Jackrabbit Track & Field on to Iowa

Wednesday, April 24

Des Moines, IA

Wed: 11:30 a.m. | Thurs: 10:30 a.m. | Fri: 8:15 a.m. | Sat: 8 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Drake Relays

Tickets

4/24/2019 8:50:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

SDSU will compete in the Drake Relays and KIp Janvrin Open starting Thursday and going through the weekend

MEETS 11-12: South Dakota State (Men & Women) at Drake Relays & Kip Janvrin Open

When	Drake Relays - Thursday (Jacks:4:30 p.m.) \| Friday (Jacks: 10:42 a.m.) \| Saturday (Jacks: 10:30 a.m.) Kip Janvrin Open - Thursday (No Jacks) \| Friday (Jacks: 1:15 p.m.)
Where	Drake Relays - Drake \| Drake Stadium \| Des Moines, Iowa \| Ticket Information \| Parking Information Kip Janvrin Open - Simpson College \| Bill Buxton Stadium \| Indianola, Iowa
Live Results	Drake Relays - Live Results \| Live Stream: USATF ($) - Watch TV (Saturday 3-5 p.m. CT): NBCSN (local TV listing) \| Online: NBCSN Gold ($) Kip Janvrin Open - Live Results \| No Live Stream
Meet Notes	Drake Relays - Home Meet Page \| Event Schedule \| Heat Sheets: Thursday / Friday / Saturday - Relays Records \| Stadium Records Kip Janvrin Open - Home Meet Page \| Event Schedule \| Heat Sheets \| Meet Records JACKRABBIT WEEKEND SCHEDULE \| South Dakota State's Performance Lists & Records Page
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State track and field team will be well-represented in Iowa this weekend as Jackrabbits compete in the Drake Relays and the Kip Janvrin Open.

JACKRABBIT WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The Jackrabbit schedule has all of the events that Jackrabbits are tentatively accepted to compete in.

Thursday - Action will be on the track at the Blue Oval on Thursday evening for SDSU. The distance carnival will host eight events Jacks will compete in starting with the men's unseeded 800m at 4:30 p.m. and finishes with the 5,000m tentatively starting at 8:37 p.m.

Friday - The Jacks will continue to compete at the Drake Relays and open competition Kip Janvrin Open. South Dakota State will begin Drake on Friday with the women's 4x1,600m relay while the Jacks at Simpson will kick off at 1:15 p.m. with the 110m hurdles.

The meet at Simpson will be a rolling schedule, with the 5,000m tentatively scheduled to begin around 8:10 p.m. SDSU will have their last scheduled event at Drake at 8:12 p.m.

Saturday - Jacks will finish the weekend on Saturday back at the Blue Oval, starting at 10:30 a.mm and finishing with the men's 4x400m relay at 3:49 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG
There are select live results and live stream options available in the links above. You can also follow Jackrabbit-specific action on the SDSU track and field's Twitter account (@GoJacksTFXC). A meet recap will be made available following the conclusion of each day on GoJacks.com.

USTFCCCA TFRI RANKINGS
Men - The Jackrabbits jump to No. 2 (1,356.63) in the second week of TFRI conference rankings, bouncing South Dakota to No. 3 (1,088.72) and trailing North Dakota State (1,970.88). Three teams have over 1,000 points in the rating system. Last week, the Jackrabbits were third behind the Bison and Coyotes.

A majority of the points is coming from sophomore Coby Hilton (82.96) as he is the league leader in the 100m and 200m while being a member of the league-leading 4x100m relay. The 4x100m relay is the highest scoring event the Jackrabbits have (Fr. Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, Hilton, So. Daniel Clarke, Jr. Sam Zenner) while redshirt freshman Alexander Auch has the highest-scoring individual score, leading the league in the 10,000m (45.45 points).

2019 MOTF Weekly Conference Rankings: April 15-Wk 1 (3rd, 1,047.29) ... April 22-Wk 2 (2nd, 1,356.63)

In the regional TFRI rankings, the men's team fell three spots to No. 18 in the Midwest Region, still the third team in the league regionally scored (NDSU-third, USD-12th). Last week (April 8), the team was ranked 15th overall before losing spots to South Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Bradley. In the opening regional rankings (April 1), the squad was 19th overall. SDSU has been the third-best league team regionally all three weeks.

In the Jacks moved up two spots in the Midwest Regional rankings at No. 16, still the third-best team among Summit Leagie schools (NDSU-3, USD-13). Last week (April 15), the team was ranked 18th before being 15th overall in the second week of rankings (April 8). In the opening weekend (April 1), SDSU saw themselves at No. 19 overall, being named the third-best Summit League team all four weeks.

The Jackrabbits fell to No. 134 out of 189 schools ranked, the fourth-best Summit League school (NDSU-31, USD-37, ORU-99, SDSU-134). Last week (April 15), the Jacks 123rd and reached their highest ranking of the season in week 2 (April 8) at No. 122 overall, up eight spots from the week prior (Week 1, April 1, 130th) and four spots from where they were pre-season polled at (March 18, 126th). They have been the third-best team in the league throughout the national rankings.

Women - The Jacks remain in fourth place of the second conference rankings by the USTFCCCA, the fourth Summit League team behind North Dakota State (1,783.98), South Dakota (1,462.98), and North Dakota (886.61). The team has tallied more points in their favor (725.96 compared to 666.65).

