MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of North Dakota men's track and field season took part in its first meet of 2013 today at the University of Minnesota's Northwest Open.
Team scores were not kept, but North Dakota opened the calendar year with several notable performances.
Sophomore Nick Lindstrom (Shakopee, Minn.) was the runner-up in the 3,000-meter run, clocking a time of 8:58.73. He and event winner Ben Merchant were the only runners to crack the 9-minute mark in the race. Lindstrom was joined by teammates Parker Wharram (Fr., Independence, Minn.) and Ross Nelson (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), who finished third and fourth, respectively.
In the 800-meters, UND's Isaiah Frohling (Fr., Britton, S.D.) and Dwight Mandimika (Jr., Harare, Zimbabwe) placed third and fourth, respectively. Frohling had a time of 2:01.53, while Mandimika clocked in at 2:01.72.
UND also received a pair of strong showings in the shot put. Shawn Johnson (Jr., Eveleth, Minn.) finished third with a throw of 51 feet, 11 ¾ inches (15.84 meters), while freshman Conrad Schwarzkopf (Fr., Bismarck, N.D.) placed fifth with a mark of 48 feet, 6 ¾ inches (14.80 meters).
Senior Aaron Koenig (St. Cloud, Minn.), a transfer from Saint John's University, took fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.92 seconds.
In the pole vault, sophomore Tyler Colling (Forest Lake, Minn.) placed fifth after clearing 15 feet, ¼ inch (4.58 meters).
UND's next scheduled meets are the National Pole Vault Summit on Jan. 19 in Reno, Nev., and the Bill Bergan Invitational on Jan. 26 in Ames, Iowa.
Team scores were not kept, but North Dakota opened the calendar year with several notable performances.
Sophomore Nick Lindstrom (Shakopee, Minn.) was the runner-up in the 3,000-meter run, clocking a time of 8:58.73. He and event winner Ben Merchant were the only runners to crack the 9-minute mark in the race. Lindstrom was joined by teammates Parker Wharram (Fr., Independence, Minn.) and Ross Nelson (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), who finished third and fourth, respectively.
In the 800-meters, UND's Isaiah Frohling (Fr., Britton, S.D.) and Dwight Mandimika (Jr., Harare, Zimbabwe) placed third and fourth, respectively. Frohling had a time of 2:01.53, while Mandimika clocked in at 2:01.72.
UND also received a pair of strong showings in the shot put. Shawn Johnson (Jr., Eveleth, Minn.) finished third with a throw of 51 feet, 11 ¾ inches (15.84 meters), while freshman Conrad Schwarzkopf (Fr., Bismarck, N.D.) placed fifth with a mark of 48 feet, 6 ¾ inches (14.80 meters).
Senior Aaron Koenig (St. Cloud, Minn.), a transfer from Saint John's University, took fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.92 seconds.
In the pole vault, sophomore Tyler Colling (Forest Lake, Minn.) placed fifth after clearing 15 feet, ¼ inch (4.58 meters).
UND's next scheduled meets are the National Pole Vault Summit on Jan. 19 in Reno, Nev., and the Bill Bergan Invitational on Jan. 26 in Ames, Iowa.
