By: Evan O'Kelly, Director of Communications
MSUB SPORTS – Some of MSUB's most successful track and field runners have been those competing in the long distances, where the program has seen its highest level of national recognition.
A group of seven women who specialized in the longer races were selected among the all-decade distance runners.
This Week's Schedule
| Day |
Release |
| Monday, November 23, 2020 |
Hurdlers & Jumpers |
| Tuesday, November 24, 2020 |
Throwers |
| Wednesday, November 25, 2020 |
Sprinters |
| Thursday, November 26, 2020 |
Distance Runners |
| Friday, November 27, 2020 |
Full All-Decade Roster |
Della Lyle – Team Captain, Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Decade
Events: Distance, Steeple Chase
Hometown: Buffalo, Wyoming
Years of Competition: 2015-16 (1 season)
The lone All-American in program history, Lyle's 2015-16 season with the Yellowjackets was one for the record books. Breaking every long distance record in the books in her one season of competition, Lyle stormed her way to the 2016 NCAA D2 National Championships where she finished in ninth place in the 3,000-meter steeple chase.
Lyle won the 3,000 meters in her very first meet of the indoor season and never looked back after that. Her record-breaking indoor marks came at the GNAC Championships, where she ran times of 10:07.26 minutes in the 3,000-meters and 17:41.12 minutes in the 5,000-meters.
Lyle then got to work on the MSUB outdoor records, setting the 10k standard at 36:51.66 minutes to win the Yellowjacket Open heat by nearly two full minutes. She won the 5k at the Tom Gage and also set the school record in the 1,500-meters at 4:45.26 minutes.
The final records fell at the 2016 GNAC Outdoor Championships, where Lyle finished second in the 3,000-meter steeple chase and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the process. She also set the school outdoor record in the 5k at 16:50.74 minutes, and was picked as the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Lyle's best steeple chase mark came in the preliminaries at the national championships, with a time of 10:26.88 minutes.
Lyle earned second-team All-American honors, after claiming all-region accolades. She was also an academic all-conference and academic all-district selection.
Dave Coppock (Lyle's Head Coach 2015-16): "Della transferred to MSUB with just one track season remaining and ended up breaking nearly every distance school record. Della loved to run and we almost had to keep her from running too much. By the end of the outdoor season she had qualified for the NCAA championships in three events, the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and steeplechase. She ended up just running the steeple where she made the finals and placed 9th."
Jon Woehl (Lyle's Assistant Coach 2015-16): "Della accomplished a ton in her short time at MSUB. She was an encouraging teammate and fierce competitor."
Sarah Jackson
Events: Distance
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Years of Competition: 2007-2011 (4 seasons)
A two-year competitor for the Yellowjackets, Jackson made her mark as a specialist in the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters.
In the fourth meet of her junior year, Jackson won the 800-meters at the Black Hills State Yellow Jacket Open, hinting of things to come. She followed with an outdoor personal best of 2:15.77 minutes in the 800, a mark that still stands in MSUB's record books.
Jackson is also the owner of the indoor school record in the 800-meters, achieving her mark of 2:17.31 minutes during the 2009 season. Jackson was a three-time academic all-GNAC selection as well.
Dave Coppock (Jackson's Head Coach 2007-11): "Sarah had a great range in distance from the long sprints up into the middle distances. She was very competitive against the DI athletes we frequently competed against and had several school records at one point in the 800 and relays."
Whitney Mickelsen
Events: Distance
Hometown: Sevier, Utah
Years of Competition: 2008-2013 (5 seasons)
The MSUB Women's Cross Country Runner of the Decade, Mickelsen played an important role in establishing the distance standards for the track and field program as well. The five-year competitor covered everything from the 800-meters through the 10k during her career.
Mickelsen competed in six conference championship meets during her career, with one of her finest moments coming in the last race of her career. Mickelsen posted a personal-best time of 38:05.54 minutes in the 10k, and earned all-GNAC honors by finishing third at the GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2013.
