SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana opens the track and field season with a trip to Brookings, S.D. for the SDSU Preseason Open on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6 at South Dakota State University. This is the only meet for the Vikings' in the 2014 season as they will be idle until the Dordt Invitational on Jan. 17, 2015.

Ready, Set…..
Augustana will open the 2014-15 indoor track and field season at a familiar place at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of South Dakota State University.

NSIC Preseason Poll
Both Augustana indoor track and field teams were picked by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to finish in the top three of the conference in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll Thursday afternoon. The men were picked second and the women were slotted third.

Augustana's men's team received one first-place vote and a total of 110 points, just 11 points behinds three-time defending NSIC champions Minnesota State, who collected the other 11 first-place votes.

The women received a first-place vote which helped them to 147 points. University of Mary received six first-place votes with 161 points, while Minnesota Duluth also tabbed six first-place votes with 159 points.
 

2014-15 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Men's Track			Women's Track
Rank	School	Points	Rank	School	Points
1	Minnesota State (11)	121	1	University of Mary (6)	161
2	Augustana (1)	110	2	Minnesota Duluth (6)	159
3	Sioux Falls	99	3	Augustana (1)	147
4	St. Cloud State	85	4	Winona State	126
5	Minnesota Duluth	76	5	Minnesota State (1)	125
6	MSU Moohead	74	6	MSU Moorhead	106
7	University of Mary	67	7	Sioux Falls	91
8	Wayne State	41	8	Wayne State	84
9	Concordia-St. Paul	32	9	Northern State	71
10	Minot State	32	10	St. Cloud State	70
11	Northern State	30	11	Minot State	45
12	Southwest Minnesota State	25	12	Southwest Minnesota State	39
			13	Concordia-St. Paul	28
			14	Bemidji State	22

Keep your eyes on these four
CJ Ham and Paul Yak were both cited as athletes to watch for the men in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Kelsey Kaufmann and Carina Hofmeister earned the athletes to watch on the women's side.

Ham, a senior from Duluth, Minn., earned All-NSIC honors a year ago, and took first-place at two different events last season. Ham's heave of ­­­­16.80 meters (55 feet, 1.5 inches) earned him second place at the NSIC indoor championships. Ham also set a new school record in the weight throw of 17.99 meters (50 feet, 0.25 inches) last season at the USD Twilight where he tabbed first-place honors.

Yak, a senior from Storm Lake, Iowa holds a career-best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase clocking a time of 9.29.26, for a third-place finish at the NSIC outdoor championships last season. Yak, is also a two-time All-American, three-time All-Central Region honoree, holds three NSIC athlete of the year honors, and four All-NSIC first team honors in cross country.

Kaufmann, a junior from Arlington, S.D., holds a career-best 1.73 meters (5 feet, 8 inches) in the high jump. Kaufmann swept the NSIC indoor and outdoor high jump titles last season earning a bid to the NCAA indoor championships hitting a provisional mark eight times last season. 

Hofmeister, a junior from Hamburg, Germany earned All-American honors during her indoor season last year breaking five Augustana records. Hofmeister took sixth-place at the NCAA indoor championships in the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay clocking a time of (11:50.07). She also set a new Augustana record in the 4x400-meter (3:51.58) with a third-place finish at the Nebraska Tune-Up.

2013-14 NSIC Indoor Championships Recap
The Vikings swept the men's and women's 800-meter runs, with Aduo Omot winning the men's race in record-breaking fashion finishing with a new NSIC Indoor Championship with a best time of 1:53.49.

Kayla Mescher collected her first indoor conference title last season and defended it well, winning the women's 800-meter run in 2:15.54. Mescher's partner on the Vikings' DMR champion team also grabbing an individual win. Emma Anderson took the women's 1,000-meter race, clocking a time of 2:57.79.

Harald Karbo led a the Vikings in the men's mile taking second after he clocked a time of 4:15.80, where he passes Cole Toepfer of Minnesota Duluth at the 200-meter mark. Toepfer surged back in the final 50 meters to edge Karbo by 0.14 seconds to take first place.

2013-14 NCAA Indoor Championships Recap
Augustana sent six women and four men to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 14-15 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Vikings qualified both distance medley relay teams as well as five athletes in three other events.

The men's squad of Henrik Hansson, Skyler Kuil, Aduo Omot, and Harald Karbo earned an automatic qualifying mark to place themselves in the 12-team field. The Vikings ran to sixth place finish for their third All-American finish in four years.

The women's team of Anderson, Hofmeister, Mescher, and Kyle Blakeslee kept their All-American finish streak alive, taking sixth in the 13-squad field.

Kaufmann made her national meet debut in the women's high jump, taking 16th clearing the opening height of 1.60 meters (5 feet, 3 inches) on her third attempt. While Kristin Brondbo collected a fourth place finish in the 3,000-meter race, while teammate Blakeslee fell into 11th place with a time of 9:56.50.

Breaking the Records
Ham broke the school record at the Dordt Open on Jan. 18, 2014 missing a provisionally-qualifying mark in the weight throw, with a 17.04 meter (55 feet, 11 inches) heave. The women's 4x400 relay broke the Augustana school record at the Nebraska Tune-Up. Teammates Hofmeister, Colleen Everson, Charissa Etrheim, and Kayla Mescher secured the new Augustana school record clocking a time of 3:51.58.

Leading the Pack
Tracy Hellman enters his 11th season as head coach of the Viking track and field program. He has won two conference titles and guided 82 All-American performers in his combined duties of leading the track and field teams as well as the successful cross country squad. A multiple recipients of NSIC Coach of the Year awards, Hellman is assisted by Greg Binstock, Riley Northrup, Laquone Robinson, and Scott Tanis.

On the Blocks
Augustana returns to action on Jan. 17 at the Dordt Invitational in Sioux Center, Iowa.