Area Sports Briefs: Nov. 19
NDSU REMAINS ON TOP
The latest FCS polls released on Monday afternoon and they showed very little movement for the top-ranked North Dakota State Bison. NDSU remained atop both the coaches poll and the Stats Perform poll, with their lone change being a loss of one first-place vote in each poll to undefeated Montana State.
With their third straight loss, North Dakota dropped out of the Stats Perform poll entirely and received just three votes total in the coaches poll.
The University of North Dakota men's hockey team dropped in the polls released Monday afternoon after their sweep at the hands of Denver over the weekend.
In the USCHO poll, in which the Fighting Hawks were No. 9 entering the weekend, UND is now No. 12, falling three spots. In the USA Hockey poll, UND fell from No. 10 to No. 14, a four-spot drop.
Bismarck native and North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff was honored by the Summit League on Monday as the Peak Performer of the Week after leading the Fighting Hawks to a pair of wins.
Eaglestaff made a splash in last Tuesday's win over Dickinson State at the Bismarck Event Center, dropping 17 points and adding four rebounds, four assists and a steal in 23 minutes. He followed it up less than 48 hours later with 31 points against Utah Valley to lead UND to a 77-71 win, adding three more assists and a rebound in 34 minutes.
BAESLER HONORED
North Dakota State cross country runner Reagan Baesler became the fourth Bison to earn All-Region honors at the Division I level with her performance last Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional, with the recognition being announced Monday by the USTFCCCA.
Baesler placed 12th overall out of more than 230 runners, securing the All-Region status by finishing inside the top-25 of the field.
A pair of North Dakota State football players received recognition from the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Monday after the team's 59-21 win over Missouri State.
Placekicker Griffin Crosa was named Special Teams Player of the Week for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career. Crosa became NDSU's all-time leading scorer with 11 points in the win over Missouri State, kicking eight extra points and a 32-yard field goal to move his career total to 404 points, breaking the NDSU record of 399 set by Cam Pedersen from 2015 to 2018.
Crosa now ranks third in MVFC history for total points behind South Dakota State running back Zach Zenner (416) and Northern Iowa kicker Matthew Cook (413).
NDSU's second honoree was offensive lineman Mason Miller, who earned Offensive Lineman of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Miller was the Bison's highest-graded lineman in their win, grading out at 93 percent with no sacks or tackles for loss allowed by NDSU averaged 9.6 yards per carry and rushed for a season-high 364 yards on the ground.
At the conclusion of the Northern Sun women's soccer tournament, which finished on Sunday with top-seeded Minnesota State-Mankato defeating sixth-seeded Minot State 2-0, the All-Tournament team was released, and University of Mary midfielder-defender Allison Lepp was named to this year's team.
A graduate player out of Minot, Lepp helped limit U-Mary opponents to just eight shots on goal in 183 minutes of play and was a big reason the Marauders advanced into the semifinal round of the tournament for the second season in a row.
Minot State goalkeeper Siriana Gudino, midfielders Sofia Galvez and Manuela Pacheco Martinez and Morgen Fried also made the all-tournament team. Minnesota State-Mankato's Clare Longueville was one of five players recognized for the Mavericks and was named tournament MVP.
Minnesota State-Mankato, Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State were announced as NCAA Tournament teams on Monday evening, with the Mavericks hosting St. Cloud State in the first round of the Central Region tournament.
The North Dakota High School Coaches Association released the 2024 9-Man All-State teams on Monday, as well as the Senior Athlete and Coach of the Year.
Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn quarterback Walker Braaten was this year's Senior Athlete of the Year in 9-Man football, while New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock's Elliott Belquist was named Coach of the Year.
Among the local athletes receiving recognition on the All-State teams were Grant County-Flasher's CL Weinberger, a first-team offensive lineman, and Wyatt Kuhn, a first-team linebacker.
Central McLean's Aiden Hanson (junior quarterback and cornerback) and Jacob Wolf (junior offensive lineman and linebacker), Grant County-Flasher's Brody Froehlich (senior tight end and linebacker) and Trey Heid (senior running back and linebacker) and Hettinger County's Teddy Kirschemann (senior tight end and defensive end) were among those to receive second-team honors.
