Dakota State University Outstanding Male Athlete
Tysen Ginde (2026) - Track & Field
The DSU Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year goes to Tysen Grinde of the men's track & field team.
Grinde has established himself as one of Dakota State's most decorated multi-event athletes and high jumpers. During the 2025-26 season, he earned NAIA All-America honors in both the indoor and outdoor multi-events, as well as All-America recognition in the indoor high jump.
During the indoor season, Grinde tied the school high jump record of 2.08 meters (6 feet, 9.75 inches), matching the mark set by Doug Vlasman in 1985 at the Mount Marty (S.D.) Opener on Jan. 10.
He placed second in the heptathlon at the Frontier Conference Indoor Championships with 5,005 points. Grinde also captured the conference high jump title after clearing 2.04 meters (6 feet, 8.25 inches). He finished fourth in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.45 meters (14 feet, 7.25 inches) and placed eighth in the 60-meter hurdles final in 9.09 seconds after posting a personal best time of 8.78 seconds in the preliminaries.
As a result, Grinde shared Frontier Conference Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet honors after scoring 23 points in field events.
He competed in both the heptathlon and high jump at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Gainesville, Fla. Grinde placed sixth in the heptathlon with a personal-best and second-best mark in school history of 5,181 points. His performance was highlighted by a career-best pole vault clearance of 4.55 meters (14 feet, 11 inches), which tied the indoor school record set by Treshawn Roberts in 2024. He also cleared 1.99 meters (6 feet, 6.25 inches) in the high jump to earn a fifth-place finish.
It marked the fifth consecutive year that Dakota State had a heptathlon athlete earn NAIA All-America honors. It was also the third straight year that the Trojans had an athlete earn two NAIA All-America awards at the same indoor national championship meet, joining Chantz Minear (2024 and 2025 in the heptathlon and 60-meter hurdles) and Cody Farland (4 x 800-meter relay and 1-mile run).
During the outdoor season, Grinde placed third in the decathlon at the Frontier Conference Outdoor Championships with 6,667 points. He also won the high jump title after clearing 2.01 meters (6 feet, 7 inches), completing a sweep of the conference high jump championships during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Grinde improved his personal-best decathlon score to 6,982 points at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Asheville, N.C. His mark ranks second in Dakota State history.
After sitting in 14th place following the first three events on the opening day, Grinde rallied to finish fourth overall. He earned his second consecutive NAIA All-America honor in the decathlon and his fourth career All-America award at Dakota State. Grinde also became just the second athlete in DSU men's outdoor track & field history to earn multiple NAIA All-America honors in the decathlon, joining Treshawn Roberts (2022 and 2024).
Grinde also earned NAIA Scholar Athlete and Frontier Conference Academic All-Conference for his academic success in the classrooms.
Tysen, a native of Spring Grove, Minn., majors in computer science at Dakota State University.
| Year |
Name |
Sport(s) |
| 2026 |
Tysen Grinde |
Track & Field |
| 2025 |
Deveon Moses |
Football |
| 2024 |
Treshawn Roberts |
Track & Field |
| 2023 |
Conner Tordsen |
Track & Field |
| 2023 |
Treshawn Roberts |
Track & Field |
| 2022 |
Noah Guse |
Football |
| 2022 |
Treshawn Roberts |
Track & Field |
| 2021 |
Alex Derr |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2020 |
Braden Curnow |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2020 |
Brodie Frederiksen |
Football |
| 2019 |
Curt Boeke |
Football |
| 2019 |
Braden Curnow |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2018 |
Austin Opdahl |
Football and Track & Field |
| 2018 |
Jacob Giles |
Football |
| 2017 |
Mark Moeller |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2016 |
Seth Boomsma |
Track & Field |
| 2016 |
Ben Kullos |
Football |
| 2015 |
Mark Moeller |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2014 |
Seth Boomsma |
Track & Field |
| 2013 |
Andy Coy |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2012 |
Andy Coy |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2011 |
Anthony Drealan |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2010 |
Tyler Van Peursem |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2009 |
Tyler Van Peursem |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2008 |
Chris Heezen |
Cross Country and Track & Field |
| 2007 |
Joe Backus |
Basketball |
| 2006 |
Tommy Hofer |
Football |
| 2005 |
Mike Sonne |
Football |
| 2004 |
Bryan Day |
Baseball |
| 2003 |
Ted Sees |
Cross Country, Track |
| 2002 |
Ted Sees |
Cross Country, Track |
| 2001 |
Jared Peterreins |
Football |
| 2000 |
Jason Smidt |
Basketball |
| 2000 |
John Ecklein |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1999 |
Larry Voss |
Football |
| 1998 |
Brian Tvedt |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1997 |
Kurt Wallace |
Football, Track |
| 1996 |
Brian Tvedt |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1995 |
Tard Smith |
Football, Track |
| 1995 |
Max Hodgen |
Football |
| 1994 |
Max Hodgen |
Football |
| 1993 |
Ryan Phillips |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1992 |
Ryan Phillips |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1991 |
Brett Schwartz |
Basketball |
| 1990 |
Mark Tainter |
Track |
| 1990 |
Brett Schwartz |
Basketball |
| 1989 |
Brett Schwartz |
Basketball |
| 1988 |
Ira Russey |
Football, Track |
| 1987 |
Rick Dunlap |
Basketball |
| 1986 |
Adam Clark |
Football, Track |
| 1985 |
Tim Asche |
Basketball, Baseball |
| 1984 |
Mark Jacobsen |
Football, Basketball, Baseball |
| 1983 |
Randy Schaefer |
Basketball, Baseball |
| 1982 |
Monty Christensen |
Football, Track |
| 1981 |
Brian Jacobsen |
Football, Basketball, Baseball |
| 1980 |
Mike Hieb |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1979 |
Kevin Berg |
Cross Country, Track |
| 1978 |
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| 1977 |
Jeff Rodman |
Football, Baseball |
| 1976 |
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| 1975 |
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| 1974 |
Darwin Robinson |
Football, Track & Field |
| 1973 |
Cliff Anderson |
Football, Men's Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field |
| 1973 |
Darwin Robinson |
Football, Track & Field |
| 1972 |
Cliff Anderson |
Football, Men's Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field |
| 1971 |
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| 1970 |
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