The highest-scoring individual event is senior Rachel King in the 3,000m steeplechase (39.65), scoring a total of 107.46 points from the steeplechase and 1,500m and 5,000m. Sophomore Oksana Covey is responsible for the most cumulative points (68.64), adding scores in the 800m (best in league), 400m (fourth), and a member of the 4x400m relay (22 points total, fifth-best).

Freshman Addison Eisenbeisz (high jump, 34.40) joins King and Covey in leading the league in their respective events.

2019 WOTF Weekly Conference Rankings: April 15-Wk 1 (4th, 666.65) ... April 22-Wk 2 (4th, 725.96)

In regional TFRI rankings, SDSU jumps six spots to No. 16, ahead of ORU (17th) and UND (18th). The Jacks are now third in the league (NDSU-sixth, USD-12th) with their best rank of the season (opened 22nd, April 1 ... No. 21 in week 2, April 8 ... last week were 22nd, April 15).

Nationally, the Jackrabbits fell to No. 109 from 105th out of 192 schools ranked, fourth-best Summit League school. South Dakota State opened the pre-season polls at No. 100 (March 18).

The third outdoor #EventSquad rankings were released this week (April 22) and the following list are the eligible #EventSquad rankings for the Jackrabbits.

USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings places a rank order to a program's "squad" of athletes in a particular event, using the cumulative season-best qualifying marks from a team's top-four ranked athletes on the national desending-order list. As with the national decending-order list for qualifying and seeding purposes, marks are subject to be converted due to track size and/or altitude. A team must have four or more athletes with a valid season-best mark recorded with TFRRS to achieve a ranking in a particular event.

Event	Men	Women
100m	71	150
200m	85	231
400m	126	131
800m	26	52
1,500m	72	97
3,000S	33	--
5,000m	82	46
10,000m	--	--
110H/100H	57	--
400H	38	--
High Jump	35	60
Pole Vault	43	--
Long Jump	69	--
Triple Jump	--	--
Shot Put	69	59
Discus	100	42
Hammer	--	70
Javelin	--	96
Multi (Dec./Hept.)	--	--

2019 Indoor Rankings
South Dakota State men finished the indoor season with a No. 131 national ranking (week five, Feb. 18), No. 15 regional mark (week six, Feb. 25), and the best conference position (week five, Feb. 18). The women did not reach national recognition, but were ranked No. 25 regionally (week six, Feb. 25) and third in the conference TFRI rankings (week five, Feb. 18). The men reached their highest-ever ranking in week one of indoors at No. 7 and were ranked No. 12 and 13 regularly throughout. The women reached No. 24 in week three of indoors as their highest mark of the season. Each team's final indoor event squad rankings are below (week six, Feb. 26) -

Event	Men	Women
60m	25	153
200m	25	213
400m	89	162
800m	46	36
Mile	72	105
3,000m	67	93
5,000m	48	85
High Jump	34	63
Pole Vault	50	66
Long Jump	23	134
Triple Jump	16	49
Shot Put	85	49
Weight Throw	--	50
Multi (Hept./Pent.)	--	--

LAST TIME OUT - Full Recap (April 23)
The South Dakota State track and field teams came away with six event champions and 14 personal-best marks from the South Dakota Twilight on Tuesday evening.

Freshman standout Addison Eisenbeisz keeps climbing up the SDSU all-time high jump charts, this time sharing the No. 3 spot with Jill Wittenwyler (1993) and Kali Olson (2014) and winning her second career outdoor high jump competition (5-08.75).

Before today, the Pierre, S.D. native was tied No. 8 all-time with Lora Shearer (2009) before adding 1.75 inches. She finished the indoor campaign with the No. 8 all-time mark (5-07.00) and is the first Jack in the school's outdoor top 10 since 2017 (Monique Mack).

Adding another event crown on the women's side was sophomore Emma Stewart in the long jump (18-11.75) with her 3.25-inch personal-best reset. It's her second reset of the season, entering the school's all-time list at No. 8 at the ORU Invite, and her first career outdoor win. She is the first Jackrabbit in the outdoor long jump list since 2016 (Jazzelina Black).

Jumping mate, sophomore Sophie Bisgard, tallied another win for SDSU in the triple jump, her first career win in any event - indoors or outdoors (36-09.50).

For the men, freshman Blake Iverson earned his first career win in the 800m (1:56.71) while unattached freshman Daniel Burkhalter and senior Jordan Hanna rounded out the podium at runner-up (1:57.19) and third (1:58.15). Burkhalter's mark was a personal-best out of three outdoor attempts while Hanna ran his second 800m of the season, a season-best mark.

Sophomore Noah Huber tied his personal-best mark in the discus throw (162-10.00) from the South Dakota Challenge to get the dub in the event, his second of his career and on the season.

Unattached freshman Bryce Ludwig went three-for-three for personal-best marks, competing in the shot put (10th, 45-11.25), the discus (ninth, 145-08.00), and the hammer (10th, 148-10.00).

For the women, freshman Meghan Hettinga was the lone Jack to record a personal-best mark, adding 1.25 inches to her best in the shot put (seventh, 41-08.50).

Both senior Rachel Propst (fourth, 2:19.30) and freshman Abbey Stadler (18th, 2:36.74) notched personal-best marks in the 800m while junior Kendra Dykstra finished with the win (2:16.46) in her first outdoor competition.

LAST WEEKEND
Individual Recaps - Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (Thursday) | Bryan Clay Invitational (Friday) | Red Raider Open (Saturday)
Thursday - A majority Jackrabbits competed at Long Beach in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate while a few opened at Bryan Clay.

