Beavers to send student-athletes to NSIC Indoor Championships Feb. 28-29

The Bemidji State University track & field program is set to compete at the 2020 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 28-29 in Mankato, Minn., at Myers Fieldhouse. The first women’s events begin with field events at 9:30 a.m. and running events at 1 p.m. Friday followed by field events at 9 a.m. Saturday and running events at 1:30 p.m.

The weight throw record was once again broken by sophomore thrower Zoe Christensen as the Beavers completed the UND Tune-Up on Feb. 22 in Grand Forks, N.D. Christensen’s second-place toss of 59-feet-05-inches ranked 20th in the nation and broke her previous record by nearly one foot. She also took second place in the shot put with a throw of 47-08.50, which is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and ranks eighth all-time in program history.

Sophomore Faith Beck set two top 10 program records in the 60-meter hurdles with the third-best time of 8.99 in the preliminary round and the sixth-best time of 9.02 in the finals. She took sixth place in the preliminary race and seventh in the finals.

Of the five mid-distance runners competing in the 800m run, three set top 10 program marks including sophomore Ryne Prigge, senior Kristen Petron and freshman Mckenzie Evans. Prigge set the second-best time in the 800m with a third-place-finish time of 2:17.18, Petron set the fifth-best time with a personal record 2:21.98 and Evans set the 10th best time with a personal record 2:26.72.

Sophomore sprinter Beatrice Kjelland took a win in the 60m dash with a personal record time of 7.71, which ranks tied for fifth in program history. She began the day with a first-place time of 7.76 in the preliminary race.

In total, Bemidji State finished with 15 personal records and 15 top-five finishes.

The Beavers rank among the top 25 in four events as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its weekly #EventSquad rankings. BSU ranks 12th in the weight throw with an average toss of 51-11.25, 13th in the shot put with an average throw of 41-7.25, 16th in the 60m dash with an average time of 7.79 and 21st in the 200m dash with an average time of 25.38.

Heading into the conference championships, the Beavers feature 10 student-athletes who rank among the top 10 in the NSIC in their respective events. In the 60m dash, junior Venice Stewart ranks fourth with a time of 7.60 and sophomore Beatrice Kjelland ranks 10th with a time of 7.71. In to 200m dash, Stewart ranks ninth with a time of 25.21. In the 800m run, Prigge ranks ninth with a time of 2:18.04. Beck ranks ninth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.98 and ninth in the pole vault with a leap of 10-6. Christenson ranks second in the shot put with a throw of 48-9 and eighth in the weight throw with a toss of 59-5. Freshman Tierra Doss ranks ninth in the shot put with a throw of 44-6.75. In the pentathlon, junior Aneesa Tucker ranks eighth with a score of 2,889.