The Herd roamed the country in various sports last weekend, while the men’s basketball team were big winners at home.
Softball
The Bison softball team took to the field for the first time this season at the Cal State-Fullerton Easton Invitational. The ladies played five games over the weekend, highlighted by a 1-0 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday. Junior Jaquelyn Sertic hurled a one-hitter to blank the Rebels. The Bison scored the decisive run in the top half of the seventh inning. With two runners on, Vanessa Anderson singled to centerfield to score pinch runner Anna Watson.
Unfortunately, the victory was the only win of the weekend for the Bison, who fell to Loyola Marymount, Utah State, University of the Pacific, and CSUF. The softball team will participate next in the University of Arizona Wildcat Invitational, in Tucson this upcoming weekend.
Sertic’s effort earned her the Summit League Pitcher of the Week, her seventh time winning the award.
Wrestling
The wrestling team scored two Big 12 victories this weekend, topping the United States Air Force Academy by a score of 23-10, and Wyoming, 24-16. Josh Rodriguez and Cam Sykora got the Bison off to a good start in the match against Air Force, recording consecutive major decisions in the early stages.
Rodriguez, ranked fourth in the nation in the 125 pound weight class, improved to 19-1 overall, and Sykora pushed his record in duals to 10-0.
NDSU extended their lead, winning three of the following four matches. Tyler McNutt’s 1-0 decision over Zen Ikehara in the 187 pound class sealed the deal for the Bison, creating a deficit too large for the Falcons to erase.
On Sunday in Laramie, the Cowboys took a 3-0 lead to open the meet, but the Bison won the following five matches to take control of the match. Cordell Eaton’s pin the 197-pound class was the highlight for the Bison, as NDSU moved to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12.
Thanks to the two wins, the Bison maintained their No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll.
Men’s Basketball
The Bison men’s hoops team picked up another important Summit League triumph this past weekend, trampling Denver, 81-63. Five Bison finished with double digit points totals, including A.J. Jacobson and Paul Miller, who both passed the 1,000 point threshold on Saturday. The junior duo became the 33rd and 34th players in school history to accomplish the feat.
Khy Kabellis paced the Herd with 17 points. The Bison, in the home stretch of the regular season, host Western Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the final home game of the season. NDSU steamrolled the Leathernecks in their previous matchup this season, winning by 31 points. With three games remaining, the Bison will look to lock up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and its third outright regular season championship.
Track and Field
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams participated in the Iowa State Classic and SDSU Indoor Classic this past weekend.
The men’s side achieved many school records and personal bests. Junior transfer Jake Leingang broke the school record in the 5,000m, which had been held for 32 years. A transfer from the University of Oregon, the former Duck broke the record by 21 seconds, with a time of 14:01.32.
Landon Jochim set an indoor career best in the 200m dash, running a time of 21.88 seconds. The following day, Jochim improved on his school record time in the 400m, shaving 0.18 seconds off of his mark.
Alex Renner took the title in the shot put, throwing 18.65 meters. Three other Bison placed in the top eight in the shot put as well.
The women’s team also placed well across various events. Rose Jackson sprinted a career best 24.40 in the 200m.
On day two, Morgan Milbrath and Alexis Woods ran times in the 400m which placed them second and third respectively in NDSU history.
Courtney Pasiowitz, with a 15.67m throw, came in first place in the shot put.
Next up for both teams is the Summit League Indoor Championship, taking place the last weekend of February.