NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll Release

            The Wayne State College men's outdoor track and field team is picked for a ninth place finish in the 2010 Northern Sun Conference Preseason Outdoor Track and Field Coaches Poll released by the league office in St. Paul, Minnesota Thursday afternoon.  

            The NSIC Preseason Outdoor Men's Track and Field poll has Minnesota State receiving 81 points and nine first place votes as the unanimous pick to win the conference title this season with MSU Moorhead in second place with 72 points and the remaining first place vote (coaches can not vote for their own team).  Augustana (58) is third with the University of Mary (46) and Northern State (46) tied for fourth.  Concordia-St. Paul (44), St. Cloud State (43), Minnesota Duluth (29), Wayne State (21) and Bemidji State (10) round out the men's preseason poll.

            Top athletes to watch for the Wayne State men's outdoor track and field team this season include senior distance runner Nate Preston and senior thrower Jacob Mathieson.  Preston was a national qualifier last season in the 3,000 meter steeplechase while Mathieson is a three-time medal winner in the hammer throw, placing second last season, and is expected to be one of the top discus throwers in the NSIC this season.   

            Wayne State opens the outdoor track and field season on Thursday, April 1 at the Vance Butler Invitational in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.