by Martin Schlegel
schlegelma@mnstate.edu
With winter sports coming to close, a small group of MSUM athletes are set to compete for championships this month.
Wrestling
After taking first place in the NCAA Super Regional tournament, junior Blake Bosch will compete in the NCAA Division II Championships.
Bosch breezed through the regional tournament, receiving a first-round bye, then beating David Potratz by a technical fall and Matt Paulus by an 11-6 decision, and eventually pinning Dakota Bauer in the championship round.
The national championships are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, starting March 11. Bosch will face Chandler Minnard from Ashland University his first round.
Track
Indoor track and field is sending three athletes to nationals in Pittsburg, Kansas. Senior Molly Montonye, junior Brady Speicher and sophomore Brian Huber (NSIC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year) are the representatives.
Montonye will compete in her third straight indoor national. She will run the mile and is seeded ninth with a time of 4:54.43.
The United States Track and Field and the Cross Country Coaches Association have recognized Speicher and Huber as all-region honorees. Speicher finished first in the mile and the 800-meter at the NSIC Indoor Championships. He will be running the mile and is seeded fourth with a time of 4:45.07. Huber finished first in the long jump and fifth in the high jump at the NSIC Indoor Championships. He is seeded fourth in the long jump with a distance of 24-11 (7.59m).
The NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships begin March 11.
Swimming
Three members of MSUM’s swimming and diving team will compete in the NCAA Division II Championships in Indianapolis.
Sophomore Erin Sullivan will swim in the 100 backstroke, where she is seeded sixth with a time of 55.19. Sullivan swam the best times in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, and the 50-, 100- and 200-yard backstroke this season as well as the second best time in the 100-yard fly.
Seniors Emily Pascavis and Jana Wanner are set to dive in the 3-meter and 1-meter diving pre-qualifying meets respectively.
Pascavis has set several school and pool records in the 3-meter and 1-meter events this year. She, along with Wanner, will be looking to cap off her swimming career at the top of her game.