Home / Track & field

2010 Season Preview:

YOUTHFUL RAIDERS LOOK TO BUILD UPON LAST YEAR’S SUCCESS

The 2010 Red Raider track and field team will be one of the largest that head coach Nate Wolf has had in his six years at the helm. “We have great depth on this year’s team, probably the most depth we’ve ever had across the board,” commented Wolf. Northwestern fielded a very young squad last season and the youthful Raiders turned in several outstanding performances. As a team, the women placed eighth in both the GPAC indoor and outdoor championships while the men placed ninth at the indoor and 11th at the outdoor championships.  Eleven athletes qualified for nationals last season and one, Charity Miles, earned All-American honors in the 5000m. With several of those athletes returning and 21 freshmen coming in, the 2010 season could be a memorable one for the Red Raiders.

LoganOne of the strengths of this year’s team will be the throwers. Junior Logan Ogden (What Cheer, Iowa) has qualified for nationals in each of his two previous seasons with the Raiders. Ogden earned all-conference honors in the shot put at both the indoor (7th place) and outdoor (6th) GPAC championships last year while also earning all-GPAC accolades with a fourth place finish in the discus. For the women, sophomore Danielle Fry (Fairfield, Iowa) returns after earning all-conference honors in the discus with a fifth place finish. Junior Kara Den Herder (Sioux Center, Iowa) also returns and will compete in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. Elizabeth Stevens, a sophomore from Ord, Neb., and the school’s record holder in the javelin, comes back after earning all-GPAC honors in the event.

Mark Mineart (Pella, Iowa) headlines the list of returners in the jumps after earning all-conference honors with a sixth place finish at the GPAC outdoor championships.

On the track, the women’s distance crew features three athletes returning after earning all-conference honors last season. Charity Miles, a junior from Thedford, Neb., earned All-American honors at the NAIA indoor championships with a fifth place finish in the 5000m. She also qualified for indoor nationals in the mile and 3,000m. Sara Hess (HessWashington, Iowa) and Ingrid Carlson (Sanborn, Iowa) earned all-conference honors in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the GPAC outdoor championships.

Kyle Sauter, a senior from Alta, Iowa, returns for his final season and will once again compete in the hurdles. Sauter is a two-time national qualifier in the 60m KyleShurdles (Indoor) and also qualified for nationals in the 110m high hurdles where he finished 14th last year. He earned all-conference honors in the 60m, 110m and 400m hurdle events. On the women’s side, Corrie Fautsch (Albany, Minn.) finished sixth in the 400m hurdles and earned all-conference honors last year.

In the sprint events, Luke Hofmeyer (Auburn, Ind.) anchors a deep men’s crew that also features Parker Moore (Lincoln, Neb.) and Jordan Langer (Lincoln, Neb.). All three athletes were members of the Raiders’ 4x100 relay team that finished 5th at the GPAC outdoor championships and earned all-conference accolades.

Seniors Lee Stover (Adrian, Minn.) and Andy Norris (Spirit Lake, Iowa) lead the men’s middle distance crew. Both runners earned all-conference honors as a member of the 4x800m relay. Delainye Woudstra (Hinton, Iowa), Krystina Smith (Henderson, Iowa) and Kristin Neth (Scotland, S.D.) anchor the women’s middle distance crew and earned all-conference accolades in the 4x800 relay.

With 21 freshmen joining this year’s squad, one of the keys to the season, according to Wolf, is “how our young athletes adjust to competing at the college level. We really have focused on our conditioning, working in the weight room and getting stronger in order to get ready for the rigors of the season.” Wolf adds that “this may be our deepest and most talented freshman class as a whole. Our focus is not only on the physical preparation but also mentally, knowing that we can compete with anyone.” Another goal, according to Wolf, is to “continue to improve and to be able to compete at our highest level at the conference and national meets. We want to embrace all the challenges of college track and do the hard things well.”