The men's 4x100m relay squad opened their season up with the school's No. 2 all-time mark (second, 40.55) with freshman Emmanual Phoulom-Smith into the fold along with school-record partners Coby Hilton, Daniel Clarke, and Sam Zenner.

Junior Jaymie O'Connor reset her school-record and personal-best mark for the second time this season (ninth, 13.74). She initially had the school's No. 2 all-time mark from 2018 at last year's Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (14.00w, was No. 2 all-time).

She first reset her 17-year old school-record mark at the South Dakota Challenge and is the first Jackrabbit since Jennifer Stovall (2002-2011).

Freshman Reid Pierzinski was the lone Jackrabbit adding multiple personal-best marks in Long Beach, notching one in the 110m hurdles (16th, 14.91w) and again in the 400m hurdles (fourth, 54.05 ... reset it again on Friday at Bryan Clay). He was close to the school's top 10 lists of 110m hurdles, 0.22 seconds (teammate Nick Wessels is No. 10).

Sophomores Oksana Covey, Mitchel Acker (reset it again on Friday at Bryan Clay), and Caleb Bray all added career-best marks in the 400m with Covey tallying the school's No. 6 all-time mark (eighth, 56.34). It was her second reset of the season, first missing the list by 0.02 seconds and now being the first Jackrabbit into the list since 2017.

Senior Peter Bates finished his first decathlon since the 2017 season with a 148-point personal-best mark (group one - 10th, 6,022) at Azusa on Wednesday and Thursday. The decathlon score will go down as the school's No. 9 all-time mark with six personal-best marks and a day 1 personal-best score.

Sophomore Anna Donnay and senior Emily Berzonsky cut times in their respective heats of the 5,000m at Bryan Clay on Thursday evening. Berzonsky led off and trimmed 5.90 seconds off her previous-best (from the 2017 Bryan Clay Invite) to claim a new overall PR (heat five - 12th, 17:17.22).

Donnay was up on the track next and cut 0.89 seconds off her previous-best (from the 2018 Bryan Clay Invite) to remain No. 10 all-time for SDSU (heat four - seventh, 17:01.33).

Senior Rachel King finished her first 5,000m of the season (invite heat - 20th, 16:19.64), just 10.10 seconds from her PR and school-record mark. Her mark tonight would have been SDSU's No. 2 all-time behind her PR set at the 2018 Bryan Clay Invite. As of tonight, her mark is No. 1 in the Summit League.

Friday - Sophomores Oksana Covey and Coby Hilton set and tied school-record marks at the Bryan Clay Invite. Covey (10th overall, 2:06.09) rewrote the record at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Friday afternoon, cutting 0.15 seconds off Kim Fordham's 1991 mark (2:06.24).

Hilton showed his consistency on Friday afternoon in Azusa, scoring the his personal-best, school-record, and overall fastest-ever time yet again. Just as he did two weeks ago in Vermillion (third, 20.92w). Once a 26-year old record, Hilton has captured it twice and is still the first Jackrabbit since Edmund Estephane (1994-2018) to own both the indoor and outdoor school record.

Freshman Reid Pierzinski tallied a 1.23-second personal-best on Friday in the 400m hurdles (14th overall, 53.43) to earn the school's seventh-best mark all-time. The best mark by a Jackrabbit since 2012 was fast enough to steal his heat's crown by 1.96 seconds.

Senior Cal Lawton climbed up the 800m all-time chart from No. 9 to No. 5 with a strong last-leg finish. The fifth-best mark all-time outdoors is his first outdoor PR reset and the Jacks' best outdoor time since the 2017 season (27th overall, 1:50.62).

To close out the night, senior Rachel King reset her 1,500m mark for the fourth time in her career, on her first attempt this season (50th, 4:25.40), in the invite section at Bryan Clay. She trimmed 1.03 seconds off to remain No. 2 all-time for SDSU, 2.61 seconds from the record (Becka Manshiem, 2007).

Fellow senior Kyle Burdick published a season-best 1,500m in the invite section at Bryan Clay (30th, 3:44.74). A mark that is his best since his Second-Team All-America performance at the NCAA Championships in 2017.

Earlier in the afternoon, sophomore Mitchel Acker completed the weekend two-for-two with personal-best marks, first resetting his 400m by 0.19 seconds at the Pacific Coast on Thursday and another 0.06 seconds on Friday at Bryan Clay (42nd, 49.22).

The kick of the weekend belonged freshman Thomas Breuckman, running down a race in the last stretch yet again. The Jackrabbit, finished runner-up in Heat 8 of the 1,500m open (69th overall, 3:55.87) with an outstanding last-stretch kick. Breuckman (by 3.18 seconds), along with sophomore Gabe Peters (1.44 seconds) and junior Lukas Nelson (1.73 seconds) notched personal-best marks.

Junior Anna Fasen led a South Dakota State squad at La Crosse on Friday to her third top-three finish of the season in the 1,500m en route to a personal-best mark, one of four total scored in the event.

Fasen, in her sixth career top-three finish, placed third (4:42.07) while teammates sophomore Cailee Peterson (fifth, 4:43.84), senior Rachel Propst (eighth, 4:45.95), and junior Emma Nelson (12th, 4:51.22) all followed for personal-best marks.

Redshirt freshman Alexander Auch added the lone Jackrabbit win at La Crosse on Friday afternoon, winning the 10,000m by 39.78 seconds (31:48.10) to capture his first career win attached.

