BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The University of Sioux Falls Track & Field men's team was picked third and the women's team was tabbed ninth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference outdoor track & field preseason coaches' poll, released by the league on Thursday afternoon. Reigning NSIC women's outdoor pole vault champion Courtney Crandall was named the women's preseason field athlete of the year and was joined by Sarah Troescher as USF's women's athletes to watch. Multiple-time NSIC champions Jase Kraft and Scott Greenman were honored as USF's men's athletes to watch.
 
The Cougar men, who placed second for the second time in three years at the NSIC Indoor Championships earlier this year, totaled 82 points with one first-place vote in the preseason coaches' poll. Minnesota State was picked as the favorite to repeat as NSIC Outdoor champions with 97 points with nine first-place votes, and Augustana received the final first-place vote and were slotted second with 84 points.
 
On the women's side, the USF women's team continues to build and they collected 98 points in the preseason coaches' poll, which placed them ninth, one spot above where they finished at the 2016 NSIC Outdoor Championships. Minnesota State was picked as the favorite with 13 first-place votes and 192 points, followed by University of Mary (173 points) in second, and Winona State (162) and Augustana (153) were selected third and fourth, respectively, with one first-place vote each.
 
The reigning indoor national champion, Crandall enters her final outdoor season as the reigning NSIC pole vault champion and meet record holder. A native of Rapid City, S.D., Crandall won the 2016 NSIC Outdoor Championship in the women's pole vault with a 4.08-meter (13 feet-4.50 inches) mark and followed that with her second All-American finish at the NCAA Championships two weeks later. Crandall is a five-time NCAA Championship qualifier, twice earning an invitation to the outdoor national meet. Crandall's outdoor personal-best of 4.20 meters (13-9.25) ranks her as the No. 6 individual in NCAA outdoor track & field history, and her national title mark of 4.32 meters (14-2.00) set this past season is the No. 4 NCAA Division II mark all-time during the indoor season.
 
In her freshman season, Sarah Troescher already made a big impact on the Cougar team and etched her name in the USF record books. The Arcadia, Calif. native broke the USF 60-meter dash record three times and set a personal-best with a 7.75-second time at the NSIC Indoor Championships. Heading into her first collegiate outdoor season, Troescher brings in personal bests of 12.15 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 25.07 seconds, which would bath rank in the top three of USF history.
 
A redshirt sophomore from Wessington Springs, S.D., USF 1,500-meter record holder Jase Kraft heads to the track with records and national championship qualifying on his mind. In his only NSIC Outdoor Championship meet two years ago, Kraft was edged for the 1,500-meter title by less than two tenths of a second, and he scored for the Cougars with a sixth-place finish in the 5k. During this past indoor season, Kraft was one of four distance runners, who put an assault on the record books. He qualified for the NCAA Championships as the anchor leg of the men's distance medley relay team that placed 11th at the national meet. Kraft owns the indoor mile and 4x800-meter relay record as well as top-t10 times in the 800-, 1,000-, 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs.
 
Like his teammate and fellow pole vaulter, senior Scott Greenman enters his final outdoor season as the reigning NSIC men's pole vault champion and comes into the season after winning the NCAA men's pole vault national title. A native of Clovis, Calif., Greenman is the NSIC and USF record holder in the men's pole vault after setting the record with a 5.19-meter (17-0.25) clearance at the NSIC Outdoor Championships last season. A two-time NSIC outdoor conference champion and five-time All-American, Greenman is also the USF indoor record holder after clearing 5.35 meters (17-6.50) to win the national championship last month.

University of Sioux Falls Track & Field opens outdoor competition next week as hosts of the Rich Greeno/Vane Butler Duel on Saturday, April. 8 at the Lillibridge Track & Field Complex in Sioux Falls.