BURSNVILLE, Minn. - University of Sioux Falls freshman pole vaulter Kimberly Peterson was name Northern Sun Intercollegiate women's field athlete of the week in a release from the conference on Tuesday afternoon.

A native of Elizabeth, Colo., Peterson picked up the first event title in her young career when she won the MSU Alumni Open women's pole vault title this past Saturday. Peterson cleared 12-ffet, 5.5 inches (3.80 meters) to earn a tie with teammate Courtney Crandall, which was broken based on Peterson having fewer misses than Crandall.

Peterson's collegiate-best mark currently ranks second in NCAA Division II, tied with Crandall. In her first collegiate event, Peterson posted a provisional qualifying mark of 11-11.25 (3.64m) to take fifth in the event. With Peterson's improvement from her first collegiate competition, she is in good standing to advance to the NCAA Championships – the final accepted mark was 3.81 meters at last year's indoor championships.

The Cougars return to action this weekend at the Dordt Open in Sioux Center, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 17.