Sophomore James Ryan got his first taste of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Decathlon Championship competition and the University of Minnesota Duluth sophomore placed an impressive third at the two-day event, which wrapped up Monday afternoon in Aberdeen, S.D.

Ryan rolled up 5,374 points to trail only Minnesota State University-Mankato's Nathan Hancock (6,664 pts.) and Colin Goligoski (5,923 pts.) of Concordia University-St. Paul among the nine participants. The Oakdale, Minn., native won the shot put title (10.79 meters), took second in both the 100-meter dash (11.58) and 110-meter high hurdles (15.88) and was third in the javelin throw (41.40 meters).

With Ryan's third-place finish, the Bulldogs will enter the NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships (at Winona State University on May 9-10) with six team points already in their coffers.

2014 NSIC Outdoor Decathlon Championship Results