FARGO, N.D. — The Dickinson State men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed over two days at the Bison Open in Fargo, North Dakota, continuing the 2025 indoor season against a large and competitive field at the Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility.
Dickinson State opened the meet with strong performances in the multi-events, as both the men's heptathletes and women's pentathletes set the tone early. Their combined efforts produced scores that will count toward the upcoming conference championships and provided valuable early momentum for the Blue Hawks.
In the women's pentathlon, Adarra Hagelund delivered a standout meet, highlighted by a win in the high jump at 1.73 meters. Faith Brennan also posted a strong overall performance, placing second in the 60-meter hurdles and contributing solid marks across all five events. On the men's side, Ty Leischner led the heptathlon group with event wins in the high jump and a second-place finish in the pole vault, while Jarek Janz and Garin Opdahl added key performances in the jumps and throws.
On the track, Dickinson State saw multiple point-scoring finishes in sprint and middle-distance events. Mustafa Taylor advanced to the finals of the men's 60 meters after running a personal-best 6.998 in the preliminaries and followed with a seventh-place finish in the final. Quentin Lewis added points in the men's 200 meters, placing fifth with a season-best time of 22.42. Jarett Schuchard contributed in the hurdle events, advancing to the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles and finishing sixth.
Middle-distance performances were highlighted by Mia Handran, who placed fifth in the women's 800 meters with a season-best and NAIA "B" qualifying time of 2:18.66. Natalie Lile added another scoring effort with a fifth-place finish in the women's 1,000 meters, running a personal-best 3:03.50. Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams turned in strong performances, with the men placing second with a time of 10:23.00 and the women winning the event in 13:00.78.
The field events produced several highlights for the Blue Hawks. Kori Nagel led the women's throws by winning the shot put with a school-record mark of 15.35 meters, a performance that ranks among the top marks nationally this season. Dylan Dahlgren anchored the men's throws with a second-place finish in the weight throw at 19.20 meters, while also competing in the shot put. Kohbe Smith added points in the men's long jump with a third-place finish.
Dickinson State used the Bison Open as an opportunity to compete against quality opposition, evaluate progress across event groups, and continue building toward the championship portion of the indoor season.
Head coach Shayne Wittkopp was pleased with the overall effort across the two-day meet.
"It was a good couple of days at the track," Wittkopp said. "We were really excited about how the heptathletes and pentathletes got us started. Their scores this weekend will count toward the conference meet, and overall they did a fantastic job.
"The rest of the meet saw several standout performances. Kori Nagel broke the school record in the shot put and secured the event win, and Mia Handran ran an 'A' qualifying time in the 800 meters.
"Overall, we got some good things done this weekend."
