Dan Nielsen celebrated his 21st birthday in memorable fashion Saturday by claiming the 3,000-meter steeplechase title and then, less than two hours later, placing sixth in the 5,000-meter run for the University of Minnesota Duluth, which finished fifth out of 12 schools at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Winona, Minn. Minnesota State University-Mankato (177 points) captured top team honors for the third year in a row at the two-day event and were followed by Augustana College (129), the University of Sioux Falls (96), St. Cloud State University (90) and UMD (67).
Nielsen, a junior from Andover, Minn., ran a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:09.26 en route to becoming the second Bulldog in three years to win the conference 3,000-meter steeplechase crown (Kyle Larson did it in 2012 when Nielsen was named the NSIC's Outdoor Newcomer of the Year) and clocked in at 14:55.24 in the 5,000-meter run. UMD received stellar performances in five of the eight field events with junior
Nick Moran and freshman
Jason Lilja leading the charge. Moran was second in both the discus (48.57 meters) and hammer throws (53.61) -- he lost to Minnesota State-Mankato senior All-American Christopher Reed in each of those two competitions -- and eighth in the shot put (14.39 meters) while Lilja placed third in the high jump (1.99 meters) and fourth in the long jump (6.88 meters). Sophomore
Mark Emlaw (6.82 meters in the long jump) and freshman
Devin Sowers (43.65 meters in the discus) also chipped in points for the Bulldogs with eighth-place efforts.
Team captain
Cole Toepfer drew the curtain on his rewarding collegiate career (he was chosen UMD's Outstanding Senior Male Athlete for 2013-14) with a sixth-place finish and personal best time in the 1,500-meter run (3:54.17). Junior
Chris Wilson took third in the 800-meter run (1:53.94) and freshman
James Ryan, who furnished UMD with six points by placing third at the NSIC Outdoor Decathlon Championships two weeks ago, wound up sixth in Saturday's 110-meter hurdle finals.
2014 NSIC Outoor Track and Field Championship Results
