, 11.75 inches) Central Methodist (Mo.) Open – March 21
Oliviyah Thornton	Shot Put	A Automatic (No. 3 seed)	14.68 meters (48 feet, 2 inches) Red Raider Open – April 16-17
Oliver Tordsen	Discus	A Automatic (No. 2 seed)	55.33 meters (181 feet, 6 inches) USD Snooze Button Classic – April 8
Zachary Haugen	Hammer Throw	B Provisional (No. 10 seed)	58.45 meters (191 feet, 9 inches) Frontier Conference Championships – May 2-3
Oliviyah Thornton	Hammer Throw	A Automatic (No. 4 seed)	56.04 meters (183 feet, 10 inches) Steinborn/Beacom Twilight Meet – March 30
Daynica Witzel	Javelin Throw	B Provisional (No. 20 seed)	42.23 meters (138 feet, 6 inches) Mount Marty (S.D.) Twilight – April 22
Bella Maxwell	Shot Put	B Provisional (No. 10 seed)	13.88 meters (45 feet, 6.5 inches) Sioux City Relays – April 10
Bella Maxwell	Hammer Throw	B Provisional (No. 14 seed)	54.17 meters (177 feet, 9 inches) USD Twilight – May 8
Oliviyah Thornton	Discus	B Provisional (No. 17 seed)	45.22 meters (148 feet, 4 inches) Red Raider Open – April 16-17
Tysen Grinde	Decathlon	A Automatic (No. 7 seed)	6,667 points Frontier Conference Multi-Events Championships – April 19-20
Amelie Steins	Heptathlon	A Automatic (No. 6 seed)	4,796 points Frontier Conference Multi-Events Championships – April 19-20
Casey Olson	Heptathlon	A Automatic (No. 13 seed)	4,505 points Frontier Conference Multi-Events Championships – April 19-20
Amelie Steins, Molli Thornton, Caitlin Dyer, RayLee Wallis	4 x 400-meter relay	B Provisional (No. 19 seed)	3 minutes, 51.75 seconds Drake Relays—April 23-25
Amelie Steins	100-meter hurdles	B Provisional (No. 22 seed)	14.08 seconds Frontier Conference Championships – May 2-3
Casey Olson	Javelin	B Provisional (No. 22 seed)	42.10 meters (138 feet, 1 inch) USD Twilight – May 8
Anna Schneider, Valerija Curikova, Lindsey Roth, Caitlin Dyer	4 x 800-meter relay	A Automatic (No. 6 seed)	9 minutes, 11.29 seconds Concordia (Neb.) Twilight
Franklin Johns, Nolan Slominski, Cody Farland, Tyler Nicke	4 x 800-meter relay	A Automatic (No. 10 seed)	7 minutes, 35.88 seconds Concordia (Neb.) Twilight