HOUSTON, Texas - Led by 1-2 finishes in both the shot put and the pole vault, North Dakota continued its outstanding run at the Great West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Sophomore Shawn Johnson (Eveleth, Minn.) won the shot put with a personal record mark of 16.08 meters (52 feet, 9 ¼ inches) on his final throw to edge out teammate Brandon Quesenberry (Billings, Mont.). Quesenberry settled for runner-up honors with a throw of 15.80 meters (51 feet, 10 inches).
"I'm pretty excited," said Johnson. "My teammate, Brandon Quesenberry, came in second today and any time you go 1-2, it's awesome."
Meanwhile, in the pole vault, Matthew Harris (So., Sidney, Mont.) claimed the event title by clearing 4.70 meters (15 feet, 5 inches). Classmate Jordan Fisk (Langdon, N.D.) was right behind in second place, clearing 4.50 meters (14 feet, 9 inches). A third Sioux, freshman Tyler Colling (Forest Lake, Minn.), took fifth place.
A pair of Sioux also accounted for fifth-place finishes in the jumps. Freshman Ryan Andert (Eagan, Minn.) took fifth place in the high jump, clearing 1.85 meters (6 feet, ¾ inches), while junior Bryant Halvorson (Rugby, N.D.) was fifth in the long jump at 6.57 meters (21 feet, 6 ¾ inches).
In preliminary action, junior Chris Benson (Devils Lake, N.D.) placed seventh in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.26 seconds to qualify for tomorrow's finals.
UND also qualified a pair of runners for tomorrow's 800-meters finals. Jesse Fenstermacher (So., Hibbing, Minn.) placed first in his heat and third overall with a time of 1:54.31, while senior Tyler Rose (Brainerd, Minn.) was fifth with a time of 1:54.79.
Team scores were not yet available, as the 3,000-meter steeplechase, 400-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash had not yet been completed due to a weather delay.
