Burnsville, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the Preseason Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Coaches' Polls this afternoon. The Northern State men's team was picked fourth place with 87 points, and the women's team was tied for fifth place with Minnesota Duluth with 129 points.
The Northern State men's track & field team looks to build off last season's fourth (indoor) and fifth (outdoor) place team finishes at the NSIC Championships. Last season was the Wolves second consecutive top-5 finish in the conference indoor meet and was the program's first top-5 outdoor finish since 2009. Northern's top returner and their NSIC Athlete to Watch for field events is
Tanner Berg, who is a 5-time All-American and 3-time NSIC Champion over the course of his career. The NSIC Athlete to Watch in track events for NSU is
Seth Martens, who closed the 2021 season on a high note with a personal best time in the 400m prelims of the NSIC Outdoor Championships and was a part of 4x400 relay teams that earned second place finishes in both the conference indoor and outdoor meets. The Wolves return a core group of experience and leadership with a group of upperclassmen who combined for 221 top-10 finishes a season ago. Under the direction of third year head coach
Lynne Dingman, the Wolves open the indoor season on December 3
rd at the SDSU Holiday Invite.
NSIC Preseason Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
School |
Points |
| 1. |
Minnesota State (10) |
120 |
| 2. |
Augustana (2) |
112 |
| 3. |
UMary |
91 |
| 4. |
Northern State |
87 |
| 5. |
MSU Moorhead |
78 |
| T6. |
Concordia-St. Paul |
59 |
| T6. |
Minnesota Duluth |
59 |
| 8. |
Wayne State |
57 |
| 9. |
Minot State |
43 |
| 10. |
Sioux Falls |
36 |
| 11. |
Upper Iowa |
29 |
| 12. |
Southwest Minnesota State |
21 |
The Northern State women's track & field team looks to build off last season's fifth place team finishes at both the NSIC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Last season marked the top indoor team finish since 2005-06 and was the best outdoor finish since 2016. The top returner for Northern in 2021 and their NSIC Athlete to Watch for field events is
Tava Berg, who earned All-American honors in the NCAA Indoor Championship meet. NSU's Athlete to Watch for track events is
Shanice Burrell, who earned all-conference honors at the NSIC Indoor Championship. Another key athlete to watch for the Wolves is senior
Kealy Hill, who has won back-to-back NSIC Outdoor Championships in the pole vault and did not finish outside of the top-10 in all meets last season. Under the direction of third year head coach
Lynne Dingman, the Wolves open the indoor season on December 3
rd at the SDSU Holiday Invite.
NSIC Preseason Women's Indoor Track & Field Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
School |
Points |
| 1. |
Minnesota State (12) |
194 |
| 2. |
Augustana (2) |
181 |
| 3. |
UMary (1) |
172 |
| 4. |
Winona State |
158 |
| T5. |
Minnesota Duluth |
129 |
| T5. |
Northern State |
129 |
| 7. |
Bemidji State |
106 |
| 8. |
St. Cloud State |
93 |
| 9. |
Sioux Falls |
91 |
| 10 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
90 |
| 11. |
Wayne State |
77 |
| 12. |
MSU Moorhead |
64 |
| 13. |
Southwest Minnesota State |
37 |
| 14. |
Minot State |
33 |
| 15. |
Upper Iowa |
21 |