Sophomore Michael Schwinghamer led the men's 3,000m steeplechase, taking bronze (9:30.38), while freshman Lukas Pierson posted a 28.54-second personal-best (fifth, 9:32.28) and senior Chandler Klawitter scored an 8.46-second season-best mark (11th, 9:58.01).

Saturday - The Jackrabbits had four event-champions, with sophomores Chloe Bermel and Jake Lieberg adding their first career wins in their respective events, and senior Logan Ammons recording his third crown of his career in the hammer throw (191-11.00).

Bermel ran a 0.25-second personal-best to lead eight other Jackrabbits in the 200m (25.64w) while Lieberg added a season-best mark in the 400m hurdles (55.85), beating teammate and freshman Josh Donahoe (10th, 59.22) who ran his first career 400m hurdles.

Bermel also came away with a 0.87-second personal-best in the 400m (fifth, 59.37).

Donahoe, in his first weekend of outdoor competition as a Jackrabbit, also qualified for the finals of the 110m hurdles to earn a fifth place finish with an illegally wind-aided mark (15.77W, 4.4 wind). His mark in the prelims (16.08w) will stand as his best.

Freshman Mikayla Wevik competed in the 200m with Bermel to finish 15th overall (26.84) but tallied her best event in the 100m, coming away with her first top-three finish in the event to lead the Jackrabbits (third, 15.51w). In the prelims, the Tea, S.D. native trimmed 0.21 seconds off her previous-best mark to jump to the team's second-fastest 100m runner on the season performance list.

Another freshman, Lauren Van Dyke, added a runner-up finish in the 400m (58.85) to earn herself her first career silver-crown finish outdoors and a 1.22-second personal-best. She also claimed a sixth-place finish behind Bermel in the 200m for her first career mark in the event - indoors or outdoors (26.41w).

Freshmen trio of Meghan Hettinga, Faith Leiseth, and Caitlin Thilges tallied seven personal-best marks in the Jacks' favor, with Thilges coming away with three (shot put by 10.25 inches, discus throw by 2-04.00 feet, and hammer throw by 2-04.00 feet).

Also throwing personal-best marks were sophomores Miranda Zinola (in the discus by 20-08.00 feet, in the javelin throw by four feet), Naomi Wynn (in the hammer by 4-05.00 feet), and Alex Dynes (in the shot put by 1-02.75 feet).

For the men, redshirt freshman Samuel Coil added a personal-best mark in both the shot put (2-02.25) and discus throw (2-06.00 feet) en route to his second top-three finish in the shot put as an attached Jack (fifth including unattached finishes).

The first win of the day was the women's 4x100m relay (So. Madisson Gay, Bermel, Jr. Jennifer Thill, and Wevik). It was a new combination of Jackrabbits and the second relay mark of the season for the women, 0.27 seconds away from the best.

KING WINS JACKS' FIRST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONOR IN TRACK & FIELD - Full Story (April 2)
South Dakota State senior Rachel King earned the Jackrabbits' first Summit League Athlete of the Week in track and field this year.

The Jackrabbit from St. Michael, Minn. reset the school's 3,000m steeplechase record for the fifth time as she finished runner-up (9:54.44) in the invite section at Stanford last Friday. She earned the league's No. 1 mark in the event, which is also second best in the NCAA to the winner on of the section (Brianna Ilarda, Providence) and No. 4 in the world as of April 2.

She trimmed 3.31 seconds off the school-record mark - a mark she ran at last year's NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento, Calif. to be the first female Jack to run on the track at the NCAA DI National Championships, eventually claiming an All-America Honorable Mention.

King has qualified for the NCAA West Prelims every year of track and field dating back to the 2016 season. She added the school's No. 2 all-time mark (10:25.75) behind Halie Mechels' ('18) reset the record just ahead of her at Mt. SAC Relays (10:25.39), finishing 38th in the West prelims (10:52.89).

She claimed the school record in 2017, first resetting it at the Stanford Invite on the final weekend in March (10:14.08) and then again at the Mt. SAC Relays (10:10.71) before finishing 38th at the NCAA West Prelims in Austin, Texas (11:03.25).

In 2018, King finally broke through the West prelims and arrived at the NCAA Championships, finishing 23rd in the prelims (10:27.92) after resetting her best and school-record mark twice in the season - once at Stanford (10:01.14) and again at the NCAA West Prelims (9:57.75, ninth).

She has also been ranked very high in the event among NCAA and world ranks, reaching fifth in the NCAA in 2017, fifth again in 2018 (21st in the world), and now second in the NCAA and No. 4 in the world this year.

Her No. 1 mark in the NCAA West Preliminary performance list, and best mark ever, should allow her to compete at the West prelims one last time in May (23-25) in Sacramento, as she looks to be the second-ever Jackrabbit to go to the NCAA DI Championships in back-to-back years (Sara Ackman, 2009-2010).

She wins her second career outdoor track and field weekly honor (won April 3, 2018 - Stanford Invite - 3,000m steeplechase performance) and her fifth all-time weekly accolade (three in cross country).

SUMMIT OTF PRESEASON POLL - Full Story (March 8)
The Summit League has announced the preseason outdoor track and field rankings with the South Dakota State men three points behind the league favorite and the women sitting fourth. The men's team gathered 20 points and two first-place votes, three points and one first-place vote behind North Dakota State (23 points, three first-place). The women tallied 33 points and are behind North Dakota State (47 - five first-place votes), South Dakota (44 points - two first-place votes), and Oral Roberts (38 points).

