NORTHERN TODAY 16 FALL 2015 NORTHERN ATHLETICS A beautiful fall has served as a perfect backdrop for a strong season of fall sports in Wolves country. THE NSU WOLVES volleyball team has inspired fans this fall, finishing 25-4 and earning a No. 6 national ranking in the AVCA Top-25 National Poll. The Wolves football team recorded a 37-0 shutout of U-Mary and defeated the No. 18 UMD Bulldogs 23-15 en route to a 6-5 record and an NSIC co-championship. NSU soccer fought for a bid in the NSIC tournament, finishing 8-9-1 overall with two big wins over Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State at home. The NSU men’s and women’s cross country team’s shined at the NSIC Cross Country Championships with an eighth overall finish for the men (best finish since 2011) and a fifth overall finish for the women (best finish since 2005). The NSU women also were ranked ninth in the most recent Super Regional poll, a first for the program in school history as juniors Sasha Hovind (All-American) and Dakota Bullen advanced to the NCAA National Championships. Wolves sports roundup Here are some season highlights for each Wolves fall team. THE WOLVES opened the season with some tough matchups, facing nationally-ranked opponents Minnesota State Mankato (No. 1) and University of Sioux Falls (No. 5). After dropping to 0-4 in cross divisional play, the Wolves opened the NSIC North Division on the road at Minot State and came away with a 45-14 victory. The Wolves did not look back, securing big wins over MSU Moorhead (48-26), Minnesota Crookston (55-21), and the University of Mary (37-0). Senior kicker Adrian Krupka nearly tied the single game school record for made field goals with three in the Wolves victory over the Marauders. Krupka earned himself both NSIC and D2Football. com player of the week honors for his performance, which included four made PATs and a season high 44.4 yard punt average in the win. The Wolves saw success on all sides of the ball. Nicholas Truen led the team with 621 yards rushing, averaging 69.0 per game. The sophomore recorded five touchdowns this season, and one 100-plus-yard game versus the Marauders. Chaka Kelly matched Truen’s total of five touchdowns, and as a redshirt freshman was second with 331 yards. Returning All-NSIC pick Conner Doherty led the team with 514 yards receiving and three touchdowns. The junior averaged 46.7 yards per game and started all 11 games for the Wolves this season. NSU fans saw a new face in the quarterback position, as NSU record holder Jared Jacobson graduated in 2014. Kyle Lavand anchored the Northern offense with 2,069 yards passing and 16 touchdowns. The freshman averaged 188.1 yards passing per game with a 58.3 pass completion percentage. Senior Devin Olson led the NSU defense with 87 tackles this season and eight tackles for a loss. Taylor Zemlicka and Channing Barber sit second and third on the team with 74 and 65 tackles respectively, while Barber led the team with five interceptions. The Northern defense combined for 916 tackles and forced 430 total lost yards this season. Northern placed ten studentathletes on the NSIC AllConference teams: Conner Doherty (1st), Tyler Robel (1st), Channing Barber (1st), Chad Stoterau (1st), Devin Olson (2nd), Taylor Zemlicka (2nd), Adrian Krupka (2nd), Cameron Pudwill (HM), Joe Parsley (HM), and Nick Murphy (HM); while also earning a share of the North Division Title. F O O T BA L L Sophomore running back Nicholas Truen finished the season with 621 total yards (69 yards per game).
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