April 15, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dakota State (S.D.) freshman Oliver Tordsen has been named the NAIA Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week after delivering a dominant stretch in the discus ring that included two victories, an NAIA-leading mark and a new school record.  It marked the second consecutive week that a Trojan athlete was named to NAIA National Outdoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week (Oliviyah Thornton last week in the women's division).

Tordsen's headline performance came at the University of South Dakota Snooze Button Classic on April 8, a NCAA Division I meet that featured a deep field of 32 discus throwers. He launched a winning throw of 55.33 meters (181 feet, 6 inches), a mark that not only secured the title but also broke the Dakota State's school record previously held by his older brother, Conner Tordsen, a former national champion in the event (previous school record of 54.47 meters – 178 feet, 8 inches. The throw met the NAIA "A" automatic qualifying standard and stood as the No. 1 mark in the NAIA as of Monday.

He backed that up two days later at the 61^st annual Sioux City Relays on April 10, again taking first place in the discus, this time against a field of 26 competitors. Tordsen's best mark of 53.50 meters (175 feet, 6 inches) earned another event title and again cleared the NAIA "A" automatic qualifying standard, confirming that his earlier breakthrough was no one-off.

Adding to the significance of the week, Tordsen also competed in the hammer throw and shot put at both meets, showing versatility and workload capacity alongside his standout discus results. Tordsen exited the week with two wins, two automatic qualifiers, a school record and NAIA-leading throw.

He was named to the Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week earlier this week.

Oliver, a native of Fairmont, Minn., is an integrative biology major at Dakota State University.

Dakota State heads to De Valois Stadium in Orange City, Iowa, on the campus of Northwestern (Iowa) for the two-day Red Raider Open on Thursday and Friday.

DSU's heptathlon and decathlon athletes will compete in the two-day Frontier Conference Multi-Events Championships on Sunday and Monday at Biesiot Activities Center in Dickinson, N.D.