Individually, seniors Kyle Burdick, Rachel King, and Kasie Vollmer, along with sophomore Trent Francom, were nominated as SDSU's preseason athletes to watch.

It's just the second time since the outdoor preseason poll began that the Jackrabbit men are tabbed as runner-up favorites entering the outdoor season (last time in 2017, tied for second) - their best outdoor preseason ranking. They picked up their most first-place votes ever and one more point than they did in 2017.

The Jacks have never finished the outdoor season worse than they were projected, including four times where they finished better than projected. The squad is aiming for its third consecutive, fourth overall, runner-up or better finish in the championships on May 10-12 in Macomb, Ill.

The women are projected fourth for the first time since 2014, fourth time ever in the league. Prior to this preseason, the women had a four-year streak where they were projected third - finishing in that spot three of the four years (2018 was fourth place).

The last time the women were projected fourth (2014), they finished runner-up with 193 points behind NDSU (246) and ahead of South Dakota (169). They have also finished fourth (2013) and fifth another time (2012). SDSU has finished where they were preseason polled, or better, in all but three rankings (2010, 2012, 2018) with two times finishing better (2011, 2014).

Kyle Burdick | Senior | Distance | Rapid City, S.D.

Summit League's Indoor Track MVP (2019)
Scored 30 points in the 2019 indoor championships - winning three events (mile, 3,000m, 5,000m)
Won the 1,500m, finished second in the 10,000m and third in the 800m at the 2018 league outdoor championships
Two-time Outdoor Championship MVP (2017, 2018)
2017 league's Track Athlete of the Year
10-time All-League (XC 2016 1st-Team, 2017 1st-Team, 2018 1st-Team, ITF 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, OTF 2016, 2017, 2018)
Has seven personal-best marks in the school's top 10 (IN: 1,000m (1st, 2019), Mile (2nd, 2019), 3,000m (2nd, 2018), 5,000m (4th, 2019), OUT: 800m (T-8th, 2017), 1,500m (3rd, 2017), 5,000m (3rd, 2017))
NCAA All-American in the 1,500m in 2017 (second-team)
Five-time Preseason Athlete to Watch (XC 2018, ITF 2018, 2019, OTF 2018, 2019)

Trent Francom | Sophomore | Pole Vault | Huron, S.D.

Finished runner-up in the 2019 indoor championships
Third in his first outdoor championships (2018)
Only Jackrabbit to breach the 17-foot mark, reaching it twice in 2018 outdoors and once in 2019 indoors
The first male Jack to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims (only Amy Leiferman in 2015 made pole vault in the West Prelims, Tyler Schiferl made Midwest Regionals in 2009)
All-League (ITF 2018, OTF 2018)
Holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the pole vault

Rachel King | Senior | Distance | St. Michael, Minn.

First Jackrabbit female at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships in the track events (3,000S) - finished with NCAA All-American Honorable Mention
Won two events in the 2019 indoor championships (3,000m and 5,000m) - resetting her school record in the 3,000m
Posted five individual school-record marks (IN: Mile, 3,000m, 5,000m, OUT: 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m), moved to second all-time in the 1,500m, and was a part of the DMR school record in her career
Won the 3,000m steeplechase and took second in the 1,5000m at the 2018 league outdoor championships
Has been named indoor Track Championship MVP (2018) and Track Athlete of the Year (2017) each once ... no female outdoor post-season or yearly awards have been received by Jackrabbits yet
10-time All-League (XC 2015 1st-Team, 2016 1st-Team, 2017 1st-Team, 2018 1st-Team, ITF 2017, 2018, 2019, OTF 2014, 2016, 2018)
Six-time Preseason Athlete to Watch (XC 2016, 2018 ITF 2018, 2019, OTF 2018, 2019)

Kasie Vollmer | Senior | Throws | Savage, Minn.

Did not compete in 2019 indoors
Won the outdoor Summit League discus (2018), runner-up in 2017
Two-time All-League (OTF 2017, 2018)
Two-time qualifier for the NCAA West Prelims in the discus (2017, 2018)
Holds school record in the outdoor discus (2017) while being No. 8 all-time in the indoor shot put (2018)

2019 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S OUTDOOR PRESEASON POLL

	Team	Score (First-place votes)
1.	North Dakota State	23 (3)
2.	South Dakota State	20 (2)
T3.	South Dakota	19
T3.	Oral Roberts	19
5.	North Dakota	11
6.	Western Illinois	8

2019 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S OUTDOOR PRESEASON POLL

	Team	Score (First-place votes)
1.	North Dakota State	47 (5)
2.	South Dakota	44 (2)
3.	Oral Roberts	38
4.	South Dakota State	33
5.	North Dakota	32
6.	Omaha	20
7.	Western Illinois	18
8.	Purdue Fort Wayne	13

KING RECEIVED NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP - Full Story
Senior Rachel King received a postgraduate scholarship from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The St. Michael, Minn. native has held a cumulative grade-point average of 3.871 to this point of her career while majoring in community and public health with a Spanish minor and a pre-occupational therapy specialization.

She has competed in cross country and track and field for the Jackrabbits while making the dean's list all seven semesters thus far and being in the top 10 percent of her graduating class. She is also a member of the Sigma Delta Pi (a Spanish honors society) while being named to The Summit League's All-Academic team a total of six times across the three seasons she competes in (XC: 2016, 2017, 2018, ITF: 2017, 2018, OTF: 2018).

