Northern State University Men's Track

Bjerke enters his ninth year with the Wolves in 2016-17. He spent his first four seasons as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach before assuming head coaching duties for both programs in the fall of 2012.   The 2015-16 season was highlighted by NCAA DII cross country national qualifying performances from juniors Sasha Hovind and Dakotah Bullen. Bjerke guided Hovind to her second straight national meet, top 15, and All-American finish, while Bullen became the second athlete in NSUs history in the NCAA to qualify for the national cross country championships. These two ladies helped Bjerke lead the Wolves to their first ever cross country regional top 10 ranking, and highest NSIC finish in ten seasons.   Moving over to the track, the Wolves found tremendous success from both the mens and womens squads, at both the NSIC conference and NCAA DII national level.  The Wolves achieved a total of 12 All-NSIC performances throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons, while a total of six student-athletes hit 12 NCAA DII national qualifying marks.  This success was led by Hovind, who added three additional All-American awards on the track in the indoor 5,000m run and outdoor 5k and 10k runs.  Meanwhile, Breann Jackson earned her second straight All-American award in the weight throw, and qualified for her first outdoor championship in the hammer throw.  Overall, the school record book has been rewritten 23 times over the course of the last three seasons under Bjerke's tutelage, including a total of ten distance school records.    In addition to Bjerkes athletic success, his athletes have shined in the classroom.  The womens track and field and cross country teams have earned NSIC All-Academic team honors (3.0 GPA or higher) in all eight years that Bjerke has been in the program, while the mens track team have earned the distinction the last five years in a row, and cross country six of the last seven (including the highest GPA in the nation among NCAA Division II mens cross country programs in 2009).  Additionally in 2015-16, Hovind earned CoSIDA Academic All-American first team honors, joining Lincoln Smith (2011) as the only first teamers in school history.   Before Northern, Bjerke served as graduate assistant for the cross country and track & field teams at South Dakota State from 2006-2008. With Bjerke's assistance, the Jackrabbit women's cross country team was one point away from winning the Summit League in 2007 and won the independent national title in 2006.   Bjerke competed in both cross country and track at SDSU and was a member of the three-time NCC championship cross country team and a NCAA II National 4th place finishing cross country squad. On the track Bjerke competed in the mile, 3,000m and 5,000m runs for SDSU.   Bjerke is a native of Fargo, N.D. and is a graduate of Fargo High School, where he was a conference champion in the mile run and a key contributor to a nationally ranked cross country team. He received a degree in exercise physiology from SDSU in 2006 and a Master's Degree in Sport Science in 2008, along with being a USA Track and Field Level 1 certified coach.   Kevin Bjerke Head Track & Field / Cross Country Coach Twitter:   wolvesxc Kevin Bjerke enters his ninth year with the Wolves in 2016-17. He spent his first four seasons as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach before assuming head coaching duties for both programs in the fall of 2012.   The 2015-16 season was highlighted by NCAA DII cross country national qualifying performances from juniors Sasha Hovind and Dakotah Bullen. Bjerke guided Hovind to her second straight national meet, top 15, and All-American finish, while Bullen became the second athlete in NSUs history in the NCAA to qualify for the national cross country championships. These two ladies helped Bjerke lead the Wolves to their first ever cross country regional top 10 ranking, and highest NSIC finish in ten seasons.   Moving over to the track, the Wolves found tremendous success from both the mens and womens squads, at both the NSIC conference and NCAA DII national level.  The Wolves achieved a total of 12 All-NSIC performances throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons, while a total of six student-athletes hit 12 NCAA DII national qualifying marks.  This success was led by Hovind, who added three additional All-American awards on the track in the indoor 5,000m run and outdoor 5k and 10k runs.  Meanwhile, Breann Jackson earned her second straight All-American award in the weight throw, and qualified for her first outdoor championship in the hammer throw.  Overall, the school record book has been rewritten 23 times over the course of the last three seasons under Bjerke's tutelage, including a total of ten distance school records.    In addition to Bjerkes athletic success, his athletes have shined in the classroom.  The womens track and field and cross country teams have earned NSIC All-Academic team honors (3.0 GPA or higher) in all eight years that Bjerke has been in the program, while the mens track team have earned the distinction the last five years in a row, and cross country six of the last seven (including the highest GPA in the nation among NCAA Division II mens cross country programs in 2009).  Additionally in 2015-16, Hovind earned CoSIDA Academic All-American first team honors, joining Lincoln Smith (2011) as the only first teamers in school history.   Before Northern, Bjerke served as graduate assistant for the cross country and track & field teams at South Dakota State from 2006-2008. With Bjerke's assistance, the Jackrabbit women's cross country team was one point away from winning the Summit League in 2007 and won the independent national title in 2006.   Bjerke competed in both cross country and track at SDSU and was a member of the three-time NCC championship cross country team and a NCAA II National 4th place finishing cross country squad. On the track Bjerke competed in the mile, 3,000m and 5,000m runs for SDSU.   Bjerke is a native of Fargo, N.D. and is a graduate of Fargo High School, where he was a conference champion in the mile run and a key contributor to a nationally ranked cross country team. He received a degree in exercise physiology from SDSU in 2006 and a Master's Degree in Sport Science in 2008, along with being a USA Track and Field Level 1 certified coach.  

