Stangler, Mokaya, Rains and Fick Named Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Denise Mokaya
Rachel Stangler of Augustana and Denise Mokaya of Minnesota State have been named the North Central Conference Outdoor Track Athletes of the Week while Kaitlin Rains of Minnesota State and Matt Fick have been named the North Central Conference Outdoor Field Athletes of the Week.
Stangler, a senior from Albany, Minn., was the top Division II runner in the steeplechase field at the Drake Relays and crossed the finish line in seventh place in a time of 10:40.17. The time was slightly better than her previous school record time of 10:40.21 set last week at the Mt. SAC Relays. It is an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In addition, Stangler was the only Division II runner in the 32-member field in the 5,000 meters. She crossed the finish line in 16th place in a time of 17:30.90 to set a Division II provisional national qualifying mark.
Mokaya, a sophomore from Ngong, Kenya, placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run at the Drake Relays with a time of 3:53.17. Mokaya was the only NCAA Division II competitor in the ten-person final. He also ran the anchor leg of the sprint medley relay team that finished first with a time of 3:23.50.
Rains, a junior from Spring Lake Park, Minn., won the pole vault at the Drake Relays with a jump of 12-7 1/2. She finished a the top of a field of 21 mostly NCAA Division I competitors. Her jump ranks sixth in NCAA Division II competition this year and is a provisional qualifying height for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Fick, a senior from Grand Forks, N.D., finished third at the Drake Relays with an automatic qualifying throw of 68.61 meters. It is the third longest throw in NCAA Division II competition this season.
Others nominated: Track Male: T. Track Female: Brittany Henderson, Minnesota State; Stephanie Gebhart, South Dakota; Heidi Evans, North Dakota. Field Male: Ben Walters, South Dakota; . Field Female: Becky Schulz, Augustana; Jessica Clausnitzer, North Dakota; Amber Hegge, South Dakota.