Jacks' XC Finish NCAA Midwest Regional

Friday, November 10

Ames, Iowa

11 a.m.

South Dakota State University

NCAA Midwest Regional Championships

11/10/2017 3:35:00 PM | Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

2017 MXC Perform List 2017 WXC Perform List FloTrack Men's 10k Results FloTrack Women's 6k Results Meet Notes: NCAA Midwest Regionals 2017

Kyle Burdick and Rachel King finish 16th and 10th to earn NCAA All-Regional honors, King with a chance to go to the championships

AMES, Iowa – South Dakota State came away with top-15 team finishes in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday morning. Individually, NCAA Championship hopeful, Rachel King finished 10th while Kyle Burdick led the men's team with a 16th-place performance.

MEN'S TEAM
The defending back-to-back Summit League champs hit the course at Iowa State and beat the other two Summit League schools in the region (#13 North Dakota State and South Dakota) while also beating regionally-ranked #14 Wichita State.

The team started off slow in the first 3,000m of the race, placing 19th, the highest place of the day. After the 3,000m mark, the Jacks trimmed off the score at each checkpoint to finish 13th (383 points) among 28 teams competing.

"I think we ran a decent race for the men," head coach Rod DeHaven said. "I think it was a good race for Kyle and it was good for the rest of the younger guys to come out and race."

Junior Kyle Burdick paced himself along the way, ending 16th with a personal best 10k-time of 29:35.7 and earning NCAA All-Region honors. He beat his previous best by 1:30.3 minutes and it is now the fastest time among all Jackrabbits that have competed in the Midwest Regional since 2008.

Sophomore Chase Cayo placed 97th in the 3,000m checkpoint before trimming his finish to 45th with a personal-best time of 30:06.2. He beat his previous personal best 10k-time by 1:15.7 minutes. The time ranks as the fourth fastest all-time in Jackrabbit history at the regionals.

Sophomore Lukas Nelson ran his first 10k of his collegiate career, posting 91st (30:41.8). His time ranks sixth among the fastest 10k Jackrabbit times at the Midwest Regionals.

Sophomore Sam Ivanecky and junior Cal Lawton ended up finishing exactly one second from each other, with Ivanecky getting the edge (115th, 31:05.5). Lawton (116th, 31:06.5) and Ivanecky ran their first collegiate 10k race of their career. Ivanecky's time ranks 10th on the all-time fastest 10k times at the Midwest Regionals.

Rounding out the Jacks was freshman Gabe Peters (128th, 31:17.3) and redshirt-freshman Ray Munsterman (156th, 31:56.5). Peters, The Summit League Newcomer of the Championship, and Munsterman competed in their first 10k races of their collegiate career.

WOMEN'S TEAM
The women's team came out of the gates with a 23rd-place checkpoint at the mile. The Jacks churned out a 15th-place performance, scoring 405 points and beating the Summit League runner-ups in North Dakota State.

"The women's team did great, I'm proud of what they did," DeHaven explained, "Emily Berzonsky did exceptionally well and we'll find out about if Rachel makes it to the championships tomorrow."

Junior Rachel King earned NCAA All-Region honors with her 10th-place finish Friday (20:28.2). She will find out tomorrow at 3 p.m. whether she receives an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Championships back in Louisville, Ky. With her time, The Summit League Championship MVP now owns the Jackrabbit all-time fastest 6k at the Midwest Regional. King also beat fellow teammate, Emily Donnay's time for fastest 6k time among active Jacks. She beat her previous best 6k-time by 21 seconds.

Junior Emily Berzonsky finished behind King for a 48th-place performance (21:13.4). She beat her previous best 6k-time by 32.4 seconds. The second-team All-Summit League honoree is now ranked third on the Jackrabbit all-time list behind fellow teammates Rachel King and Emily Donnay.

Freshman Anna Donnay came out and ran her best 6k of the season, beating her old time by seven seconds. She ranks sixth on the Jackrabbit all-time list in her debut at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Junior Renae Dykstra ran her first NCAA Midwest Championship race of her career, finishing 116th (21:54.5). She improved her 6k-time by 1:36.7 minutes she previously set in The Summit League Championships earlier this year.

Sophomore Kendra Dykstra ran her second NCAA Midwest Regional race, finishing 135th (22:05.7). It is her best 6k time, improving her race from last year's regional race by 31 seconds.

Junior Mackenzie Schell and freshman Cailee Peterson ran their first race at the NCAA Regionals, finishing 156th (22:19.0) and 161st (22:22.0) respectively. They both improved their 6k times, Schell by 2.6 seconds and Peterson by 48.3 seconds.

NEXT UP: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Junior Rachel King will find out tomorrow at 3 p.m. whether the she earns a bid to the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky. on Nov. 18. It would be the first Jackrabbit on the women's side to make the NCAA Championships since becoming division I in 2007.

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-