DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Track and Field Team had two individual champions, three NCAA DII provisional marks and a school record as they moved from seventh after day one into fourth place finish at the NSIC Track and Field Championships. USF Women's squad had a school record and a number of season bests as they finished eighth at the NSIC meet.

The USF Men's Team improved on its outdoor finish from a year ago by taking fourth with 78 points in 21 events opposed to the fifth place finish and 66.50 points a year ago. As a result, they improved by 11.5 points. USF Men was led by two title winners with Tristan Zawadzki capturing the pole vault (16-07 ¼) and Mason Phillips taking the 800-meter title. USF also had a pair of top three finishes from junior Zach Lundberg (1,500, 5000 meters) and a strong performance in the throws.

USF Men's Team members Zawadzki (pole vault), Phillips (800 meters), Christian Gruschin (discus), Zach Lundberg (1,500 meters , 5,000 meters) and Jase Kraft (1,500 meters) were named All-NSIC for top three individual finishes. Minnesota State won the men's championship with 219 points with U-Mary, second at 118 points followed by Augustana at 90 points and USF.

For the USF Women, Miranda Phipps (javelin) and Jaimie McNamee (hammer throw) were All-NSIC and led USF to an eighth place (14 teams) with 43 points and just 4.5 points from sixth (Northern State, 47.50). U-Mary captured the women's title with 202.50 points.

"Overall we had a good meet with a few nice surprises," said USF Director of Track and Field Doug Petersen. "We are excited for Dan Armstrong as he set the school record in the 3K. Also in the throws, I thought we had a solid meet overall. Plus Tristan (Zawadzki) and Mason (Phillips) won titles and we had several earn All-NSIC honors. So we are pleased with our overall efforts this weekend," he said.

Men's Review – Phillips wins 800-meter title; Lundberg records pair of top three finishes
Junior Mason Phillips clocked a 1:52.84 to claim his second 800 meter crown (2017). Junior Billy Beseman was sixth in 1:56.17 as USF earned 13 team points in the event. Phillips, who registered the fourth fastest time in school history, had his best time of the season but just off his school record of 1:52.53 which he set in 2017. He also claimed ninth place in the 5,000 meter run in 15:09.19.

USF junior Zach Lundberg had a strong day two performance by taking second in the 1,500 meter run and third in the 5,000 meters. With the sixth fastest time in school history, Lundberg clocked a 14:51.15 in the 5K and earned USF six team points.

At the start of the afternoon, Cougars had a fast start as three runners placed in the 1,500 meter run, which included Lundberg, who was second in 4:01.34 (ninth best in school history). Senior Jase Kraft recorded a 4:02.15 (10^th on USF's all-time chart) for third while sophomore Logan Hansen took eighth with a 4:04.44 clocking. The threesome helped USF earn 15 points in the event.

Junior Christian Gruschin and Chandler Nelson scored 11 team points for USF in the discus by finishing third and fourth, respectively, and separated by just one inch in their throws. Gruschin, who was second at the 2018 NSIC Championship, had a throw of 49.04M (160-11) while Nelson, who was seventh place in the shot put on Friday with a career-best effort in the shot put at 15.71M (51-06 1/2), finished just behind Gruschin at 49.02M (160-10). Gruschin's throw of 160-11 ranks fourth best all-time with Nelson's toss fifth on USF's all-time chart. Also for USF, freshman Patrick Hagan claimed 12^th place at 46.18M (151-06), which is ninth on USF all-time chart.

In the 400-meter dash, senior Trey Furgeson clocked a 48.87, just off his season best 48.84, and finished fifth. He finished just .35 from second place. Furgeson, who gave USF four valuable team points, now has the third (48.84) and fourth fast (48.87) on USF's all-time chart.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, junior Dan Armstrong clocked an NCAA DII provisional mark and set a school record with his clocking of 9:18.36. In earning USF three team points, Armstrong crushed the school record of Brian Lowery, who ran a 9:28.24 in 2000. Armstrong also bettered his own season-best effort of 9:42.29 by 24 seconds.  Also in the race, senior Nick Lawson had a season-best clocking of 9:35.58 for 10^th as he bettered his previous best time by nearly seven seconds. Also for USF, freshman Aaron Voigt clocked a 9:51.64 for 13^th and senior Josh Liester had a time of 9:58.18 for 14^th.

Thomas Chapin, who is a football and track and field standout, picked up points for USF in the javelin throw with a 7th place finish and a career-best throw of 52.57M (172-06). Chapin's throw was ninth all-time at USF.

The Cougars finished just out of scoring position in the 4x400 meter relay with a ninth-place finish in 3:25:04. The relay squad included Furgeson, Hansen, freshman Jayden Slaba and Beseman.

In the men's 4x100 meter relay, USF was 10^th in 43.40 with team of freshman Nate Andrusick, sophomore Troy Petersohn, junior Xavier Scarlett and junior Jonathan Rowe.

Sophomore Cooper Wood took 11^th in the triple jump at 13.47M (44-02 ½) with freshman Casey Hackett grabbing 12^th with a season-best leap of 13.31 meters (43-08).

Aside from Lundberg and Phillips in the 5,000 meters, Kraft was also 16^th at 15:44.97. Others competing in the event include freshman Mitchell Mund, 26^th, 16:06.22; freshman Shodo Mahamed, 27^th, 16:16.05; freshman David Eckert, 28^th, 16:17.40; and freshman Aaron Voigt, 31^st, 16:37.26.

Women's Review – Phipps, McNamee and Ceglowski lead way
Junior Miranda Phipps had the top performance of the day for the USF Women's Team with a second place finish in the javelin throw at 40.67M (133-05), which ranks third on USF's all-time list. Finishing sixth in the javelin was sophomore Bailey Rudebusch at 37.01M (121-05). For Rudebusch, her javelin throw ranks eighth all-time at USF.

Junior Jaimie McNamee registered another top five finish in the throws. One day after her school record throw in the hammer (54.21M – 177-10), McNamee finished fourth in the discus with an NCAA DII provisional mark 45.59M (149-7), which was just under her season best of 49.46 (150-03). In addition, that throw by McNamee is third all-time at USF. Sophomore Kayla Andersen was 11^th with a season best throw of 41.39M (135-09). Placing 15^th was freshman Mackenzie Bengtson at 39.73M (130-04) with Kourtney Rozeboom at 38.62M (126-08) in 19^th place and sophomore Emma Hertz 23^rd at 35.83M (117-07).

In the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Taryn Ceglowski provided USF with three points as she clocked a season-best 4:40.04 for sixth place. With that performance, Ceglowski has the two top times in the 1,500 meters in USF history (4:32.49, 2018, 1^st; 4:40.4, 2019, 2^nd).  She also finished 13^th in the 5,000 meter run in 18:23.21. Rebecca Goertzen was 30^th in the 5K with a time of 19:25.03 while Sarina Lindell was 34^th in 19:45.44 in that same 5K race.

USF's 4x100 meter relay, which included sophomore Chloe Peterson, junior Sarah Troescher, sophomore Mercy Oyadare and freshman Kanya Henderson, earned points with a sixth place finish in 47.72, which ranks third all-time at USF.

In the 4x400-meter relay, USF was 11^th in 4:06.95 with a team of Oyadare, sophomore Emily Olson, freshman Jasmine Harris and Peterson.
Junior Clara Paul was 12^th in the triple jump with a season-best 37-00 ¼.