May 20, 2026

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Eight Dakota State (S.D.) athletes were in action on the first day of the 2026 NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Wednesday at Karl Straus Track, on the campus of NCAA Division I UNC-Asheville.  The Trojans' first day saw a pair of heptathlon athletes in action, a clutch shot finish by Oliviyah Thornton for a national runner-up finish and closing with the 4 x 800-meter relay team.

A pair of DSU heptathlon athletes kicked off the three-day national meet in the heptathlon.  Amelie Steins clocked a time of 14.43 seconds in the 100-meter dash, collecting 918 points (third fastest in the field).  Casey Olson registered a time of 15.90 seconds with 727 points.

Olson led the Trojans with 1.60 meters clearance (5 feet, 3 inches) in the high jump, earning 736 points.  Steins cleared the high jump of 1.54 meters (5 feet, .5 inches) to gain 666 points.

Olson added 658 points in the shot put after tossing 11.95 meters (39 feet, 2.5 inches).  Steins threw 9.31 meters (30 feet, 6.5 inches) for 484 points.

Oliviyah Thornton and Bella Maxwell competed in the hammer throw for the Trojans.  Thornton fouled on her first attempt and followed with fifth place in the standings on her second attempt with 52.72 meters (172 feet, 11 inches).  She recorded 50.08 meters (164 feet, 3 inches) on her third toss, where she was seventh in the semifinals and advanced to the final round.

DSU's Maxwell made her NAIA outdoor track & field national debut with 48.63 meters toss (159 feet, 6 inches) on her first attempt.  She fouled on her next two attempts and did not advance to the final after finishing 23^rd overall.

Thornton kicked off the hammer throw final round with 52.27 meters (171 feet, 6 inches), remaining in seventh place.  She threw 51.80 meters (169 feet, 11 inches) on the next attempt and fell to eighth place.

Thornton stormed to second place with her career best and shattered DSU women's hammer throw school record of 56.56 meters (185 feet, 6 inches) on her final attempt.  After several throwers completing their final attempts, Thornton ended up with the NAIA national runner-up by edging Bri Nichols of Indiana Wesleyan by .04 meters (56.52 meters – 185 feet, 5 inches).

Thornton was also the top Frontier Conference women's hammer throw in the field, with three throwers from the conference being named NAIA All-America (Lauren Cima of Providence, Mont., with a fourth place finish after throwing 56.14 meters – 184 feet, 2 inches and Kori Nagel of Dickinson State, N.D.) with a seventh place with 53.33 meters – 174 feet, 11 inches).

It was the second straight year that Thornton earned the NAIA All-American in hammer throw, where she placed eighth in last year national meet (53.14 meters – 174 feet, 4 inches).  She already produced school record in the hammer throw this spring, with the previous record holder by Gabriella Peitzmeier with 54.26 meters (178 feet) in 2025).

The national meet was halted with the weather delay after the heptathlon's shot put and resumed at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Steins was the fastest runner in the 200-meter dash to wrap up the first day of the heptathlon.  She clocked a time of 25.21 seconds to claim 868 points.  Olson produced a personal best 27.63 seconds to earn 660 points.

Steins places fifth in the heptathlon standings after the first day with 2,936 points, trailing by 312 points behind the leader from Central Methodist (Mo.) Haley Bellamy with 3,248 points.  Olson is 10^th with 2,781 points.

The heptathlon continues Thursday morning with three more events, starting with long jump followed by the javelin and the 800-meter run.

DSU closed the first day in the 4 x 800-meter relay semifinals.  They ran in the first heat, kicking off with Anna Schneider with a time of 2 minutes, 20.02 seconds.  She handed the baton to Valerija Curikova for the second 800-meters.  She finished with a time of 2:21.67.

Curikova then handed off the baton to Lindsey Roth for the third leg.  She clocked a time of 2:23.93 before giving the baton to Caitlin Dyer for the final lap.  She finished the race strong with a time of 2:10.78. 

The Trojans finished 19^th overall in the 4 x 800-meter relay, clocking a team time of 9 minutes, 16.38 seconds.

Dakota State is in a three-way tie for third place in the NAIA women's team standings with Cumberlands (Ky.) and Carroll (Mont.) with eight points each after three events scored.

DSU continues their action Thursday on the second day of the national meet.  The Trojans are scheduled to compete in the heptathlon, 4 x 400-meter relay, 100-meter hurdles, and javelin.

Follow all the action of the 2026 NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championship via Urban Edge Network on https://urbanedgenetwork.net/?school=naia-championships and follow the live results on https://snapresults.snaptiming.com/meets/73709.