Mankato, Minn. --- The #18 Minnesota State men's indoor track & field program is sending five individual entries and one relay team to the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championships to be held in Virginia Beach, Va., on Friday and Saturday, March 10
th and 11
th.
Junior
James Gilbert will be the first Maverick to enter the competition as the long jump will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Making his first appearance for Minnesota State at indoor nationals, Gilbert ranks second in the nation in the long jump with his school record mark of 7.87 (25' 10") set while winning the event at the 2023 NSIC Championships. That school record was one of the oldest on the books as the previous mark of 25' 8.75" was set by
Ed Stuart in 1982. Gilbert is a three-time
NSIC Field Athlete of the Week in 2022-23.
| Maverick Long Jump All-Americans |
Year |
| Moo Muhammad |
1989 |
| Eric Johnson |
1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Kelvin Rodgers |
2008, 2009 |
| Michael Sandle |
2017 (Second Team) |
MSU's first track competitor of the meet will be junior
Abel Christiansen who will take part in the first heat of the 60-meter hurdles beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Christiansen will be making his first appearance at indoor nationals, and he enters the meet ranked 10
th in the nation with a time of 7.93, which is also tied for third all-time in the MSU record book. Should Christiansen advance through the heats, the finals for the 60-meter hurdles will be at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday.
| Maverick 60 Meter Hurdles All-Americans |
Year |
| Adrian Stuart |
2004 |
| Myles Hunter |
2015 (Second Team), 2016 |
| Sydne Davis |
2018 (Second Team), 2019 |
| Kornelius Klah |
2021, 2022 |
Junior
Tanner Maier will take part in the 800 meters beginning at 3:55 p.m. on Friday in his third consecutive appearance at indoor nationals. Last year, Maier earned All-American honors in this event by taking third, though he stands 10
th in the nation this year with an adjusted qualifying time of 1:49.73. He is also MSU's record holder in the 800 meters which he set last year during the prelims of the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships (1:50.40). The finals for the 800 meters will take place at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday.
| Maverick 800 Meters All-Americans |
Year |
| Shawn Bernier |
1988 |
| Dale Bahr |
1991, 1992 |
| Jon Ortloff |
2023 |
| Pat Lehmann |
2005, 2006, 2007 |
| Denise Mokaya |
2008, 2009 |
| Tanner Maier |
2021 (Second Team), 2022 |
Junior
Carson Dittel will have to wait until Saturday for the pole vault competition, which is slated to begin at 2:55 p.m. This will be Dittel's second appearance at indoor nationals as he finished 14
th last year. In 2022-23, Dittel ranks ninth in the nation in the pole vault with his qualifying mark of 5.19 m (17' 0.25"), becoming just the second Maverick in school history to clear 17-feet. Dittel captured the NSIC championship this year, as well as earning
NSIC Field Athlete of the Week honors twice in 2022-23.
| Maverick Pole Vault All-Americans |
Year |
| John Hietala |
1985, 1987 |
| Robert Kern |
1989 |
| Charles Zheng |
1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Andrew Petersen |
2002, 2003 |
| Jason Petricka |
2004 |
| Dan Novak |
2009, 2012 |
| Mitch Valli |
2017 |
Shortly after Dittel begins his event, sophomore
Onyekachi Ukaobasi will begin his participation in the triple jump finals at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday. Ukaobasi will be making his debut at indoor nationals and enters the event ranking 16
th nationally with a mark of 15.07 m (49' 5.5"). Ukaobasi ranks sixth all-time at MSU in the triple jump and is coming off of earning All-NSIC honors by taking third at the conference meet.
| Maverick Triple Jump All-Americans |
Year |
| Bryan Simms |
1987 |
| Harvey Mills |
1989 |
| David Beregstrom |
1999 |
| Michael Sandle |
2017, 2018 |
The Minnesota State 4x400 relay team will take part in the final event of the meet, beginning at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. The squad, consisting of freshman
Qai Hussey, senior
Rashion Walker, sophomore
Marvin Dure, and senior
Kenry Atubel, ranks 15
th in the nation this year with a qualifying time of 3:16.20, as well as capturing the title at the 2023 NSIC Championships.
| Maverick 4x400 Relay All-Americans |
Year |
| Zach Gearman, Jererell Hancock, Nathan Hancock, Carmono Lane |
2014 |
| Morris Dennis, Tanner Ogren, Isaiah Pitchford, John Schuster |
2017 |
| Morris Dennis, Reid Diamond, Tanner Ogren, John Schuster |
2018 |
| Reid Diamond, Josh Phelps, John Schuster, Jaquez Wilson |
2019 |
Last year, the Mavericks scored 27 team points to take sixth at the National Championships, which was the highest finish for MSU since a fourth-place result in 2014. That continued a trend for the program as MSU has scored points at the national meet 30 times since its inception in 1985, which is tied for the fourth-best mark in NCAA Division II history:
| Rank |
School |
Times Scoring At NCAA Indoor Nationals |
| 1 |
Central Missouri |
36 |
| 2 |
Ashland |
35 |
| 3 |
Saint Augustine's |
32 |
| T-4 |
Minnesota State |
30 |
| T-4 |
Southern Connecticut State |
30 |
Since the inception of the NCAA Division II indoor track & field championships in 1985, only seven schools have earned more cumulative points at the national meet than MSU:
| Rank |
School |
All-Time Points Earned At NCAA Indoor Nationals |
| 1 |
Saint Augustine's |
1794.25 |
| 2 |
Abilene Christian |
1536.25 |
| 3 |
Adams State |
967 |
| 4 |
Ashland |
922 |
| 5 |
Lincoln (Mo.) |
624.5 |
| 6 |
Central Missouri |
592 |
| 7 |
Grand Valley State |
525.5 |
| 8 |
Minnesota State |
452.25 |
| 9 |
Western Colorado |
449.5 |
| 10 |
Pittsburg State |
415 |
By virtue of scoring at last year's meet, Minnesota State also extended its streak to 10 consecutive indoor national championships of posting points, stretching from 2012 to 2022 (no championships were held in 2020 due to COVID). That decade-long streak is tied for the 10
th longest active run in the nation:
| Rank |
School |
Consecutive Years Scoring At NCAA Indoor Nationals |
| T-1 |
Ashland |
35 |
| T-1 |
Central Missouri |
35 |
| 3 |
Adams State |
21 |
| 4 |
Lincoln (Mo.) |
20 |
| T-5 |
Colorado School of Mines |
18 |
| T-5 |
Grand Valley State |
18 |
| T-7 |
Emporia State |
13 |
| T-7 |
Tiffin |
13 |
| 9 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
12 |
| T-10 |
Minnesota State |
10 |
| T-10 |
Missouri Southern State |
10 |
Minnesota State boasts nine individual national champions in NCAA indoor track & field history, which is tied for 11
th all-time:
| Maverick National Champions |
Event |
Year |
| Mike Fairchild |
High Jump |
1988 |
| Dale Bahr |
800 Meters |
1992 |
| Charles Zhen |
Pole Vault |
1992 |
| Michael Lawrence |
200 Meters |
2005 |
| Jim Dilling^ |
High Jump |
2006 |
| Jim Dilling |
High Jump |
2007 |
| Denise Mokaya |
800 Meters |
2010 |
| Myles Hunter* |
60 Meter Hurdles |
2016 |
| Michael Sandle |
High Jump |
2017 |
*indicates NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships sole record holder
^indicates NCAA Division Indoor Track & Field Championships shared record holder
