ntspring18

NORTHERN TODAY 16 SPRING 2018 NORTHERN ATHLETICS Athletics Recap Updated May 2018 THE 2017-18 WOLVES went 26-6 overall, winning a share of the NSIC North Division and NSIC Overall Championships. It had been 20 years since the Wolves won an NSIC Overall crown. Northern also qualified for the fifth straight NCAA Central Region Tournament, notching their first regional victory in those five seasons over Arkansas Tech. Jill Conrad and Miranda Ristau were named to the NSIC All- Conference teams, with Ristau earning NSIC Player of the Year honors. The Warner native was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year®, as well as a member of the D2CCA and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention teams. Both Ristau and Conrad also became members of the Northern State 1,000 point club. On May 1, head coach Curt Fredrickson announced his retirement after 39 seasons and 846 wins with the Wolves. NSU also announced the promotion of Paula Krueger to the head coach position for the 2018-19 season. THE WOLVES reached new heights in 2017-18, with the Wolves finishing second at the NCAA DII National Finals after just the second trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in school history. The runner-up finish is the highest for any NSU team to date at the NCAA Division II level. Northern broke the single season school record for wins, going 36-6 on the year, while tying the school record with 18 consecutive victories in the opening months of the season. Head coach Paul Sather was named both the NSIC and NABC Central Region Coach of the Year. Four Wolves were named to the NSIC All-Conference teams (Smith, Pollard, Peterka, Doyle), while Ian Smith was named to the NABC and D2CCA All- Region teams. NSU recorded the first conference championship of his coaching career, and the first for Northern State since the 2002-03 season. Northern then went on to win the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament, notching the first championship for the program since 2005. The men’s basketball team was honored with a season celebration after their NCAA National Finalist finish, while 95 student-athletes attended the sixth annual Maroon Tie Banquet, which honors sophomores through seniors with a 3.5 GPA or higher. The Wolves headed out for the 16th annual Day of Champions, where 170 student-athletes and coaches volunteered a total of 1,065 hours to the Aberdeen community and surrounding areas. NSU Student Athlete Advisory Committee hosted the first annual Thunder Awards on April 30, honoring the best and brightest from the 2017-18 season. Highlights included Miranda Ristau and Jack Schmidt (pictured above) winning the Hildred Wolfe and Clark Swisher top female and male student-athlete awards, as well as Derrick Dinger being named the Alpha Wolf Fan of the Year and Dacotah Bank being honored as the Corporate Sponsor of the Year. WOMEN’ S BASKETBALL MEN’ S BASKETBALL WITH THINGS WINDING DOWN on campus, the Northern State athletic department celebrated its student- athletes with a variety of events.