BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Bemidji State University women’s track and field duo of senior Christa Benson and sophomore Venice Stewart captured Indoor All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors after their top-three finishes at the conference meet Saturday in Mankato, Minn. Benson and Stewart became the first Beavers to earn all-conference for the program since 2011.

Stewart finished third in the 200-meter dash with an NCAA provisional qualifying and BSU program record time of 24.79 in the finals after beginning the preliminaries with a previous BSU record time of 24.85. Benson took second in the pentathlon with a personal record score of 3,516, one point shy of tying the BSU program record. On her way to the second-place finish, Benson set personal records in the 800m run (1st, 2:24.18), 60m hurdles (3rd, 9.08), shot put (5th, 32-feet-01.00-inch), and long jump (2nd, 17-09.00).

The most recent Beaver to earn All-NSIC honors by finishing among the top three in their respective event was sprinter Kristi Buerkle in the 400m dash at the 2011 NSIC Indoor Championships.

As a team, Bemidji State finished 11th with 21 points. Stewart brought in six points in the 200m dash and three in the 60m dash. Benson nabbed eight points for her second-place finish in the pentathlon while freshman Kylie Monson added one with her eighth-place finish in the pentathlon. Freshman thrower Zoe Christensen earned three points for the team with a sixth-place finish in the shot put.

Bemidji State’s 21 points is the most for the program at the NSIC Indoor Championships since scoring 30 at the 2011 meet. BSU’s 2019 total is also more than the program has scored between 2014-18 combined.

University of Mary took the team win at the meet with 163.50 points, followed by Minnesota State University, Mankato in second with 115.50 points.

The NCAA National Championships will take place on March 8-9 at the Pittsburg State University Indoor Event Center in Pittsburg, Kan. The field of student-athletes participating will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at approximately 5 p.m.

For more information on the Bemidji State athletic programs, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Multimedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

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