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Home > Bison Media Zone > Bison sprinter Cullen Curl caught in the middle of hockey-playing sisters
Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

Bison sprinter Cullen Curl caught in the middle of hockey-playing sisters
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2024-02-24 00:00:36
Description: FARGO One of the top sprinters in the men’s Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championships was OK with his parents not being able to see him turn in one of the top qualifying times in his 400-meter heat on Friday. North Dakota State’s Cullen Curl is in an understanding family mood.

His parents, Bill and Gretchen Curl, flew out of Fargo for Madison, Wisconsin, early Friday morning after watching their daughter, senior Brenna Curl, help Bismarck Century to an opening-round win in the North Dakota girls state hockey tournament on Thursday at Farmers Union Insurance Arena in south Fargo.



It was Senior Night on Friday for the Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team, where Britta Curl is playing the final home weekend series of her college career. The parents will fly back to Fargo on Saturday morning to watch Century play in the state title game at 4:30 against Fargo North-South and Cullen try to win a 400 title on Saturday at NDSU’s Ellig Indoor Track & Field Facility.



“It’s pretty chaotic,” Cullen said. “I’m just a junior so I kind of get the bottom of the totem pole on that one. But tomorrow they should be able to make it out. It’s very unique and it presents a challenge but I think it’s a fun challenge to have for my parents. Pretty blessed and grateful.”



Curl finished third in his heat behind teammate Carter Elde and South Dakota State’s Thailan Hallman with a time of 49.29 seconds He came in with a season-best 48.06 in a meet that will be mostly decided on Saturday. The Bison men figure to be in the thick of the race along with SDSU and South Dakota.



“It’s going to be a tight race,” Curl said. “Hopefully a lot of guys will step up and displace some of our competitors and come home with the championship.”



There was no hockey on Cullen’s agenda this weekend with the Summit meet. A junior who went to high school at Bismarck St. Mary’s, Cullen came into this meet with the top time in the 400. He placed third in the event last year but was part of the winning 1,600-meter relay team.



Bison head coach Stevie Keller called Curl’s 2023 season a breakthrough year.



“I think this year we had a better idea of how to train and not to overdo it in the fall,” Keller said. “He’s a competitive kid, him and Carter. Those guys are great training partners. They do everything you tell them to do.”



Once the Curl family dust all settles tomorrow, there could be one last order of business for Cullen: A FaceTime call to everybody.



“Everybody is going to be doing their own thing,” he said of Saturday.



On the women’s side, Keller figures NDSU will be in the thick along with South Dakota, two programs that traditionally have battled each other going back to the Division II days. In Division I and the Summit, the Bison owned this meet on both sides for a decade before other schools caught up.



New facilities at SDSU and North Dakota are an example.



“The Summit League is definitely a lot better conference than it used to be,” Keller said. “People have invested more money and time


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