Mougey enters her 12th season with the NSU track and field program in 2015-16.  Mougey began her coaching career with the Wolves in the fall of 2004. She has worked closely with the weight and hammer throwers throughout her time at NSU. Her biggest accomplishment was coaching Amanda Madden to two NCAA DII National Championships in the weight throw and hammer in her senior year (2010). Throughout Mariahs 12 year tenure at NSU, the throwing squad has accumulated 10 NCAA Division II All-American awards and 26 individual NSIC Conference Champions in the throwing events.  As a member of the Concordia-Moorhead track and field team, Mougey was a 2-time NSIC Champion in the hammer, 2-time national provisional qualifier in the sicus and hammer, 2-time national participant in the discus, and national participants in the hammer. She also holds the school record in the hammer.  Mougey graduated from Concordia College in 2003.   

Evenson enters his sixth season with the NSU Track and Field teams in 2016-17.  In his five years coaching at Northern, Evenson has made five trips to the NCAA DII national meet and come home with four All American awards; Yvonne Freeze twice in the discus (12, 13), who also owns the school record in that event, and Breann Jackson twice in the weight throw (15, 16). He has also has coached three conference champions in the javelin; two-time NSIC champion Alex Webster who, qualified for the NCAA DII national meet in 2014 and owns the current school record, 2016 graduate Devin Olson, who also owns two individual NSIC titles in the javelin, and junior David Murphy, who took home his first conference title this past spring.    Murphy capped off a great year of performances by Evensons throwing crew in 2016, as he had two other javelin throwers join him on the mens podium at the NSIC Championships, along with two women ranked in the top four of the final NSIC season standings.  In addition to the javelin, Breann Jackson added two All-NSIC performances (runner-up in the indoor weight throw and outdoor shot put), an All-American award in the indoor weight throw, and her first national meet appearance in the hammer throw to her resume. Other conference podium finishes from the 2016 campaign came from RS freshmen Jake Olson in the discus, and junior Lucas Osowski (hammer throw, indoor and outdoor shot put), who broke the school record in the hammer throw. A Lisbon N.D. native, Evenson was a three time All-State performer in the discus and javelin.  He then threw collegiately at Northern State. During his four years throwing for the Wolves, Evenson racked up three individual conference titles and two NCAA DII national provisional qualifying marks in the javelin. He was also a conference place winner in the discus and the shop put for NSU  