King has also been honored by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) Division I All-Academic five times (XC: 2017, 2018, TF: 2016, 2017, 2018).

After her career as a student at SDSU, King is expecting to go to University of Mary in Bismark, N.D. for graduate school.

She was the first Jackrabbit to qualify and compete on the track in the NCAA Outdoor Division I Championships - earning NCAA All-American honorable mention status. King is also the second Jack to earn NCAA All-Regional honors in cross country, first to win multiple.

In Summit League awards, she is the lone Jackrabbit to win track post-season awards (Track Athlete of the Year in 2017 and Track Championship MVP in 2018) while moving into a tie for fifth all-time in the league for most indoor championship wins (six).

For records, King holds individual records on the track to this point of her career (IN: Mile, 3,000m, 5,000m, OUT: 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m) and moved to second all-time in the 1,500m, and was a part of the DMR school record. In cross country, she holds the third-fastest winning time for the league championship 6k (fastest for SDSU) and fifth overall fastest.

The distance runner from St. Michael, Minn. is the first Jackrabbit from the women's track and field team to be honored with the postgraduate scholarship since jumper Mary Wirth did in 2014. The last Jackrabbit overall to earn the scholarship was Jordan Dykstra (2016-17 Winter). Football's senior linebacker Dalton Cox has also received the scholarship this year.

About the Program
The NCAA awards up to 126 postgraduate scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.

The one-time non-renewable scholarships of $10,000 are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season there are 21 scholarships available for men and 21 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.

All former student-athletes who earned an undergraduate degree from an NCAA member school are eligible to be nominated by that school for an NCAA graduate degree scholarship, regardless of when they received their undergraduate degree.

JACKRABBITS 2019-20 SIGNEES - Full Story
The South Dakota State University track & field teams have signed seven high school student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach Rod DeHaven announced on Dec. 3.

MEN:
Pierre Lear | Watertown High School | Watertown, S.D.
Named the 2018 State Champion in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles while being runner-up in the high jump at the South Dakota Class AA State Track and Field Championships ... placed fifth in the 110m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles in the 2017 State Championships ... has personal-best marks in the 110m hurdles (14.87), 300m hurdles (39.21), and high jump (6-06.00).

WOMEN:
Leah Hansen | Willmar High School | Willmar, Minn.
Finished 31st at the Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country meet ... has personal-best marks in the 1,600m (5:23), 3,200m (11:31), and 5k XC (18:25).

Bridget Henne | Ronald N. Davies High School | Fargo, N.D.
Finished 11th overall at the North Dakota Class A State Cross Country meet ... placed sixth overall in the 3,200m at the Class A track and field meet last spring ... has personal-best marks in the 1,600m (5:18), 3,200m (11:16), and 5k XC (18:44).

Micheala Kelley | Burwell High School | Burwell, Neb.
Has personal-best marks in the 1,600m (5:39), 3,200m (11:42), and 5k XC (19:43).

Emilee Nickel | Central High School | Rapid City, S.D.
Was named the 2017 State Champion in 100m hurdles at the South Dakota Class AA Track and Field Championships ... finished fifth overall in both 2016 and 2018 ... has a personal-best in the 100m hurdles of 14.74 seconds.

Kaley Waldemar | Irondale High School | New Brighton, Minn.
Was the Minnesota Class AA runner-up in the discus in 2018 ... has personal-best marks in the shot put (40-09.50) and discus (133-06.00).

Annie Wendt | Mayo High School | Rochester, Minn.
Placed sixth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump at the 2018 Minnesota Class AA State Track and Field Championships ... has personal-best marks in the long jump (18-00.00) and triple Jump (37-01.50).

A YEAR AGO
Drake Relays (Thursday through Saturday) - At the Drake Relays a year ago, the Jackrabbit relay teams posted a few top-10 all-time marks, including school records, in the three-day weekend at the Blue Oval.

The women's distance medley (1. Jr. Kendra Dykstra, 2. '18 Grad Savannah Dolezal, 3. Sr. Krista Steele, 4. Sr. Rachel King) notched a new school record. It beat the previous-best mark by 14.80 seconds.

The men's 4x100m relay (1. So. Coby Hilton, 2. Jr. Landon Larson, 3. So. Daniel Clarke, 4. Jr. Sam Zenner) competed in the finals of the relay, scoring the school's second-fastest mark in program history (they eventually reset the mark twice more, owning the record at the outdoor league championships).

In the prelims, the team posted what would have been the school's third-best time.

The finals mark was 0.63 seconds better than the prelim mark and just 0.03 seconds short of the school record.

The women's sprint medley team (1. Jr. Delaney Carlson, 2. Jr. Miatta Flemister-Smith, 3. '18 Grad Vanessa Lane, 4. '18 Grad Jennie Scislow) ended up third on the school's top 10 list, just 0.01 seconds from tying for second all-time, and 2.58 seconds from the school record.

Also adding a top-three mark in the school record book was the women's 4x800m relay (1. Sr. Krista Steele, 2. Jr. Kendra Dykstra, 3. '18 Grad Jennie Scislow, 4. So. Madison Gray).

The women's 4x200m relay team (1. Jr. Delaney Carlson, 2. Jr. Miatta Flemister-Smith, 3. '18 Grad Vanessa Lane, 4. '18 Grad Savannah Dolezal) cracked the top 10, now sitting fourth on the all-time list. The mark was just 1.93 seconds from the school record and it was the first 4x200m mark of the season for the women's team.

