Storylines• Augustana embarks on their postseason campaign this weekend as they head to Winona, Minn. for the 2014 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 9 and 10.
• The Vikings were last in action at the Howard Wood Relays in Sioux Falls and three women came away with qualifying times and
CJ Ham broke another Augustana record.
• Although Augustana's three provisional marks from this past weekend were just improvements of previous times, the Vikings have 16 total qualifying marks this season.
• Based on the NSIC performance list, Augustana is projected to finish second in both the men's and women's divisions at the NSIC Championships and they will rely on scoring high in several key events.
• Going for her fourth NSIC women's steeplechase title, Kyle Blakeslee has two more meets in her storied career
• With a big weekend at Howard Wood,
Ryan Heuer is hitting his stride as the Vikings' top hurdler and leads a quartet of young Vikings, looking to score big in both long- and short-distance hurdle events at the NSIC Championships.
• Augustana's rag-tag group of throwers highlighted by record-holding Ham, hopes to turn some head in Winona.
Week in review: Plethora of PRs highlight Howard Wood Relays• Three Vikings hit provisional qualifying marks at the Howard Wood Relays in Sioux Falls, but it was several athletes who recorded top-eight finishes and did so by setting personal bests.
• Kristin Brondbo and Kyle Blakeslee stole the show on day one, taking second and third in the women's 5,000-meter run with provisional qualifying times that rank in the top 20 of Division II this season.
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Kayla Mescher logged a couple top-three finishes with a runner-up, provisional time in the 400-meter hurdles.
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CJ Ham set another Augustana record when he took eighth in the men's hammer throw and broke his current coach, Kevin Knapp's old record by just over a foot.
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Ryan Heuer turned in an impressive day two, placing top-six in both hurdle events and hitting PRs in both.
• Colleen Everson placed second in the women's long jump, helped the women's 4x400-meter relay team to a runner-up finish, and ran a personal-best 200-meter dash.
• Jordan Slusser and
Kaitlyn Yoerg clocked top-five times in the men's and women's 1,500-meter run as they each improved their previous personal best by several seconds.
Let's get provisional: Women's trio improves marks, Brondbo and Blakeslee move into top 20• Augustana didn't add any new names to their list of 16 on the national qualifying list, but three women each improved upon a time they had recorded earlier in the season.
• Kristin Brondbo and Kyle Blakeslee each moved into the top 20 of the Division II women's 5,000-meter run leaderboard when they took second and third, respectively, at the Howard Wood Relays.
• Blakeslee owns Augustana's only automatic qualifying mark, posting the third-fastest time D2 in the steeplechase.
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Kayla Mescher shaved nearly a half-second off her qualifying mark in the 400-meter hurdles, the event she will be defending her title in at the NSIC Championships this weekend and her time is currently ranked second in the conference.
NSIC Championship Forecast: Vikings projected as No. 2 on both sides• According to projections from the NSIC performance list, Augustana's men's and women's teams should finish second at the conference meet this weekend.
• The men trail Minnesota State by a sizeable margin, but there is a solid gap between the Vikings and third-place USF.
• Minnesota State is a clear leader with 176.5 points, Augustana is a solid second at 147, and Sioux Falls is a distant third at 111.
• The Augustana women have a tougher path to second with U-Mary as the heavy favorite and Minnesota Duluth rising.
• U-Mary will be looking for their third straight outdoor title with their projected 162.5 points, Augustana is the last non-Marauder team to win in 2011 and are projected at 119.5 points, while Minnesota Duluth is third with 90 points.
• The Viking men have a stranglehold of the top times in the distance races, including six in the top 10 if the 5k, the top three 10k times, and the top two times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
• Augustana's women are littered throughout the performance list, but Minnesota Duluth will challenge them in the distance events, namely the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races.
Blakeslee looks to stay undefeated• Augustana senior Kyle Blakeslee enters the NSIC Championships having won the last three 3,000-meter steeplechase titles in the years she competed: 2010, 2011, 2012 -- she redshirted in 2013.
• Blakeslee broke the NSIC Championship record twice and her 2012 time of 10:39.12 is still the NSIC's fastest.
• The Cannon Falls, Minn. native already has an automatic qualifying time (10:23.84) this season and is looking for another fast time in preparation for her third All-American finish at the NCAA Championships.
Heuer leads hurdlers into Augustana's darkhorse event• Following his indoor season's trajectory, sophomore
Ryan Heuer has continually improved his times and is primed for a big postseason run as the leader of a strong corps of hurdlers for Augustana.
• Heuer hit PRs last week in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles narrowly missing qualifying times in both events.
• The Fairmont, Minn. native will be looking for redemption after being disqualified in last season's 110-meter hurdles at the NSIC Championships for a false start.
• Heuer and fellow sophomore
Zach Jones own top-four times in the 400-meter hurdles conference performance list.
• Returning All-NSIC 400-meter hurdler
Jason Greenway comes in with the seventh-fastest time in the NSIC.
• Freshman
Brandon Gildemaster turned owns a top-eight time in the 110-meter hurdles and can also contribute.
Throwers looking to turn some heads in Winona• Augustana sends a pair of All-NSIC throwers to the conference championships, but there are several more that are looking to score for the team.
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CJ Ham is a two-time All-NSIC performer in the shot put at the past two indoor championships and just broke the Augustana record in the hammer throw -- he ranks third and seventh in the shot put and hammer throw, respectively.
• Sophomore
Kristi Porter recorded a season-best last week in the javelin throw and looks to repeat as All-NSIC this year.
• Freshman
Anthony Huber ranks fifth in the NSIC in the discus with his near-qualifying mark.
• Track duo of
Harald Karbo and
Skyler Kuil will try their hand at the javelin, showing well during the season.
The staff• In his 11th season as the head coach,
Tracy Hellman enters 2014 with hopes of another award-filled season.
• Hellman has directed 84 All-Americans in his combined duties of leading the track and field teams as well as the
successful cross country teams.
• With four individual national championships and a relay title in 2012, Hellman has also earned 19 coach of the year
honors, including the 2011 national women's cross country coach of the year after leading his squad to the first national championship in program history.
•Assistant coach
Greg Binstock enters his second season as the lead assistant.
• Directing sprinters and jumpers, Binstock helped Henrik Holmberg to two All-American finishes in multi-events last season and directed 12 national qualifiers to nine All-American performances.
• Graduate Assistants Riley Northrup (jumps) and Dan Allen (distance) round out the coaching staff.
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