One of Mickelsen's other notable performances came at the 2011 GNAC Indoor Championships, where she placed fifth in both the mile and 1,500-meters, and also ran a leg on MSUB's fifth-place distance medley relay squad.
Dave Coppock (Mickelsen's Head Coach 2008-13): "Whitney switched over from volleyball to track and cross country and was a huge force as a distance runner. She had a great attitude, was a team leader, and held numerous school records. One of the highlights would be her third-place finish in the GNAC 10,000 meters her senior year."
Nikki Aiken
Events: Distance
Hometown: Belgrade, Montana
Years of Competition: 2015-2020 (5 seasons)
Aiken redshirted as a true freshman, and steadily progressed into one of the program's top distance runners during her career at MSUB. Aiken competed in seven GNAC championship meets during her four years of competition, and was a three-time academic all-conference selection.
One of her top specialty events was the 3,000-meter steeple chase, where she took seventh at the 2017 GNAC Championships and eighth at the 2018 GNAC Championships. In the latter event, she set her personal best with a time of 11:19.43 minutes.
Aiken handled all of the middle distance races throughout her career, and like Mickelsen she ended on a high note. In her final meet at the 2020 GNAC Indoor Championships, Aiken ran a personal best time of 10:38.84 minutes in the 3,000 meters.
Aiken on her top individual moment: "The race I will never forget is at the 5k GNAC Track and Field Championships in 2019. I had competed in the 3k steeplechase the day before, and was a wild card spot for the 5k ranked 25th. I set a goal for myself to break 19 minutes for a new PR. I ended with a time of 18:15 and finished 12th overall. I remember Jon (coach) telling me my lap splits and they were faster than I was aiming for, but I just felt way too good not to go faster than my goal pace."
Dave Coppock (Aiken's Head Coach 2015-17): "Nikki developed over her collegiate career into a competitive runner at the conference level. She eventually gravitated to the steeplechase and became highly competitive in the conference. Nikki was also a great team leader."
Jon Woehl (Aiken's Assistant Coach 2015-17, Head Coach 2017-20): "I have many fond memories of watching Nikki compete in track including her final meet where she ran 50 laps in two days at the 2020 Indoor GNAC Championships. It wasn't supposed to be her last meet but it was a great one, with a PR in the 3k & 5k and then anchoring the DMR. She's a testament to how hard work pays off."
Where is she now? Aiken lives in Billings where she works in the spots and afterschool care departments at the YMCA.
Nocona Frame
Events: Distance
Hometown: Glendive, Montana
Years of Competition: 2012-2014 (2 seasons)
Frame was a top middle-distance runner for the Yellowjackets in her two seasons, competing in everything from the 800-meters up through the 5k.
Frame's first MSUB record came during the spring of 2014, at the GNAC Outdoor Championships. She took fifth place in the 1,500-meters, and her time of 4:35.75 minutes stands as the best in school history. She broke another mark at the 2015 GNAC Indoor Championships, with a program-best mile time of 5:04.83 minutes to finish in seventh place.
Frame also ran a leg on MSUB's distance medley relay team at the 2015 conference meet, with the time of 12:32.63 minutes standing as the best in school history. Frame also earned a pair of academic all-conference nominations during her track career at MSUB.
Frame on her top individual moments: "I have a few moments that really stood out to me. I went through a lot of difficulties with injuries, so my senior year I was incredibly happy with my fitness and my personal accomplishments, even though I didn't reach all of my individual goals. During my first outdoor season with MSUB, I didn't qualify for conference, but Coach Coppock used one of his 'wild cards' to place me in the 1,500 meter race. I am so glad he had faith in me and gambled putting me into that race. I ended up placing fifth when I was ranked either second to last or last going into the race. During that race, I also ran my fastest 1,500 time ever with a 4:35 which converts to a 4:55 mile. I was so happy. In my senior year I ran my fastest time in the indoor mile with a 5:04. I remember finishing that race and looking over at my friends and family on the corner of the track and we were all crying. I had been trying to beat my PR for a long time and I had finally done it and it was an incredible feeling."
