SIOUX FALLS  – The University of Sioux Falls Track and Field Teams are looking forward to the start of the 2021 Outdoor Season when they travel to the Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Neb., on Friday and Saturday, March 26-27.

As USF readies to compete in their first outdoor competition since 2019, the Men's and Women's outdoor programs will try and improve on the projections in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll which were released on Thursday (March 25). USF Men's Track and Field Team was picked 11th and the USF Women's Team was selected 12th. Previews of the USF teams follow, including notes about the NSIC preseason polls, athletes to watch and notes about the teams and student-athletes.

To follow USF Track and Field at the Wildcat Classic, go to Live Stats - Watch

Previewing USF Outdoor Men's Track and Field

In the men's poll, the eight-time defending NSIC Champions of Minnesota State University, Mankato were picked to win the NSIC. The Mavericks received nine first place votes and tallied 119 points, ranking them ahead of Augustana, which was second with 113 points and three first place votes. Northern State was third with 88 points, University of Mary was fourth with 87 points while MSU Moorhead was fifth with 86 points. The Cougars received 27 points in the poll.

The University of Sioux Falls Men's Outdoor Track and Field Squad, which finished fourth at the last NSIC Outdoor Meet in 2018-19 with 78 points, will be led by a solid group in the sprints, jumps, throws and middle and long distance.

 "We are a young squad and have received a lot of experience in the indoor season. With great attitudes and hard work ethic, it will be excited to see the team grow," said USF Director of Track and Field Doug Petersen. "We will take the things we learned and use them to build on our outdoor season," he said.

The Cougars will be led in the throws by NSIC Field Athlete to Watch, Patrick Hagan, who had two top-10 throws at the NSIC Outdoor Meet in 2019.  Three-time qualifier in throwing events at the 2019 NSIC Outdoor Championship, Hagan ranks 4th all-time indoor in weight throw at USF (56-7.5, 2019) & eighth in the javelin throw (173.9.5, 2019) at USF. He placed sixth in the NSIC Indoor Weight Throw in 2020; and ninth in the hammer throw and 10th in the shot put at the 2019 NSIC Outdoor.

USF's Track Athlete to Watch David Ecker, a junior from Eau Claire, Wisc, who is a seven-time NSIC indoor or outdoor qualifier, has placed `` times as an individual or on a team in the top eight with one individual title. Five times he has been a member of USF teams that placed in top-6 in NSIC in track and field and cross country and member of the NSIC championship XC team in 2018. He is a seven-time qualifier in the NSIC in distance events and ranks ninth all-time at USF in the 5K (8:41.96, 2021).

USF will also return Mason Phillips, a senior who has earned six combined All-American honors in cross country and track and field, has a combined nine NSIC Weekly Athlete of the Week honors in track and field and cross country and owns has six individual school records and three more as a member of a relay squad for 10 total school marks. The Men's Outdoor Team will also look for contributions in middle distance from Logan Hansen in the 800/1500 meters with Aaron Voigt adding strength in distance in the steeplechase and 5K. Also for USF, Ethan Holm, who ranks sixth all-time at USF in the decathlon (4,850 points) is another contributor. Also look for jumps specialists Isiah Dancy in the triple jump and long jump, Steven Miner in the high jump and Jake Person in the pole vault.

Previewing USF Outdoor Women's Track and Field

In the women's track and field poll, MSU was picked to win the NSIC in the preseason women's outdoor track & field coaches' poll. The Mavericks received 13 first place votes and tallied 195 points, ranking them ahead of Augustana University (183) and the University of Mary (171), which each received a first place vote.  Winona State was picked fourth with 151 points while Northern State rounded out the top five as the Wolves garnered 141 points.  USF was 12^th with 64 points and just three points from 11^th.

The USF Women's Outdoor Track and Field Team, which opens the season on March 26-27 at Wayne State, will be led by All-Americans in NSIC Athletes to Watch KaNya Henderson and thrower Emma Hertz as well as Jaimie McNamee along with talented sprint and distance performers. In the last outdoor championship USF was eighth in the team standings in 2019.

"We are looking to our Outdoor season and being even more successful as a team as we towards the Outdoor Championships," said Petersen. "We have a great blend of upper class ladies in the throwing events along with younger athletes in the other events. We are definitely looking forward to an outdoor season after missing out a year ago," he said.

Henderson, a two-time Academic All-NSIC performer from Utica, Miss., was an indoor All-American in 2020. Ranks 4th all-time in 12.24 in 100-meters and 8th-alltime at 25.55 in 200 meters outdoors all-time at USF. She has won four individual titles and placed second six times in the 60-meters or 200 meters and nine third-place results in sprints or relay for 16 top-3 finishes overall. Named a USTFCCA All-American in 60-meters indoor in 2020, Henderson owns indoor school records in 60-meters at 7.55 and 200-meters of 25.55 in 2020. She was a member of the sixth place 400-meter relay at NSIC in 2019.

USF will have a talented throws squad led by the return of Hertz of Sioux Falls, S.D., who earned her third and fourth All-American honor at the 2021 NCAA DII Indoor Championships. A four-time NCAA DII All-American who prepped at Sioux Falls O'Gorman, Hertz broke school records in both the shot put (52-2) and the weight throw indoors and earned two first-team All-American honors at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in 2021. She has won 14 shot put titles and two weight throw titles indoors. Overall,  indoors and outdoors, she has 47 top-eight finishes in the throws with 19 total titles and 29 placements of either first or second. She ranks first in discus (169'2.25, 2019), first in shot put (51'05, 2019), and third in hammer throw (162'3.25) outdoors in USF school history. Also Hertz competed at the 2019 NCAA DII Outdoor meet in discus and shot and ranked as high as ninth in DII with her throw of 16902 on May 1, 2019.

Kayla Andersen (6th, all-time at USF in discus & 6th all-time in hammer throw) and indoor All-American Jaimie McNamee, (ranks 1st all-time at USF in the hammer throw at 177'10 in 2019 and 2nd in discus of 150'3.5 in 2019), who was second in 2019 in hammer throw (2nd place, DII Prov mark), and fourth in the discus (45.59m, DI Prov.) at the NSIC Outdoor Meet. Also back is DII javelin qualifier Miranda Phipps (school record holder in javelin at 152'7, 2019), who was second in the javelin (40.67M) at the NSIC Outdoor Meet in 2019.

The Cougars will also look for a strong season from senior multi-event standout Emily Olson (2nd all-time, heptathlon, 4,596 points, 2019), as well as jumps specialists Natalie Meyers and Cassidy Noeldner and Taylor Stoltz, who had an indoor NCAA DII provisional mark and ranks ranks tied for second all-time at USF indoors at 5'4.5; sprinters Henderson, Mercy Oyadare, Zoe Cigard, Emma Kenkel and Jailah Brice-Moore and distance standouts Annika Aho, Grace Beck, Cassidy O'Meara, Karlee Simmons, Lauren Wells (steeplechase), Khot Juac, among others.   

The 2021 NSIC outdoor track & field season gets underway in the end of March with the regular season culminating on Thursday-Saturday, May 13-15 at the NSIC Championships held at Malosky Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota, hosted by the University of Minnesota Duluth.