South Dakota State University Athletics
South Dakota State University
The Summit League Championships
Jacks' XC Hope to Win League Championships Again
10/25/2017 4:34:00 PM | Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Men attempt to win back-to-back; women try to win first title since 2008
| Â MEET 7: South Dakota State (Men & Women) at The Summit League Championships |
|  When |  Saturday, Oct. 28 | UPDATED TIMES - Men - Noon Central Time | Women - 1 p.m. Central Time |
|  Where |  Bluffs G.C. PDF Course Map I Google Maps I Vermillion, S.D. |
|  Teams Competing |  Fort Wayne | Oral Roberts | Omaha (W.) | North Dakota State | South Dakota | Western Illinois |
|  Live Results |  Dakota Timing |
|  Meet Notes |  South Dakota State Notes | Media Guide | Summit League Notes  Summit League Championship Page | South Dakota Championship Page |
|  Social Media |  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #GoJacks |
UPDATED TIMES
The South Dakota State men's and women's cross country teams are traveling to Vermillion, S.D. on Saturday, October 28, to compete in their 11th Summit League Championships. The men's team will start their 8k race at noon while the women's team will run their 6k at 1 p.m.
Jackrabbits Dominate The Summit League
Since joining the league in 2007, SDSU has won six league titles (men and women combined), three more than any other team in the league since 2007. Of the 10 years in the league, at least one Jackrabbit team has been either champion or runner-up in eight of those years, including a 2013 championship for the men and runner-ups for the women.
The Men's Team
Since 2007, there have been just two other schools who have won league titles (Southern Utah, 3 titles and IUPUI, 2 titles). While the two schools have won five titles combined, SDSU has won five titles on their own and were voted in the preseason poll to win their sixth this year.
It is also their third chance to become back-to-back Summit League Champions. The last time the SDSU men's team accomplished the feat was during the 2012-13 seasons.Â
Not only have the men's team won the league title five times, but have also finished as runners-up two years in a row (2014-15 seasons). As a result, the men's team has finished top two since 2012 and seven of the 10 years they have been in the league.
Sophomore Chase Cayo and junior Kyle Burdick have the top two 8k-times in 2017 The Summit League performance list. They each have won The Summit League Athlete of the Week twice, while sophomore Lukas Nelson has won the honor once. Nelson has the fourth-fastest time in the league.Â
The Women's Team
The Women's team has won one league title in 2008. It was the first league title for either Jackrabbit team in The Summit League. Since their lone league title, the team has finished in the top three every year since 2012, being runner-up twice. The Jackrabbits were predicted to finish runner-up this year, with two first-place votes, during the preseason poll.Â
Leading the women's team is junior Rachel King, who has the league's season-best 6k-time. She ran the season-best time at the Pre-Nationals Invite where she earned her third career Summit League Athlete of the Week honor.Â
Looking Back a Year Ago
The men's won their fifth Summit League title with six top 10 finishers. Leading the way was 2017 graduate Joel Reichow (2nd, 25:19.1) and junior Ayub Kassim (3rd, 25:24.1).Â
Junior Kyle Burdick and sophomore Chase Cayo finished sixth (25:41.2) and ninth (25:49.5) in the league championships last year. Sophomore Lukas Nelson finished 32nd (27:17.1).Â
On the women's side, the team finished third, but stole the top two individual spots. Juniors Emily Donnay and Rachel King finished first (21:05.9) and second (21:12.8) in the race. Junior Emily Berzonsky cracked the top 10 by finishing seventh (21:54.2).
Senior Halie Mechels and sophomore Kendra Dykstra rounded out the top 30 for the Jacks, finishing 16th (22:38.4) and 30th (23:17.5).
Familiar Foes
The Jacks team has ran against Summit League teams throughout the year, including North Dakota State five times and South Dakota, Fort Wayne and Omaha once at the Roy Griak Invitational. The Jacks' men's team has beaten the NDSU team three times, while the women's team has gotten the better of the Bison twice.
Only the South Dakota women's team finished ahead of the Jackrabbits at the Roy Griak on September 23. USD's women's team finished fifth while SDSU finished 14th. The rest of The Summit League teams (North Dakota State, South Dakota men, Fort Wayne, Omaha) all finished behind the Jacks.
SDSU Back Ranked in Midwest RegionÂ
When the USTFCCCA NCAA Regional poll came out on October 16, the Jackrabbit men's team saw themselves on the list for the sixth time. The men were ranked 11th and the only Summit League team to make the top 15. The women's team has been ranked 15th twice through the six rankings. They are the only Summit League school besides South Dakota who have been ranked.
Cayo Ranked 170 in the Wood Report
October 24 brought new rankings from CITIUS MAG. Issac Wood ranked the top 248 individual cross country runners across Division I and sophomore Chase Cayo appeared at 170th. He competed in
his fourth race of the season at the Pre-National Invitational, finishing 67th (24:13.6). He has earned two Summit League Athlete of the Week honors and has the league's fastest 8k-time of the season.
On September 12, Issac Wood ranked Burdick 142nd amoung in his report. He raced his fourth race of the season at the Pre-Nationals on Oct. 14 where he captured 81st place and a career-best 8k time (24:20.8). He has earned his two Summit League Athlete of the Week honors during the 2017 campaign.Â
Coming Up Next: NCAA Midwest Regionals
On November 10, the Jackrabbits travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regionals. Last year, the men's team tied a team-best finish, sixth while Joel Reichow went on to earn All-American status by placing 20th in the NCAA Championships.
The women's team finished a team-best 13th while Emily Donnay earned All-Region honors and Rachel King just missed the honor, finishing 26th.Â
Social Media
For more information on the South Dakota State cross country teams, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksTFXC) and Instagram (@GoJacksTFXC) like us Facebook (/GoJacksTFXC).
-GoJacks.com-
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Players Mentioned
