FARGO, N.D. – Senior Nikki Klier broke her own 400-meter dash school record and junior Jason Crisman set a personal-best in the men's shot put as both captured conference titles on the final day of The Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships Monday (Feb. 28).
“It was great to see Jason (Crisman) and Nikki (Klier) dominate their events,” said Western Illinois head coach David Beauchem. “Those two represent what we want Western Illinois Track and Field to be about.”
“We had several top three finishes and it was great to see so many other season-bests. It shows we are headed in the right direction toward the outdoor season.”
Klier was the top seed of the women's 400-meter dash and captured her first conference title with a time of 55.52. It is the best flat track performance in program history and breaks Klier's old record of 55.97 set at the 2009 Summit League Indoor Championships.
Crisman was the top seed of the men's shot put and recorded the best qualifying mark (55-03.00) on his way to the finals. In the finals, Crisman set a personal-best and captured his second straight conference title with a throw of 57-09.75. The performance is the third best in program history and easily surpasses Crisman's previous best of 55-06.25 set earlier this season at the Illinois State Invitational (Jan. 22).
Sophomore Jamario Taylor, an all-league selection, placed third in the men's high jump with a mark of 6-08.25 while freshman Michael Crabtree finished sixth (6-06.25). Junior Paul Hames, who placed third in the men's weight throw on Sunday, finished sixth in the men's shot put with a mark of 49-06.25.
In the women's pole vault, junior all-league selection Nichole Manning placed third (11-11.75) while senior Tyra Woodruff finished in eighth (10-11.75). Manning's performance ties her mark at the Iowa Invitational last weekend as the third best in program history.
In the women's 800-meter run, sophomore Chelsea Lynes placed fourth
overall and set a personal-best with a time of 2:15.87. The performance
is the ninth best in program history and eclipses her previous best time
of 2:17.18 at last weekend's Iowa Invitational.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team (Miranda Brockman, Amy Byers, Breanna Moore and Nikki Klier) set a Western Illinois season-best with a time of 3:55.69 and finished in fourth place out of eight teams.
Sophomore Davin Dollison, who placed ninth in the men's long jump on Sunday, finished fifth in the men's triple jump with a personal-best mark of 46-06.25. It bested his jump of 46-00.75 at the Illinois State Invitational on Jan. 22.
Finally, senior Aaron Russo placed eighth in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.84. As a team, Western's women finished seventh out of eight teams with 35.5 points while the men finished seventh out of seven teams with 36.5 total points.
Western's final event of the indoor season is Saturday (March 5) at the Last Chance Qualifier at Iowa State. Senior Nikki Klier (400-meter dash) and sophomore Chelsea Lynes (800-meter dash) will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which take place in College Station, Texas on March 11 and 12.
Final Standings
MEN - 17 Events Scored
1) North Dakota State, 208
2) South Dakota State, 131
3) Oral Roberts, 126
4) Southern Utah, 64.50
5) UMKC, 51
6) Oakland, 37
7) Western Illinois, 36.50
WOMEN - 17 Events Scored
1) North Dakota State, 247
2) Southern Utah, 121
3) Oral Roberts, 101.50
4) South Dakota State, 74
5) Oakland, 43
6) UMKC, 38
7) Western Illinois, 35.50
8) IPFW, 3