Dave Coppock (Frame's Head Coach 2012-14): "Nocona transferred to MSUB from the University of Mary and was actually still recovering from an injury when she showed up in the fall. But, by the time spring rolled around she had worked her way up near the top of the GNAC in the 1,500 meters. Nocona had a great work ethic and provided a lot of leadership to the team."
Where is she now? Now Nocona Robinson, she lives in Laurel where she is a middle-school social studies teacher at Elder Grove School.
Mary Owen
Events: Distance
Hometown: Hammond, Montana
Years of Competition: 2009-2014 (5 seasons)
Also a member of the MSUB all-decade women's cross country team, Owen's track and field career covered all of the distance races from the 800-meters through the 10k.
Owen competed in five conference meets in track and field, providing steady leadership in the distance races over the early half of the 2010s decade.
Her senior year saw a PR in the 3,000-meters, which came at the GNAC Indoor Championships with a time of 10:55.42 minutes. Owen's personal best in the 10k also came at a conference meet, when she posted a time of 39:23.73 minutes to take eighth place at the 2013 GNAC Outdoor Championships.
Owen was a three-time academic all-conference selection in track and field as well. She is currently in her second year as an assistant track and field coach.
Owen on her top individual moments: "I had a lot of ups and downs through my college career, but I would have to say that the 2012-13 cross country and track seasons brought some of the biggest 'ups.' That year in cross country, we had a really strong team, and along with our whole top four, I ended up posting times on the top-10 all-time list at MSUB, in both the 5k and 6k. I also had my highest finish ever at the GNAC track meet that year in the 10k. Whitney Mickelsen and I both got scoring places for the team that day (3rd and 8th, respectively), and we both ran faster than the previous school record, so that was a really cool moment not just for me, but for the both of us to share."
Dave Coppock (Owen's Head Coach 2009-14): "Mary was one of the most dedicated runners I've ever coached. She was solid in a number of events and we had her run everything from the 10,000 meters to a leg on the 4x400. Mary had qualified for three events, the 5,000, steeplechase, and 10,000 meters for outdoor conference and was willing to try all three, which was a huge undertaking. She managed to compete well in all those events which was truly an Ironwoman effort."
Where is she now? Owen lives in Billings and is a math and physics teacher at Skyview High School.
Renae Hepfner
Events: Distance
Hometown: Belt, Montana
Years of Competition: 2010-2014 (4 seasons)
Another rock on the early-decade distance teams, Hepfner competed in four conference championship meets during her track and field career.
Running everything from the 800-meters to the 5k, many of Hepfner's top marks came during her final year on the track. In the spring of 2014, she set PRs in the 5,000-meters at 18:29.79 minutes and in the 1,500-meters in 5:01.93 minutes in back-to-back meets.
Hepfner was also a reliable presence on MSUB's distance medley relay and 4x400-meter relay teams at the conference meets in each of her seasons. She was a three-time academic all-conference pick and a three-time GNAC FAR Scholar Athlete.
Hepfner on her top track moments: "GNAC Championship race in Oregon my junior year. Running the anchor leg in the distance medley relay."
Dave Coppock (Hepfner's Head Coach 2010-14): "Renae was one of our key runners adding to our distance depth from 800 meters to the 5,000. She was a highly dedicated and motivated athlete and was key in a number of individual races as well as the relays."
Where is she now? Hepfner lives in Casper, Wyoming, where she is a resident physician at the University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency Program.
About the All-Decade Project
The top student-athletes from each of Montana State University Billings' current varsity athletic teams from 2010-2019 have been selected, and 14 all-decade teams will be revealed throughout the course of the fall of 2020. Each sport's all-decade team is comprised of the top-performing student-athletes, with weight given to individual athletic achievement and accolades, team achievement, academic achievement, as well as community service. For more information on MSUB's all-decade project, and to view each sport's all-decade teams, view the all-decade project webpage online here.
