Next week's NAIA indoor track and field championships will include a strong contingent of Montana athletes.
Carroll College is sending six individuals, plus its women's distance medley team, to the NAIA championships, which will run March 3-6 at Yankton, S.D. Included in the Fighting Saints' lineup heading to nationals is Nikki Krueger, the top seed in the women's shot put. The former Kalispell Glacier High School standout has a season-best mark of 14.22 meters (46 feet, 8 inches). Krueger recorded the mark at the DSU Blue Hawk Classic on Feb. 5.
Rocky Mountain College and Montana Tech also qualified athletes for the national meet, with the Battlin' Bears sending three runners -- Jackson Wilson, Kendra Dykstra Munsterman and Sydney Little Light -- and two relay teams and Tech qualifying Becca Richtman in the 3,000-meter run.
Eight more Montanans at out-of-state NAIA schools will also be competing: Payge Durocher and Payton Durocher for College of Idaho; Cleet Wrzesinski, Faith Brennan, Emily Kolstad and Wrenzi Wrzesinski for Dickinson State; and Allexander Kosel and Sam Roddewig for Eastern Oregon.
A list of Montana athletes set to compete in the NAIA national championships is below. Please email errors or omissions to sports@ktvh.com.
For more information on the NAIA national championships, including qualifiers by school, qualifiers by event, the event schedule and links to watch live or track results, please click here for the men and here for the women.
Carroll College
Men
Josh Malone, heptathlon (15th place, 4072 points)
Lee Walburn, heptathlon (4th place, 4951 points, five points to team score)
Women
Kelsey Bassett, pole vault (3rd place, 3.83 meters /12 feet 6-3/4 inches, six points to team score)
Shae Helterbran, pole vault (15th place, 3.43 meters /11 feet 3 inches)
Nikki Krueger, shot put (1st place, 14.12 meters /46 feet 4 inches, 10 points to team score)
Reghan Worley, 3,000-meter run (7th place, 10:13.89, two points to team score)
Distance medley (Elly Machado, Kate Picanco, Kendyl Pierson, Natalie Yocum, Reghan Worley) (8th place, 12:51.77, one point to team score)
College of Idaho
Women
4x800-meter relay (Abbey Shirts, Payton Durocher, Ellyse Tingelstad, Roby Young, Sage Martin, Charlie Duff, Larissa Mauer, Payge Durocher) (3rd place, 9:26.64, six points to team score)
Distance medley (Charlie Duff, Payge Durocher, Payton Durocher, Sage Martin, Larissa Mauer, Abbey Shirts, Ellyse Tingelstad, Roby Young) (DNQ for finals)
Dickinson State
Men
Cleet Wrzesinski, heptathlon (2nd place, 5079 points, eight points to team score)
Women
Faith Brennan, triple jump (9th place, 11.53 meters /37 feet 10 inches)
Emily Kolstad, 600-meter run (DNQ for finals)
Wrenzi Wrzesinski, pentathlon (10th place, 3124 points)
Eastern Oregon
Men
Allexander Kosel, long jump (8th place, 6.86 meters /22 feet 6-1/4 inches, one point to team score) and triple jump
Sam Roddewig, heptathlon (11th place, 4668 points)
Montana Tech
Women
Becca Richtman, 3,000-meter run (6th place, 10:09.39, three points to team score)
Rocky Mountain College
Men
Jackson Wilson, 3,000-meter run (DNQ for finals)
Distance medley (George Beddow, Caden Bethel, Nico Piliero, Jackson Wilson, Joseph Vanden Bos)
Women
Kendra Dykstra Munsterman, 800-meter run (3rd place, 2:15.09, six points to team score)
Sydney Little Light, 1-mile run (2nd place, 5:00.57, eight points to team score)
4x800-meter relay (Kendra Dykstra Munsterman, Mei-Li Stevens, Sydney Little Light, Larissa Saarel, Breah Mulvehill, Carina Bracy) (DNQ for finals)
