McClellan Sets Steeplechase Records, Bison Women Take Lead at Summit League Championships

FARGO, N.D. - Maddie McClellan won the steeplechase in record-setting fashion to help the North Dakota State women take the lead after two days of competition at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Ellig Sports Complex Friday, May 11. The Bison are in first with 90 points, while South Dakota is second with 62 and Southern Utah is third with 44.

McClellan won the steeplechase in 10 minutes 19:39 seconds, setting a new school, league and facility record. It was NDSU's first title of the competition. She broke Cortney Christensen's NDSU record of 10:23.28 set in 2003. McClellan shattered the league record of 10:42.84 set in 2010 by South Dakota State's Nicole Davis and broke her own stadium record of 10:35.75 she set last weekend. McClellan dropped 16 seconds from her previous best in her winning performance.

Amy Jo Thorne also turned in a strong steeplechase performance, finishing third in 10:29.04.

In the high jump, Greta Zietz earned six points with a third place finish after clearing a personal best 5 feet 6 ½ inches. Toni Tollefson was fourth after clearing the same height. She was fourth by virtue of clearing the bar at 5-4 ½ on her second attempt, while Zietz cleared it on her first.

In the shot put, Emily Lesser and Katie Johnson placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Lesser's fourth place mark of 47 feet 5 ¾ inches is ranked fifth all-time in school history. Johnson's fifth place mark was 46-0 ½.

The Bison earned 20 team points in the heptathlon. Twila Moser finished second with a personal best score of 4,642 points, which is eighth on the all-time performance charts. Emily Stalpes was third with 4,510 points. Ashley Heinze took fifth with 4,383 points and Emily Roesler was seventh with 4,124 points.

Katie Dockter finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 18 feet 9 inches to pick up five team points for the Bison.

The Bison also had several athletes qualify for the finals in tomorrow's running events. Paige Stratioti posted the fastest time in the 400 meter preliminaries, clocking in at 54.99 seconds. Melissa Kitching also qualified for the 400 meter finals with a time of 56.76 seconds. Stratioti also qualified for the 200 meter final in 25.24 seconds.

In the 800 meters, all three Bison athletes advanced to Saturday's final. Brittany Schanandore ran the top qualifying time in 2 minutes 14.51 seconds. Ashlynn Simon qualified in 2:15.31, while Faith Kruchowski will join them with a time of 2:15.48.

Deborah John posted the leading time of 13.93 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles. Moser qualified with a time of 14.59 seconds and Stalpes qualified in 15.00 seconds.

The Summit League Championships conclude Saturday, May 12. Action kicks off at 10 a.m. with the women's discus. The running finals will begin at 12:20 p.m.

Team Scores
1. North Dakota State, 90
2. South Dakota, 62
3. Southern Utah, 44
4. South Dakota State, 42
5. Western Illinois, 36.5
6. Oral Roberts, 36
7. Oakland, 17.5
8. IPFW, 15
9. UMKC, 8