Wayne State is picked 11^th in the 2024 NSIC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches' Poll released Thursday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota.  Junior thrower Reilly Young and junior sprinter Maya Couch were listed as Wildcats to Watch in the NSIC this season.
            Wayne State collected 50 points in voting by league coaches to finish 11^th out of 14 teams in the poll.  Last season the Wildcats placed sixth at the NSIC Outdoor Championships.
            Minnesota State was the unanimous selection to capture the women's title this season with 169 points and 13 first-place votes.  The University of Mary was second with 154 points and the remaining first-place ballot.  Augustana (144), Sioux Falls (132) and Minnesota Duluth (123) rounded out the top five teams.  Winona State edged Northern State for sixth place 104-101 with Bemidji State (79), Concordia-St. Paul (61) and MSU Moorhead (56) closing out the top 10 teams. 
            Wayne State was 11^th at 50 points with Minot State (48), Southwest Minnesota State (36) and St. Cloud State (17) rounding out the coaches' poll.
            Young, a junior from Scotia (Central Valley HS), was an NCAA national qualifier in the discus last season for the Wildcats.  She had the sixth-best mark in the regular season (161' 10") and finished 20^th at the national championships last May.
            Couch, a junior sprinter from David City (David City Public HS), is coming off a strong indoor season where she was 11^th in the 200-meter dash (25.73) and last year ran a leg on the eighth place 400-meter relay team.
            Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2024 outdoor track and field season March 28 and 29th hosting the Wildcat Classic at LeRoy Simpson Track in Wayne.