MSU athletics The new floor inside the Minot State Dome.

The Minot State department of athletics unveiled a new design for the main floor at the Minot Dome on which the Beavers men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams compete.

“As we continue to grow and advance our athletic department, branding is an integral part of that process,” said Director of Athletics Andy Carter. “We are striving to maintain a consistent branding image that results in an instantaneous recognition of Minot State athletics, and we believe this new court achieves that goal.”

The distinctive design features the beaver head logo in red at center court replacing the traditional beaver M logo. The court area inside the three-point line is darker than the remainder of the floor, while the key area color is consistent with the rest of the court. The sides of the court feature the athletic department website and the hashtag #redrising, while the baselines have Minot State on one end and Beavers on the other. The NCAA logo and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference logos are each displayed on both ends of the floor. All of the lettering on the redesigned floor is in red

The Minot State volleyball team will be the first program to play on the new floor when the Beavers host the Minot State Classic on Sept. 1-2. The women’s basketball team will first test the new court on Nov. 10 versus Rocky Mountain College, while the men’s basketball team opens its home schedule against Mayville State on Nov. 14.

MSU cross country teams both 12th in NSIC preseason poll

Both of the Minot State cross country teams, mens and womens, have been selected to finish 12th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason poll as selected by the conference head coaches and announced by the league office on Monday.

The men’s team took 12th in the poll after receiving 14 points, while Augustana finished first in the poll with nine first-place votes and 118 points. Minnesota State Moorhead was second in the poll with 104 points, while Minnesota Duluth was third with 96 points.

They welcome back three returnees from last year’s team that finished 12th overall at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Meet. The Beavers are led by sophomore Devan Shumway who notched a 61st-place showing at the conference championship. Shumway also recorded the Beavers highest finish at the NCAA Division II Central Cross Country Championship.

Sophomore Colin Olson placed 101st overall at the NSIC Championship, while senior Steven Porter returns after participating in both the NSIC Championship and the NCAA Central Championship last season.

Junior Sahil Pandit, sophomore Tony Bergan and freshman Josh Hoffer are newcomers for MSU this season.

The women’s team was selected 12th in the 15-team conference and finished with 53 points. The University of Mary received 14 first-place votes and finished first in the poll with 196 points, while Minnesota Duluth garnered one first-place vote and was second in the poll with 180 points. Augustana (164 pts), Winona State (157 points) and Northern State (134 pts) rounded out the top five.

The Beavers returns four upperclassmen in hopes of improving on an 11th place finish at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship last season. Heading the list of returnees is junior Jana Warrick who was the Beavers top finisher at both the NSIC Championship and the NCAA Central Region Championship. Warrick was 51st at the conference meet and 75th overall at the NCAA Regional.

Seniors Emily Westlake and Patience Albertson also return for the Beavers as does junior Taylor Novak.

Head coach Stu Melby added five freshmen to the roster this season with the additions of Michaela Larson, Abby McGee, Amanda Mohr, Brinlie Nielsen and Mia Spain.

Both teams open the year at the MSU Moorhead Twilight Meet on Sept. 8.

— MSU athletics