DSU Track & Field Features All-American Superstars Coy and Fideler
Danielle Rowe
The Dakota State University Track & Field program is proud to announce the outstanding performances by junior Andy Coy and senior Matt Fideler at the 2012 NAIA Indoor National Championship in Geneva, Ohio. Both earned impressive titles as NAIA All-Americans. Coy earned the title as the 1000-meter National Champion with an dominating 1st place finish, while Fideler secured 2nd place finish in the men’s mile. Fideler was less than one second away from 1st place, demonstrating an exceptional race.
While exploring the details of the exciting achievements made by Coy and Fideler, I sat down with Head Track Coach Buzz Stevenson. “It was an exciting day to be a DSU Trojan, with Fideler starting off the final race day with a 2nd place followed by Coy’s 1st place title,” said Stevenson.
Coach Stevenson stated that in 28 years of coaching at DSU, Coy was the first male national champion. Having a male representative for the team is outstanding. They performed above and beyond expectations and laid all their talent on the line- it paid off.
Coy’s 1000-meter performance time of 2:24.94 is the fastest 1000-meter time ever run by a South Dakota Athlete at the distance. Needless to say this also broke the DSU record, a record he had set weeks before. With Coy’s remarkable performance, he was named male athlete of the week by the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.).
Assistant coach Anthony Drealan also commented about Coy’s excellent performance. “Running fast like he did is about opportunity and being ready for that opportunity. Coy is strong and we knew he was ready for that opportunity.”
With earning the title of the NAIA Indoor National Champion, Coy stated, “It was an awesome day and it was even better that I got to share it with my teammate, Matt Fideler, and my coaches, Buzz Stevenson and Anthony Drealan. We are hoping for great things this outdoor season. And, as always, I’m praising God for allowing me to continue to race well.”
Coy’s fellow teammate Fideler clocked a new DSU mile record with a time of 4:06.64. This time is the fastest mile time in this year’s indoor track season by any college athlete for a South Dakota school. Coach Drealan said, “Fideler was faster than his seedtime and I knew that Fideler was capable and ready to run a 4:06 mile.”
“Coming down the home stretch my legs were screaming and all I could think of was hoping that I could hold on to second place. As I hit the line and saw my time of 4:06 and was second in the nation it didn’t set in what I just done. I honestly don’t think it has even set in now. But one thing I know, is it’s pretty apparent Coach Drealan knows what he is doing with his training,” said Fideler about his national performance.
Since assistant coach Drealan was a DSU competitive runner from track seasons 2006-2011, and turned his running career into coaching, coach Stevenson could not resist asking coach Drealan an eager question. During the interview, coach Buzz Stevenson said to coach Drealan, “Was it better to get an NAIA All-American or being apart of the to coaching process and watch your prior teammates receive an All-American?”
Coach Drealan responded with, “Coaching is my passion and is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and running has helped me realize my passion. It was an extremely exciting and rewarding experience to watch both runners succeed at that level. Knowing that I had some sort of influence on Fideler and Coy throughout their running career is inspiring.”
With talented coaches and teammates leading the way for track excellence, freshman Nic Penning used DSU’s track inspiration to score an automatic bid to the NAIA Outdoor Track Nationals and Field Championship. Penning ran the Midland Half-Marathon Meet on Saturday, March 10th. Penning finished the Half-Marathon distance in 1:13.56.
The Trojan’s will host the DSU Invitational meet in Madison on March 31st. Stop by and see the talented DSU Men’s Track All-American Athletes with their fast, heart racing performances. Please visit the DSU Athletic Track & Field website for a list of upcoming meets and results.
