FARGO — It got to the point that a North Dakota State women’s team championship in the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships was almost a formality. But a run of 14 straight ended last season.
Forgive the Bison late Saturday afternoon if their celebration had a little more juice to do it. NDSU reclaimed its title status over defending champion South Dakota, overcoming the Coyotes’ star power with a better overall team.
The Bison were the better team when it counted, finishing with 253.83 points to USD's 240.5.
“There were a lot of second, third, fourth, fifth and sixths, that’s what wins championships,” said Bison head coach Stevie Keller.
NDSU was in chasing mode against USD all afternoon, with the difference just less than two team points with five events remaining. NDSU flipped that margin one event later and the league title had all the makings of coming down to the last event.
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“A lot of things had to go right today,” Keller said. “These kids just came out and gave it their all. They wanted to win this thing at home and they did everything they needed to do today.”
The Bison lead was less than three points with the 5,000 meters and 1,600-meter relay remaining.
A second- and third-place finish in the 5K from Kaleesa Houston and Reagan Baesler, a former four-time North Dakota Class B cross country champion for Hillsboro-Central Valley, expanded NDSU’s lead to an insurmountable margin, leading to the realization from teammates that the Bison pulled off the rally.
“Coach just told us to do our jobs,” Baesler said. “We needed all the girls in the 5K to do their best and we did. Our team has so much depth and we support each other 100% all the time through all the ups and downs. We had a good vibe these three days.”
The vibe turned in a rally against USD, which featured sprinting champ Erin Kinney.
The Bison made up quick ground with a 1-2-4 finish in the 100 hurdles that included winner Terezia Bolibruch. It pulled the Bison to within six team points of the Coyotes.
“We have a lot of girls in finals today, I have a lot of faith in my girls we can pull this off,” Bolibruch said.
Bolibruch would get one of NDSU’s two individual titles on the track, a testament to the depth the Bison threw at everybody else. Teammate Nell Graham, the women’s pentathlon champion on Friday, pulled off a surprise one event later, winning the 400 pulling it off from the far outside lane.
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“I woke up, legs were tired and didn’t really want to run,” Graham said after the five-event pentathlon. “I thought I would be dead last. To win at home with all my friends is awesome.”
A 1-2-3 Bison finish in the triple jump led by Alissa Melvin kept the Bison on pace with the Coyotes.
NDSU never relented from putting the pressure on. The Graham victory was a sign of that.
“I was just hoping she would be in the top three,” Keller said. “But to win the 400, that was amazing. She’s a tough kid.”
Team totals
North Dakota State 253.83, South Dakota 240.5, South Dakota State 120.33, North Dakota 85, St. Thomas 43, Oral Roberts 30, Western Illinois 23, Kansas City 15, Omaha 7.33.
Individual results
100: 1, Kinney, USD, 11.34 (record, old record 11.50 by Tamaira Williams, ORU, 2016). 2, Pulse, USD, 11.68. 3, Kelley, NDSU, 11.70.
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200: 1, Kinney, USD, 23.35. 2, Kelley, NDSU, 23.69. 3, Williams, NDSU, 24.46.
400: 1, Graham, NDSU, 53.93. 2, Jones, SDSU, 54.42. 3, Robinson, USD, 54.46.
800: 1, A. Mazzei, ORU, 2:09.83. 2, D. Mazzei, ORU, 2:10.12. 3, Glazier, SDSU, 2:10.88.
1,500: 1, Ryan, KC, 4:22.09. 2, Baesler, NDSU, 4:26.16. 3, Link, NDSU, 4:26.17.
5,000: 1, Hansen, SDSU, 16:4842. 2, Houston, NDSU, 16:57.57. 3, Baesler, NDSU, 16:58.68.
400 relay: 1, USD, 45.06. 2, NDSU, 46.34. 3, SDSU, 47.17.
1,600 relay: 1, USD, 3:40.25 (record, old record 3:42.05, USD, 2021). 2, NDSU, 3:43.70. 3, SDSU, 3:47.58.
100 hurdles: 1, Bolibruch, NDSU, 13.45. 2, Korgho, NDSU, 13.57. 3, Schmeichel, USD, 13.79.
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400 hurdles: 1, Pulse, USD, 58.70. 2, Dierks, NDSU, 1:00.57. 3, Schmeichel, USD, 1:01.32.
Triple jump: 1, Melvin, NDSU, 40-11¾. 2, Lipp, NDSU, 40-7½. 3, Emineth, NDSU, 40-1½.
Discus: 1, Knapp, USD, 170-9. 2, Clark, USD, 147-0. 3, Leiseth, SDSU, 144-4.
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