Indoors or outdoors, shot put or discus, it doesn’t seem to matter for Rebecca Stier.
Just weeks removed from competing in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Stier qualified for the outdoor championships in the discus with a throw of 145 feet, five inches to lead the Winona State University track and field team to a second-place finish at the Vikings Olympics held at Augustana (S.D.) College on March 29.
The freshman’s toss in the discus was two and a half inches farther than the program’s previous top throw, which was set 19 years ago. Stier’s 46-1/4-meter throw in the shot put on Feb. 9 also broke a WSU record that stood for 19 years.
The Warriors went on to win five individual events in their first outdoor meet of the season at Augustana.
Lindsey Derby won the 100-meter dash (12.95 seconds); Kelly Milkent won the 200 (25.72 seconds); Jennifer Bradford won the 400 (59.72 seconds); Lisa Meyer won the 400 hurdles (1:06.21); and Kale Johnson won the high jump (4-11).
After the fast start, Bradford and Meyer kept things going.
Bradford, a sophomore, bettered her time in the 400 dash by more than a second Saturday, finishing in 58.35 seconds to place first and lead the Warriors to a third-place finish at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational.
Meyer also improved her time by more than a second in the 400 hurdles, winning the event with a time of 1:05.06.
WSU sophomore Allie Glasbrenner was the third athlete to earn first-place honors, finishing the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:18.

Tennis

The Winona State University men’s tennis team snapped a seven-match losing streak Thursday with an 8-1 nonconference victory over St. Mary’s.
Gage Davidson (6-2, 6-3), Aaron Lentz (6-2, 6-2), Stuart Booth (7-5, 7-5) and Taylor Rens (6-2, 6-1) each earned straight-set victories.
Davidson and Lentz (8-5), Zach Williams and Rens (8-4), and Booth and Bishop (8-4) led the Warriors to the sweep in doubles play and their first win since Feb. 23.
The new winning streak didn’t last long.
Lentz picked up WSU’s lone victory (6-4, 6-2) at No. 2 singles in the Warriors’ 8-1 loss to Luther (Iowa) in nonconference play Saturday.
WSU (5-11) will have one final tuneup — at home against Truman State on Saturday — before beginning the NCC championships in St. Cloud on April 25.
While the men’s team ended a winless drought over the weekend, the WSU women’s team had a hot streak come to an abrupt end.
The Warriors entered the weekend having won three consecutive matches and five of their past six but lost 5-4 at Luther on Saturday.
Mary Hesterman at No. 1 (6-2, 6-1) and Erika Richae at No. 6 (6-2, 6-0) earned the only singles victories for WSU.
Hesterman and Heather Pierce teamed up for an 8-3 win in No. 1 doubles, and Kaycee Moore and Courtney Zinter won 9-7 in No. 3 doubles.
The Warriors (8-12) will host Truman State and Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday before seeking their fourth consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title at the NSIC championships April 19 and 20 in Minneapolis.

Golf

AMANA, Iowa — Two-time defending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference champion Brady Strangstalien shot a 154 to place third individually and lead the Winona State University men’s golf team to a fourth-place finish at the Upper Iowa Invitational on Sunday.
The Warriors, who won their fifth consecutive NSIC title in October, finished the two-day tournament with a 634 — eight shots behind tournament champion MSU-Mankato.
Ryan Peavey placed ninth (157), Keegan Drugan 13th (160), and Kevin Loeffler and John Anderson each finished in a tie for 20th (163).
Megan Placko shot an 89 Sunday on the final day of the UIU Invitational and finished with a two-day score of 180 to lead the WSU women’s golf team to a seventh-place finish.
The Warriors finished with a 776 over the 36-hole tournament — 90 strokes behind first-place Truman State.