BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- A calendar year has come and gone since the stoppage of collegiate athletics due to last spring's COVID-19 pandemic. The Northern Sun readies for its first outdoor season since 2019 and Thursday the league tabbed both the women's and men's programs second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Junior Tyl Woelber has been voted the NSIC Preseason Field Athlete of the Year. The Pipestone, Minnesota, native finished his 2021 indoor campaign earning All-America honors in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships, scoring 5,207 points. Woelber is the defending champion in the javelin throw from the 2019 NSIC Outdoor Championships where he threw 189-7 to win the event. At the conference meet, Woelber accounted for 30 of Augustana's points, also placing in the high jump, long jump, triple jump, and decathlon.

The Viking women's team is coming off a strong season indoors where multiple student-athletes competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships. At the conference meet, the women finished second scoring 115 points, and finished 12th at the national meet marking their highest finish in program history. 

The men's side just narrowly missed claiming the NSIC title, scoring 200 points to finish second behind Minnesota State's 201.5 points. The Vikings took the top spot in six events and 17 top-3 finishes at the NSIC Championships indoors. 

Senior Mearah Miedema was selected as the Vikings' Preseason Field Athlete to Watch. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, native is coming off a First eam All-America finish in the high jump placing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships jumping 5-7.25, and set a new personal-best 5-9.25 during the indoor season.

The NSIC also tabbed sophomore Patty Jo English and senior Alec Kray as Augustana's Preseason Track Athletes to Watch. 

English is coming off two school-record performances coming in the mile, where she ran 4:51.19 at the NSIC Indoor Championships, and in the distance medley relay that placed fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in a time of 11:35.55. She ran the 1,200m leg.

Kray is coming out of the indoor season with two new personal bests, a 5,000m school record 14:10.51 run at the Ichabod Invite on Feb. 13. He also set a personal-best in the 3,000m running 8:12.89 at the Bison Open on Feb. 6. Kray's indoor season concluded at the conference meet where he won the 3,000m and placed second in the 5,000m running 8:23.74 and 14:20.27, respectively. 

Augustana is slated to compete outdoors for the first time on April 1 at the Dordt Invite in Sioux Center, Iowa. 

2021 NSIC Preseason Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coaches' Poll

1. Minnesota State (13)    195               

2.  Augustana (1)               183               

3. University of Mary (1)   171               

4. Winona State                151               

5.  Northern State              141               

6. Minnesota Duluth         110               

7. Bemidji State               108               

8. Concordia-St. Paul     105               

9. St. Cloud State           102               

10. Wayne State                 80                 

11. MSUM Moorhead         67                 

12. Sioux Falls                   64                 

13. Minot State                  49                 

14.  SMSU                          30                 

15.  Upper Iowa                  19

2021 NSIC Preseason Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coaches' Poll

1. Minnesota State (9)    119               

2.  Augustana (3)              113               

3. Northern State             88                 

4. University of Mary        87                 

5. MSU Moorhead           86                 

6.  Concordia-St. Paul      71                 

7.  Wayne State                61                 

8.  Minnesota Duluth        49                 

9.  Minot State                  41                 

10. Upper Iowa                    32                 

11. Sioux Falls                     27

12. SMSU                            18

 

--GoAugie.com--