ATHLETICS UPDATE MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD Warriors place fourth in conference meet, capture 4x800 relay title The Waldorf University men’s track and field team claimed fourth place during the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Indoor Championships in February at Brookings, South Dakota. Waldorf’s 4x800-meter relay team of Justin Jacobi, Ovan Garcia, Chasen Selsor and Cody Clark captured the conference title as they clocked a time of 8 minutes, 38.17 seconds to break an indoor school record and earn all-conference honors. Mark Ahlers ran to second (2:04.08) in the 800 and took third (1:26.60) in the 600 at the conference meet. The freshman from Sheldon secured all-conference recognition and set indoor school records in both events. Nathan Meiners received allconference honors, racing to second in the 5,000 (16:43.93) at the conference meet with an indoor school record. Jacobi provided an all-conference performance in the heptathlon during the NSAA Indoor Championships & Multi after racking up 3,986 points for a third-place finish and an indoor school record. The freshman from Belle Plaine also hit a nationalqualifying standard in the event. During their second season of competition, the Warriors broke indoor school records in 20 events. Austin Anderson, Caleb Gilbertson and Clark were named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar-Athletes.
RECAP
University women’s track and field team during the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Outdoor Championships in May. The Warriors broke or established 17 records throughout the course of the season, which marked the program’s second year of competition. Seven of those records occurred in the three-day NSAA Outdoor Championships, which was hosted by Waldorf at Beebe Track. The Warriors scored 47 points to place fifth in the team standings during the conference meet, marking a 26-point improvement since the NSAA Indoor Championships in February. Abby Buehler capped the final meet of her career in dramatic fashion, capturing the triple jump title with a mark of 10.89 meters (35 feet, 8.74 inches). The junior from Dodge Center, Minnesota, who was a senior academically, earned all-conference honors in the event while setting a new meet record and outdoor school record. Buehler also scored all-conference honors in the long jump, securing second behind a distance of 5.01 meters (16 feet, 5.24 inches). She racked up 18 points, which tied for fourth among field athletes in the meet. Waldorf’s Erica Fee delivered an all-conference performance in the 1,500-meter run as she clocked a time of 5 minutes, 12.48 seconds to break the previous outdoor school record by 4.13 seconds. Peyton Russell garnered allconference recognition for the Warriors in the javelin, capturing second behind a distance of 36.73 meters (120 feet, 6.06 inches) to provide eight points.
to build during its second indoor season of competition, which ended with a fifth-place finish at the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Indoor Championships during February at Brookings, South Dakota. Abby Buehler locked up third at the conference meet in the long jump and triple jump. The junior from Dodge Center, Minnesota, recorded a mark of 4.95 meters (16 feet, 3 inches) in the long jump and leaped to a distance of 10.33 meters (33 feet, 10.75 inches) in the triple jump to earn all-conference recognition in both events. Waldorf set indoor school records in 11 events throughout the course of the season. Megan Perkins and Buehler were named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) Scholar-Athletes. Erica Fee, Adriana Garber, Patricia Molina, Karissa Vetsch, Buehler and Perkins were honored as NSAA Scholar-Athletes.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Warriors match school record for wins in a season It was an exciting season for the Waldorf University men’s basketball team. The Warriors matched a school record for wins in a season since joining the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), closing out the 2015–16 campaign with a 16–14 record. Waldorf received a No. 15 ranking in the national poll during the season, which is the highest ranking in program history. Season highlights for the Warriors included knocking off three top-25 opponents as well as victories over an NCAA Division II program and two NCAA Division III teams.
Jimmy Blankenship, Adam Brinkman, Eithan Esensee, Jesse Vega, Aaron Ward, Alden Zeller, Anderson, Clark, Gilbertson and Jacobi were recognized as NSAA Scholar-Athletes.
Buehler and Megan Perkins were named National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar-Athletes while Buehler, Fee, Perkins, Adriana Garber, Patricia Molina and Karissa Vetsch were honored as NSAA Scholar-Athletes.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Waldorf delivers four allconference performances
Waldorf continues to develop in second season of competition
The first year in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) proved to be highly competitive as Waldorf finished the season with a 5–7 conference record. Earning the No. 6 seed in the NSAA Tournament, the Warriors ended the year with a conference tournament quarterfinal loss to eventual tournament champion Dakota State University.
The Waldorf University women’s track and field team continued
Erik Brewer capped the season with second-team all-conference
Four all-conference performances highlighted a strong finish to the outdoor season for the Waldorf
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recognition, marking his fourth straight year earning all-conference honors. The 6-foot-6 senior from Las Vegas led Waldorf, averaging 18.9 points. Brewer pulled down 4.9 rebounds a game while shooting 45.8 percent (186-of-406) from the field, a team-best 40.4 percent (55-of-136) from 3-point range and 81.1 percent (55-of136) from the free-throw line. Michael Morgan was honored as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Morgan, Pavle Mihajlovic and Shay Motter were named NSAA Scholar-Athletes.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Warriors fight tough competition in first NSAA season Battling tough competition, the Waldorf University women’s basketball team completed its first season in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA). After a tough start to the year, a young Warriors team began to find its chemistry and displayed competitiveness in eight contests that were decided by single digits. The Warriors received a No. 8 seed in the NSAA Tournament and fell to the University of Jamestown in the tournament quarterfinals. Jamestown, ranked No. 9 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II poll, went on to win the tournament. Waldorf finished with a 2–24 overall record and a 0–11 mark in conference play. Samantha Birkes paced the Warriors, averaging 11.8 points. The freshman guard from Sioux City knocked down 115-of-303 (38.0 percent) shots from the field and went 37-of-116 (31.9 percent) from 3-point range. Ameh Ogbemudia posted 9.6 points a game for the Warriors. The 6-foot freshman center from St. Francis, Minnesota, pulled down 5.2 rebounds per game and contributed a team-high one block per game. Jenna Quina was selected as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Kassidy Bunger, Elizabeth Carlton, Taylor Fricke, Taylor Kurtz, Haley Lawrence, Meriel Leavy and Quina were named NSAA Scholar-Athletes.
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