For Immediate Release
Monday, February 14, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Kendall Zeman (Sprints, Sr. Bloomer, Wis. / Bloomer HS) - Winona State
Shereen Vallabouy (Sprints, Sr., Ipoh, Malaysia) - Winona State
Brooklyn Schyvinck (Sprints, Sr., Reedsburg, Wis. / Reedsburg Area HS) - Winona State
Maddy Pietz (Sprints/Jumps, Sr., Birnamwood, Wis. / Wittenberg-Birnamwood HS) - Winona State
- The relay team placed first at the NSIC & Friends Indoor Challenge in the 4x400 Relay
- The time of 3:47.47 is the fastest Warrior time on a flat 200 meter track in the event
- The converted time of 3:44.49 ranks the team second in NCAA Division II
- Time is also a NCAA provisional mark
- Team helped the Warriors to a second place finish in the nine team field

NSIC Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Katie Taylor  (Throws, Sr., Hayward, Wis. / Hayward HS) - Minnesota State
- Took home the top spot in both shot put and weight throw at the NSIC & Friends Indoor Challenge
- Won the shot put with a distance of 47-11.75  (14.62m), which would rank 12th in Division II this season
- Won the weight throw with a toss of 62-10.75 (19.17m), which would rank tied for ninth in Division II this season 
- She is ranked ninth in the shot put and second in the weight throw from throws earlier this season
- Named NSIC Field Athlete of the Week for the third time this season

Other Top Track Performances
Cami Streff (AUGIE) broke the school record at the SDSU Classic in the 800m running 2:09.61. The time ranks her fourth in Division II and also broke the meet record.
Maryse Mbenoun (BSU) earned an event win and was part of the BSU record-setting 4x400m relay. She took first in the 600m run with a time of 1:39.53 and then helped 4x400m relay to break BSU record with a time of 3:59.32. 
Elizabeth Acheson (UMary) broke the Marauders school record in the 800 meter run as she blazed around the track in a time of 2:10.72 to establish a new mark for the program. Her time is also an NCAA qualifying mark.  Acheson was also part of UMary’s winning 4x400 meter relay team that finished with a time of 3:54.39.
Julia Nielsen (UMD) posted a personal best in the women’s 5000 meter run at the SDSU Indoor Classic. Her mark of 16:58.32 is the ninth fastest time in NCAA Division II this season. 
Makayla Jackson (MSU) took home the top spot in the 200m dash this past weekend in the NSIC & Friends Indoor Challenge, as she set a NCAA Provisional mark of 24.98 which ranks 15th in the nation. She currently sits 2nd in the nation in the 60m and 4th in the long jump.
Payton Lane (MSUM) won the 5,000 meters at CSB/SJU Invitational on Saturday with a time of 18:22.91 for her second win of the indoor season.
Emily Hansen (MINOT) turned in a season-best performance in the 600 meters, finishing 11th overall at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic in 1:40.88. 
Cassidy O’Meara (USF) was part of the USF 4x800 meter relay which broke the school record with a 9:28.09 clocking and placed third at the SDSU Indoor Classic. She teamed with sophomore Annika Aho, junior Tianna Voigt and freshman Gracie Bucher in breaking a 20-year school mark. O’Meara also finished second in the 600-meter run (1:40.56, 15th in the NSIC) at the NSIC Indoor Invite and was a member of the 7th place 4x400 meter relay also at the NSIC Challenge.

Other Top Field Performances
Anastasia Klein (BSU) broke the BSU indoor pole vault record set in 2008 as she cleared 11-1.5 (3.39m) at the NSIC Challenge, taking fifth in the event. She surpassed previous BSU record by 3.5 inches.
Arika Robinson (CSP) recorded a NCAA DII provisional mark at the NSIC Challenge in winning the high jump with a leap of 5-6.5. She is tied for third among NCAA DII athletes in the event. 
Ashley Hokanson (MSUM) tied for the win in the pole vault at SDSU Indoor Classic. She recorded a personal-best vault of 12-9.5 which is best in NSIC this season and tied for 18th best in Division II this season. 
Kori Nagel (MINOT) broke the NCAA Division II-era Minot State school record in the weight throw with a mark of 53-11.75, which ranks 8th in the NSIC this winter. She also turned in a personal-best throw of 44-9.75 in the shot put at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic which ranks 7th in the NSIC.
Shona Juliana (NSU) won the triple jump with a 11.71m on her second attempt of the day at the SDSU Indoor Classic.
Emily Swanson (USF) competed in four different events (60-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, 4x400 meters relay) at the NSIC Indoor Challenge. She had the fourth-best jump in program history in finishing third with a jump of 5-04.5 (1.64m). She also just missed her personal-best of 9.20 in the 60-meter hurdles with a clocking of 9.21, claiming sixth. Swanson’s 60-meter hurdles mark ranks eighth all-time in program history. She was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay for USF which placed sixth.
Mckenzie Scheil (WSC) won the shot put and weight throw at Mount Marty Invite Saturday. Took first place in shot put at 45-11.75 and the weight throw at 62-1. She ranks third in the NSIC in shot put and fifth in weight throw. She ranks 12th in NCAA D2 in the weight throw and 16th in shot put.
Ashlie Lockington (WSU) was fourth in the long jump at 5.42 meters at the Minnesota State NSIC Indoor Challenge where the team earned runner-up status among nine programs. 
 

Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
12/7/21
T: Ja'Cey Simmons  - Minnesota State
F: Arika Robinson  - Concordia-St. Paul
12/14/21
T: Elizabeth Acheson  - UMary
F: Arianna Passeri - UMary
1/18/22
T: Lindsay Cunningham - Winona State
F: Katie Taylor - Minnesota State
1/25/22
T: Rose Cramer - Minnesota State
F: Katie Taylor - Minnesota State (2)
1/31/22
T: Ja'Cey Simmons  - Minnesota State (2) 
F: Hannah Arason - St. Cloud State
2/8/22
T: Patty Jo English, Ella Heinitz, Cami Streff, Nicolette Schmidt - Augustana
F: Makayla Jackson- Minnesota State
2/14/22
T: Kendall Zeman, Shereen Vallabouy, Brooklyn Schyvinck, Maddy Pietz - Winona State
F: Katie Taylor - Minnesota State (3)

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 24 team national championships and crowned 81 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.