SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana opens the track and field season with a trip to Mankato, Minn. for the Minnesota State Preseason Open on Saturday, Dec. 7. This is the only meet for the Vikings in 2013 as they will be idle until the Dordt Invitational on Jan. 18, 2014. The Viking men were picked second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released earlier this week and the women were slotted sixth.
Ready, set…
Augustana opens the 2013-14 indoor track and field season at a familiar place, Myers Field House on the Campus of Minnesota State. The Vikings will participate in four regular-season meets in Mankato and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Multi-Event Championships will be held there as well.
After another successful cross country season, many of this weekend's participants will be of the sprinter and jumper variety. Headlining Augustana's returners are Kayla Mescher, who won the women's NSIC 800-meter indoor title last season, Henrik Hansson who earned All-NSIC honors in the mile run and won the 800-meter title in 2012, Khor Kong, who took home All-NSIC accolades in the 600-meter run, and CJ Ham, who earned All-NSIC honors in the shot put last season.
Season in review
Augustana notched two top-three finishes at the NSIC indoor championships and had five athletes earn All-American honors. The women's distance medley relay team which placed eighth at the NCAA Championships, returns three of the four All-Americans from one season ago. Two Vikings earned individual NSIC championships and both return to this year's squad. Kayla Mescher took home the women's 800-meter title and TJ Gleason won the men's 5,000-meter run. With five men and two women who earned a combined 10 All-NSIC finishes returning, the Vikings have their eyes set high again in 2013-14.
What does the coach say?
Both men's and women's teams received first-place votes in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll and each team was picked to finish in the top half of the league. Augsutana's men grabbed four first-place votes and finished just four points shy of NSIC indoor favorite Minnesota State. The Viking men corralled 114 points, just behind MSU's 118. The women used one first-place vote to collect 123 points in the log-jam that is the rankings from No. 3 through No. 6. U-Mary was the favorite to win by earning seven first place votes and gathering 161 points.
|
2013-14 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll |
|
Men's Poll |
      |
Women's Poll |
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
|
1 |
Minnesota State (8) |
118 |
|
1 |
University of Mary (7) |
161 |
|
2 |
Augustana (4) |
114 |
|
2 |
Winona State (6) |
157 |
|
3 |
Sioux Falls |
96 |
|
3 |
Minnesota Duluth |
133 |
|
4 |
MSU Moorhead |
80 |
|
4 |
Sioux Falls |
131 |
|
5 |
St. Cloud State |
79 |
|
5 |
Minnesota State |
126 |
|
6 |
Minnesota Duluth |
71 |
|
6 |
Augustana (1) |
123 |
|
7 |
University of Mary |
65 |
|
7 |
Wayne State |
82 |
|
8 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
46 |
|
8 |
St. Cloud State |
81 |
|
9 |
Wayne State |
43 |
|
9 |
MSU Moorhead |
77 |
|
10 |
Northern State |
39 |
|
10 |
Northern State |
60 |
|
11 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
26 |
|
11 |
Bemidji State |
50 |
|
12 |
Minot State |
15 |
|
12 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
32 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
31 |
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
Minot State |
30 |
|
first-place votes in ( ) |
Keep your eye on these four
Four Vikings were tabbed as athletes to watch by the NSIC in their preseason release. Aduo Omot headlines the four after redshirting last season and looks to recapture his All-American ways. In 2011, Omot won the 800-meter national title and repeat as outdoor winner. Also on the track side, Kyle Blakeslee returns from a redshirt season as Augustana's women's distance headliner. A three-time All-American in cross country and a two-time 3,000-meter steeplechase All-American, Blakeslee looks for her first NSIC indoor All-NSIC honors and will be a key component for Augustana's already-potent distance medley relay team.
CJ Ham may have surprised the conference when he placed third to grab All-NSIC honors last indoor season, but he sure has the conference's attention now. Ham earned his third-place finish with a 15.94-meter (52 feet, 3.75 inches) heave, his personal best. Ham also placed eighth in the weight throw at last year's NSIC indoor championships. Kristi Porter may not have the indoor accolades like some of the other Augustana athletes that were deemed athletes to watch, but Porter turned a few heads her freshman season. Porter placed third at the NSIC outdoor championships in the javelin and had three top-eight finishes in the shot put and weight throw during the 2012-13 indoor season.
Leader of the pack
Tracy Hellman enters his ninth season as head coach of the Viking track and field program. He's won two conference titles and guided 14 All-America performers. A multiple recipient of NSIC Coach of the Year awards, Hellman is assisted by Greg Binstock, Dan Allen, and Riley Northrup.
On the blocks
Augustana returns to action on Jan. 18 at the Dordt Invitational in Sioux Center, Iowa
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