THE MEET: The Univeristy of Minnesota Duluth will head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the final North Central Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The meet gets underway on Friday (May 9 ) at 3:00 p.m. and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. the following day.

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UMD NCC Outdoor Championships

THE TEAMS: Seven teams will be competing on the women's side: Augustana College, University of North Dakota, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of South Dakota, St. Cloud State University, University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Minnesota State University, Mankato. Those same schools, with the exception of Nebraska-Omaha will battle for the men's title.

THE COACH: John Fulkrod is currently serving in his seventh season as the Bulldog women's track and field head coach. He is in his third season as head coach of the men's track and field team after the resignation of long time coach Bill Hudspith. Fulkrod has led the University of Minnesota Duluth men's cross country team for 17 years and the women's cross country program for 15 years.

Fulkrod, 66, served as an assistant coach with the UMD women's track & field program for nine years before taking over the head job in 2001-02. His first season in charge of the women's program provided much success. Fulkrod led the Bulldogs to the 2002 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Indoor and Outdoor titles and was named the league's Coach of the Year for both seasons. He added two more NSIC Indoor and Outdoor Championship's to his resume in 2003 and 2004 before moving to the North Central Conference. Fulkrod led the men's team to a third place finish at the North Central Conference Indoor Championships in 2007 and was named NCC co-coach of the year. Fulkrod has helped coach four All-Americans: Heather Hamilton (indoor 2005 and outdoor 2004), Abby Demulling (indoor 2006), Liz Palkie (indoor 2007), and Jared Clementson (indoor 2008).

YOUNG GUNS: Melissa Smith has highlighted the freshman class in the throwing events this outdoor season. Smith set a school record on April 17, 2008 at the Bulldog Open and surpassed the NCAA Division II national provisional mark in the discus with a toss of 144'0\". Fellow rookie Elizabeth Crane placed fourth at the 2008 NCC Indoor Championships in the shot put and looks to better that result this outdoor season. This past weekend at the St. Thomas Invitational, freshman Bobbie Downs recorded a personal -best in the pole vault with a mark of 15'0\". In the running events, freshman Aaron Gorman looks to repeat the success he had at the NCC Indoor Championships where he placed third in the 800-meter dash.

GRACIAS SENORS: Eight senior men and women will be competing in their last NCC outdoor this weekend. That group includes: Jared Clementson, John Kallemeyn, Matt Kleffman, Pete Klopp, Zach Schmidt, Julie Johnston, Leah Kiley, and Erin Rankin.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: Senior thrower Matt Kleffman, junior thrower Tom Soldner, senior mid-distance runner Jared Clementson and senior mid-distance runner Pete Klopp are serving as the men's team captains for 2008. While Senior thrower Erin Rankin, junior mid-distance runner Liz Palkie and junior sprinter Kristen Haak handle those same duties with the women.

LAST YEAR: UMD produced two champions at the 2007 NCC Outdoor Championships in Duluth, Minn. Senior Jared Clementson defended his title in the 800-meter run, posting a time of 1:53.18. Clementson hopes to capture his third crown this coming weekend. Junior Liz Palkie was the 800 meters champion for the women, recording a time of 2:14.93. Palkie also grabbed second place in the 1,500-meter run clocking in at 4:40.56. Senior Matt Kleffman had all around success by placing second in the hammer throw (162'06\"), fourth in the shot put (48'00.75\"), and sixth in the discus (138'10\"). Teamwise, the Bulldog women took seventh place earning 73 points, while the men placed fourth with 109 points.



UP NEXT: The NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships are set to begin in Ponoma, CA on May 22-24, 2008. Bulldogs that have provisionally qualified are: Jared Clementson (800-meter run), Liz Palkie (800-meter run and 1,500-meter run), and Melissa Smith (discus).

NOTE: Due to the dismantling of the NCC, this will be the last conference event before UMD is reinstated into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.