On the men's side, the 4x200m relay team (1. '18 Grad Jalen Williams, 2. Skyler Monaghan, 3. So. Cameron Kuil, 4. Sr. Sam Johnson) recorded the school's seventh-best mark, just 1.47 seconds from the school record. It was the first 4x200m mark of the season for the men's team.

The women's 4x400m relay (1. '18 Grad. Savannah Dolezal, 2. Jr. Delaney Carlson, 3. '18 Grad Vanessa Lane, 4. Jr. Allison Sebern) notched eighth all-time on the top 10, just 0.07 seconds behind seventh.

Individually, '18 Grad Colton Bender and sophomore Trent Francom recorded personal-best marks and the school record of their respective events. Francom broke the school record wide open in the pole vault with the school's first mark over 17 feet ever. He increased his outdoor PR by 1-00.25 feet, overall PR by 8 inches, and the school record by 5.50 inches. He also added his 10th top-three finish in 15 career events.

Bender reset his PR and school record, increasing it by 2-06.00 feet.

Seniors Kyle Burdick and Rachel King competed in the 1,500m races Friday evening. Burdick was just 0.44 seconds from his season-best mark and 3.70 seconds from his PR, which is third on the school's top 10. With Burdick's first-place finish, he's tallied four career wins in the 1,500m.

"Burdick led the men's 1500 meters wire-to-wire en route to the Jackrabbits' second-ever win in the event and their first win since 2005. Burdick crossed the line in 3:46.22 to join Brad Lowery as SDSU winners in the 1500 meters." (Drake Relay Notes)

King just missed her personal-best mark by 3.09 seconds, which is the second on the school's all-time list. She set her PR at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Kip Janvrin Open - Friday
As the team competed one day at the Kip Janvrin Open, they made the most of it, recording five personal-best marks throughout the afternoon.

Both senior Mackenzie Schell and junior Emma Nelson recorded their personal-best marks. Schell beat her 2017 Kip Janvrin mark by 20.48 seconds to record the PR while Nelson posted her second attempt in the outdoor 5,000m, which beats her previous-best by 3.91 seconds.

The men's 200m was a tight race as '18 Grad Jalen Williams recorded his season-best mark, beating his previous-best by 0.25 seconds.

On the women's side, junior Jennifer Thill notched a personal best, her third time resetting her PR mark, beating it by 0.02 seconds.

Sophomore Michael Schwinghamer notched a career-best mark in the 3,000m steeplechase, beating his previous-best by 1.92 seconds and recording his best place finish in the event (third).

Ron Masanz Classic - Saturday
In Moorhead, Minn. on Saturday, some Jackrabbit competed in the throwing events. Redshirt freshman, Samuel Coil notched his personal-best mark in the shot put, increasing it by 2.75 inches.

HEAD COACH DEHAVEN FOR THE TRIPLE CROWN
Head Coach Rod DeHaven has claimed two Summit League Coach of the Year honors so far, aiming to be the fourth men's coach in league history to claim all three Coach of the Year honors in a single academic year (cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field).

He earned his seventh men's cross country yearly accolade on Nov. 29 after the men's team won their third consecutive league title with their lowest point total ever that resulted in six Jacks in the top 10. Then he claimed his second men's indoor honor when he orchestrated the first men's championship team since 1991, first in The Summit League, on March 20.

Overall, he has 10 yearly crowns, seven from men's cross country (second-most ever since the honor was introduced in 1982, claimed seven out of the last 12 years SDSU has been in the league), one from women's cross country (2008) and two from men's indoor track and field (2017, 2019). He has yet to garner an outdoor coach of the year nod from the league and is one of four coaches ever to claim cross country and indoor during the same academic year (has happened seven times, twice from Coach DeHaven).

INDOOR MOMENTUM - SEASON RECAP
Summit League Championships (Feb. 22-23) - The Jackrabbit men are coming off their first-ever Summit League track and field championship victory from Feb. 22-23 in the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex while the women finished fourth out of eight teams. The men scored 220 points thanks to large scoring numbers from the 800m and 5,000m (29 points each) and from the 60m and 200m (24 and 26 points). The women scored 76 points, just three points behind third-place Oral Roberts.

Senior Kyle Burdick scored 30 points individually to earn his first career Summit League Championship Track MVP accolade. He is the second-ever SDSU student-athlete named to the honor (Joel Reichow, 2017) while posting three event-wins that included two meet records (mile and 5,000m) and a personal-best (5,000m - No. 4 all-time for SDSU).

Junior Sam Zenner earned the league's second-ever Most Outstanding Performer honor (Burdick won the inaugural honor in 2018) thanks to his first two career wins in the indoor championships - the 60m (6.80) and 200m (21.07). He was within 0.10 seconds of the meet record in the 60m (6.70), but was able to reset recently published 200m meet record with ease (was 21.33).

Senior Rachel King came away with two wins (3,000m and 5,000m) while fellow senior Krista Steele is entering her outdoor campaign as the league's defending outdoor 800m champ (2018) and two-time defending indoor 800m champion (2018, 2019).

The Jackrabbits took eight wins on the men's side and four more on the women's out of 17 scored events while finishing with 25 total Jackrabbits qualifying for All-League recognition (16 from the men, nine from the women).

