Men’s Track Thrives at the NDSU Spring Classic on Sunday

In a quick glance, it was rainy and foggy, and then it reached temperatures of 70 degrees on Monday. NDSU hosted 11 teams around the region, from division one to division three. South Dakota State and the University of North Dakota came for the day trip. The University of Mary, Moorhead and Bemidji were the Division II standouts.

To start, in the 100-meter final, NDSU had two runners in the top three. Sophomore Tyler Milkes clocked a 10.93 to place third, while another sophomore, Jeran McNicholes, placed second with a time of 10.85. MSUM’s Brandon Pemberton would take the gold by 30 milliseconds.

In the 200-meter dash, the top three would chronologically be in the same order. But freshman Chris Hilton would take ninth at 22.35 seconds. Milkes and McNicholes would take third and second, respectively, with times of 21.75 and 21.74, while Pemberton would take another first place with a blazing finish of 21.27.

The one-lap around the track race had one NDSU finisher, but that finish garnered a first-place finish. First-year racer Zachery Bruder finished first with a pace of 48.26 ahead of the University of Mary sophomore Nathan Andrews, who placed second with 48.43.

“Unattached” is a term that track fans at the collegiate level should get used to. For comparison, the NCAA in football has a four-game rule where players can compete in those four games without using a year of eligibility. In track, however, athletes who are “unattached” are either redshirting or going pro and can compete in however many meets they want.

It puts a huge investment into the athletes for development, hoping they don’t leave after showcasing their talents all year.

Back on track, in the 800-meter dash, unattached NDSU cross country runner Taylor Wanner placed eighth with a time of 1:55.10 for a personal best.

Wanner would strike again in the 1500 meters; the Bowman County grad would place first with a personal best of 3:57.15 seconds, a whole second faster than second place.

Another NDSU cross country runner, Regan Bosch, would be running unattached and place first in the 5,000 meter contest with a personal best of 15:16.14. He will be a star in the fall.

NDSU would dominate the 110m hurdle final. Three out of the top five in the final would be bison. Freshman Joshua Kyei-Baffour would dominate, placing first with a time of 14:08, while sophomore Brooks Turner would be right behind him, placing second with 14.36. Hilton would round out the top five with a personal best of 14.82.

Another freshman would strike again. Otto Anderson ran a 54.21 in the 400m hurdles and narrowly beat out fighting hawk Josh Neil for first.

Out of the track and onto the field, NDSU dominated. Starting in the shot put area, NDSU would have three throwers place in the top 10, along with Jack Packer placing second unattached. Both freshman Paul Hoekman and Josiah Zilmer would place third and fourth with marks well above 55 feet. Sophomore Aiden Krause would place seventh with a toss of 52 feet.

In the discussion ring, the Bison would have four top 10 finishers, including two finishers in the top five. Senior Kaiden Pastian and Krause would place third and fourth, while Red River grad Logan Arason and Hoekman would place seventh and ninth. Pastian would hit a season’s best 171.4” toss.

With my favorite event, the javelin, NDSU would win the event after freshman Ryder Bickett’s toss of close to 195’, and teammate Arason’s toss of 193’ would earn him a respected second place.

Lastly, in the throwing events, Pastian in the hammer throw would win the meet and place a personal best of 205’.2” to set himself up for an outstanding outdoor season.

Alongside the throwing dominance, the bison had a field day in jumping dominance. Junior Andrew Berg would place second in the high jump with a jump of 2.05 meters.

NDSU had three top ten placers in freshman Lucas McNicholas, junior Lorenzo Andrews, and rising freshman Carter Reckelberg, all finishing five through seven with marks in the 21’ to 22’ mark.

But Berg would have his personal best jump at NDSU with a mark of 13.67 meters, placing him first and winning the event.

NDSU will travel to Azusa, California, for the Bryan Clay Invitational this Thursday. Athletes will also travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the University of Nebraska Big Red Classic on Friday.