Kitzman enters her third season coaching the throwers, after two seasons as a graduate assistant coach with the Wolves track and field program.  The Madison, Wisc. native came to NSU after spending two years as a high school English teacher in La Crosse. In 2014, Kitzman was the head boys' track and field coach for La Crosse Central High School, while also coaching both boys and girls throws. Kitzman also assisted in developing Centrals Power Lifting Team. At NSU, Kitzman primarily works with the throwing events for both the men's and women's teams. She specializes in the weight and hammer throws, while also having extensive experience in the shot put and discus. Kitzman has been an integral part of the Wolves coaching staff and continued success of a storied throws program. Most notably, Kitzman has coached Breann Jackson to back-to-back All-American finishes at the NCAA D-II Indoor Championships in the weight throw, guiding her to sixth and fifth place finishes in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Jackson also reached her first NCAA D-II Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw as a senior under the guidance of Kitzman, finishing 13th in the nation after a successful NSIC championships where she also earned her first shot put All-Conference award of her career. On the men's side, Kitzman guided JR Lucas Osowski to a school record in the hammer throw in 2016. Osowski found the podium for the first time in his career at the NSIC Championships a total of three times in the indoor weight throw, outdoor shot put and hammer throw.  Kitzman is a 2012 graduate of St. Cloud State University where she began as a two-sport athlete in basketball and track. After her freshman year, she committed to track full time, specializing in the throwing events. She is a provisional national qualifier in the shot put, discus, and hammer for the Huskies, where she still currently holds the SCSU school record in the hammer throw. She is an eight-time member of the NSIC all-Academic Team, SCSUs 2012 Scholar Athlete, and recipient of the Miles Brand Award for academic excellence as a student athlete. In addition to her Track and Field scholarship, Kitzman also received the Academic Honors scholarship four years in a row, the Olga B. Hart Scholarship for Education students three years in a row, the Teacher Development scholarship for student teachers, and the SCSU Scholarship for GPAs over 3.0 two years in a row.  Kitzman received her bachelor of science from St. Cloud State in Communication Arts and Literature, and master's degree from NSU in Educational Studies in December of 2016. Currently, she works for NSU as an Instructional Designer, reviewing and supporting all online instruction for the university. She has taught adjunct reading and writing courses for the past two years, and continues to seek adjunct opportunities.   

Nacke enters her fifth season with the Wolves track and field programs in 2016-17.  Nacke, a 2000 graduate of NSU and 2005 Masters Degree NSU, was an 11-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference performer for the Wolves and still holds down three spots in the NSU record book. Nacke holds individual records 60-meter hurdles, heptathlon and sprint medley relay. She also broke two NSIC meet records during her time with the Wolves. She was a 3-time NCAA provisional qualifier under former head coach Jim Fuller and was twice voted as the NSIC Most Valuable Athlete. Following graduation, Nacke stayed on with the Wolves as an assistant coach, where she was responsible for the multi-event athletes with an emphasis on the sprint, jump and hurdle disciplines. In her return to Northern, her athletes have broken 9 school records, one Conference Meet Record and has hit numerous NCAA DII national qualifying marks. Prior, Nacke served as the assistant track and field coach at Central Michigan where she helped lead the Chippewas to a pair of Mid-American Conference team championships in 2004. During her time at CMU, she coached three NCAA Division I provisional qualifiers, four MAC Champions, six All-MAC selections and two school record holders. A 2010 inductee of the NSU Hall of Fame, Nacke also competed post-collegiately at the Drake Relays, twice finishing in the top seven of the heptathlon. Nacke serves as the Dakotas Youth Chair for USA Track & Field. She is also an Aberdeen Area Running Club youth coach and, Nacke is a USATF Level One Certified Coach and Official.   Lynne Nacke Assistant Track & Field Coach (Multi-Events, Sprints/Jumps/Hurdles) Twitter:   Lynne Nacke enters her fifth season with the Wolves track and field programs in 2016-17.  Nacke, a 2000 graduate of NSU and 2005 Masters Degree NSU, was an 11-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference performer for the Wolves and still holds down three spots in the NSU record book. Nacke holds individual records 60-meter hurdles, heptathlon and sprint medley relay. She also broke two NSIC meet records during her time with the Wolves. She was a 3-time NCAA provisional qualifier under former head coach Jim Fuller and was twice voted as the NSIC Most Valuable Athlete. Following graduation, Nacke stayed on with the Wolves as an assistant coach, where she was responsible for the multi-event athletes with an emphasis on the sprint, jump and hurdle disciplines. In her return to Northern, her athletes have broken 9 school records, one Conference Meet Record and has hit numerous NCAA DII national qualifying marks. Prior, Nacke served as the assistant track and field coach at Central Michigan where she helped lead the Chippewas to a pair of Mid-American Conference team championships in 2004. During her time at CMU, she coached three NCAA Division I provisional qualifiers, four MAC Champions, six All-MAC selections and two school record holders. A 2010 inductee of the NSU Hall of Fame, Nacke also competed post-collegiately at the Drake Relays, twice finishing in the top seven of the heptathlon. Nacke serves as the Dakotas Youth Chair for USA Track & Field. She is also an Aberdeen Area Running Club youth coach and, Nacke is a USATF Level One Certified Coach and Official.