Burnsville, MN – In what was a surprise to no one, the University of Mary is the unanimous preseason coaches' choice to win the 2013 Northern Sun women's outdoor track and field championship and Melisa Agnew is the women's preseason track athlete of the year.
 
The two-time defending conference champion and the sixth-ranked team in the national preseason poll, the Marauders captured all 12 available first place votes in the 2013 NSIC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches poll, rolling up 144 points. Winona State University was second with 128 points and the other first place vote (coaches cannot vote for their own team), followed by the University of Sioux Falls, the University of Minnesota Duluth and Augustana. Minnesota State University is sixth in the poll, ahead of Wayne State College, MSU Moorhead, St. Cloud State University, Northern State University, Bemidji State University, Concordia University-St. Paul and Minot State University.
 
The defending Northern Sun Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after she set conference records in winning the 1,500 and 800 meter runs at the 2012 NSIC championships, Agnew is the 2013 NSIC Women's Preseason Track Athlete of the Year. An 11-time NCAA All-American, she finished in the top five in both events at the NCAA championships.
 
The senior middle distance runner from Onamia, MN, Agnew was just named the 2013 NSIC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after setting conference records in the 1,500 meter and mile run. Agnew won 2013 NCAA championships in the mile run and as the anchor on the distance Medley Relay team, the first NCAA individual team and individual national championships for U-Mary. An 8-time NSIC All-Academic team selection and a Myles Brand All-Academic Award recipient, Agnew was just named an NCAA 2012-13 fall sports postgraduate scholarship winner.
 
The NSIC defending outdoor champion in both the long jump and triple jump who also gained all-conference honors in the 100 meter hurdles, Melissa Walker was named U-Mary's NSIC Field Athlete to Watch. A senior from Kingston, Jamaica, Walker is a four-time NCAA All-American, including her award-winning effort in the triple jump at the 2013 NCAA indoor championships. She also earned All-American honors in the long jump in 2010 and 2011 and the triple jump in 2011.
 
The Marauders open the 2013 outdoor season April 6 at the American River College Invitational in Sacramento, CA.
 
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