Huskies Outdoor Track & Field picked to finish ninth in NSIC Preseason Poll

2021 Indoor All-NSIC honorees Burris and Lubner were named the Huskies' Athletes to Watch

Huskies Outdoor Track & Field picked to finish ninth in NSIC Preseason Poll

3/25/2021 10:10:00 AM | Women's Track & Field

St. Cloud State Women's Track and Field has been selected to finish ninth in the 2021 NSIC Outdoor Preseason Poll as announced by the conference office Thursday morning. The Huskies are fresh off a seventh-place finish in the 2021 NSIC Indoor Championships with two All-NSIC honorees and one NCAA All-American. SCSU opens their Outdoor season this Friday and Saturday, March 26-27, at the Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Nebraska.

"Coming off of a successful indoor season, our team is very excited to compete outdoors after a long time away from outdoor competition," said head coach Sam Kettenhofen, "We have a very talented group and have grown a lot this year as team. I am excited about our potential and what we can accomplish. I'm really looking forward to seeing us perform during the outdoor season!"

2021 All-American Emelia Burris and 2021 All-NSIC honoree Faith Lubner were named Track and Field Athletes to Watch respectively. Burris became the highest-placing Huskies athlete in the past decade in the Long Jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships en route to placing sixth at the competition in Birmingham. She also posted an indoor career-best 5.86 meter long jump at the Fred Baker Triangular during the regular season.

"Emmy already had an excellent indoor season where she finished 6th in the NCAA in the Long Jump," said Kettenhofen, "She has been dedicated in training sessions throughout the year and always brings an excellent attitude to practice. I am very excited to see what she can do in the 100m and 4x100m Relay as well as in the Long Jump."

Lubner earned All-NSIC honors at the NSIC Indoor Championships with a second-place finish in the Pentathlon. During the competition, Lubner finished first in the Pentathlon Long Jump and second in the Pentathlon High Jump at the Championships. She placed third in the Heptathlon at the 2019 NSIC Outdoor Championships.

"Faith had a wonderful indoor season that included PR's and breakthroughs in a number of events," Kettenhofen said, "She finished 2nd in the Pentathlon at the NSIC Championships and is looking to carry that success into the Outdoor Season. In addition to the Multi, Faith has made big improvements in the hurdles, long jump, and javelin. She has the potential make some noise at the Conference or NCAA level in those events as well as the Multi."

St. Cloud State has not competed in an Outdoor season since 2019 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 campaign. At the 2019 NSIC Outdoor Championships, St. Cloud State earned a ninth-place finish as a team with 40 points thanks to multiple top-8 performances from the team's student-athletes. Burris finished third in the long jump, took eighth in the 100 before recording another eighth-place finish in the 200. Lubner joined Burris as a 2019 All-NSIC honoree with a third-place Heptathlon performance.

The Huskies will feature plenty of both new and familiar faces in events when they begin competition this weekend. Burris (11.91 and 5.83 m) is the leading returner in the 100 Meter and Long Jump, ranking sixth and third respectively in the NSIC, while she and Maya Taylor return from the 4x100 team that posted a Huskies-best 47.41 time. Taylor is the leading returner in the Triple Jump with a 11.49 meter mark in 2019. Lubner finished ranked ninth in the 100 Hurdles and fourth in the Heptathlon last season with a 14.25 second time and 4598 points respectively, while she and Leighton Fischer represent the two returners from the 2019 4x400 team. Dominique Buechel ranked eighth in the Discus (45.48m) and recorded the longest Hammer on the SCSU roster at 45.99 meters. Rounding out the top Huskies returners is Shot Putter Annie Falardreau with a 13.06 meter mark.

SCSU's full schedule can be found HERE.

NSIC Release