Seniors Kyle Burdick and Rachel King each have six career wins in The Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships. Burdick is now tied for fourth all-time for most career indoor championship wins, two short of the most, and King is tied for fifth all-time, four short of the all-time mark. With Burdick winning three events this year, he is one of only three athletes in the league to ever win three or more. The last one to do it was Cameron Levins (2012, four - 800m, mile, 3,000m, 5,000m) of Southern Utah while Nevin Govan (1992 - LJ, TJ, HJ) did it for Eastern Illinois.

Academic All-League Success (March 13) - South Dakota State had five Jackrabbits named to The Summit League's Indoor Track and Field Academic All-League teams. For the men, three honored this year was the second-most in the league and SDSU was one of three schools represented on the list (North Dakota State - five, South Dakota - two). The Jacks have had at least three academic all-leaguers for four consecutive years (2016 - four, 2017 - three, 2018 - three).

For the women, two accolade-winners is tied for the second-most in the league and one of only three teams with multiple student-athletes represented on the list of 14. The Jackrabbits have held multiple spots on the list in five out of the six years the academic all-league existed (2013 - two, 2014 - two, 2015 - two, 2016 - two, 2017 - two, 2018 - one).

Leading the Jackrabbits during the indoor season were senior Kyle Burdick and Rachel King. Burdick, earning his second indoor all-league honor (2017) and sixth overall (2017, 2018 cross country, 2017, 2018 outdoor), lead the Jackrabbits in the indoor championships by scoring 30 individual points from three event-wins en route to his first career indoor track championship MVP.

King, a recent NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient (first woman to receive the scholarship since 2014) and three-time indoor academic all-league honoree (2017, 2018), earned her seventh overall academic team accolade (2016, 2017, 2018 cross country, 2017, 2018 indoor, 2018 outdoor). She scored 20 points from two event-wins in the 2019 indoor championships.

Senior Rachel Propst, along with junior duo Sam Zenner and Wyatt Gatrost, were named to their first academic all-league teams. Propst has maintained a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average throughout her Jackrabbit career. In the indoor championships, she was a member of the come-from-behind win in the distance medley for the Jacks, winning the team's third-ever medley and first since 2016.

Zenner is coming off his best indoor championship performance of his career and for a SDSU student-athlete in the sprints. With him winning the 60m and 200m, he was the first Jackrabbit to win either one of those events - adding a championship record in the 200m and earning the championship most outstanding performer.

Gatrost won his first indoor 800m and helped secure the team's first victory in the indoor championships. It was his second overall championship winning the event, tying for the victory in the outdoor 800m, and gathered his second indoor all-league accolade.

Summit League Indoor Yearly Accolades (March 20) - South Dakota State's head coach Rod DeHaven and senior distance runner Kyle Burdick were named as The Summit League's men's coach and track athlete of the year on Wednesday morning.

Helping score 30 points in the indoor league championships was Burdick, winning the mile, 3,000m, and 5,000m en route to the school's second-ever track championships MVP. He had two record-breaking performances - in the mile (4:06.06), he reset the 32-year old league championship record while in the 5,000m he reset Joel Reichow's ('17) 2017 meet-record performance (14:21.45).

Burdick finished the indoor campaign by leading the league in all three events and winning seven of the eight competitions throughout the season. The Rapid City, S.D. native noted an undefeated indoor 3,000m career, including three league crowns, and back-to-back championships in the mile.

His championship 5,000m performance proved to be the school's No. 4 all-time mark while setting the No. 2 all-time mark in the mile earlier in the season, behind Coach DeHaven.

Burdick will be the second SDSU runner to claim the indoor track athlete of the year accolade behind Reichow, who also won both the championship MVP and yearly honor in 2017. However, throughout his career, Burdick has claimed two more outdoor championship MVP's (2017, 2018) and another track athlete of the year crown outdoors (2017) while hoisting the first most outstanding performer last year indoors (2018).

Jackrabbit Indoor Record Summary
The 2019 indoor season was one for the record books, literally, as the men reset 35 marks in the school's top 10 and five school records while the women entered 21 marks into the all-time top-10 and three fresh school records.

The men's 60m and 200m top-10 lists were constantly be re-written as the five-some of Sam Zenner, Coby Hilton, Landon Larson, Daniel Clarke, and Emmanual Phoulom-Smith jostled throughout the lists, even exchanging records from week to week.

Kyle Burdick is now towards the top of nearly every distance event for both the school and The Summit League as his indoor career closes, resetting two of his PR's this season and running the 1,000m school-record mark for the first time in his career.

Like Burdick, Rachel King claims nearly every distance record for SDSU (mile, 3,000m, 5,000m), including a reset in the 3,000m this season.

The emergence of Caleb Bray and Mitchel Acker in the 400m at the league championships broke into the event's top 10 list for the first time since 2017 and the top-three since 2011.

Oksana Covey returned after redshirting a year and moved into two top-10 lists (400m and 600m), while holding onto the No. 2 all-time 800m from her freshman campaign.

Nick Wessels, and Jaymie O'Connor on the women's side, burst through their personal-best marks in the 60m hurdles with Wessels inching toward the 2004 school record and O'Connor resetting her personal-best school-record mark three times this season after first clinching it in 2017.

Freshman standout Ellie Friesen penciled in her name onto two lists - the 1,000m and mile - while Addison Eisenbeisz claimed a high jump mark that entered the list for the first time since 2017. Chloe Holtz joined her in the high jump list after two PR resets this season and a top-10 mark in the triple jump for the first time since 2016.

Miatta Flemister-Smith chased down Jackrabbit legend Carly Carper's records in the 60m and 200m, finishing No. 2 in the 60m and No. 6 in the 200m.

On top of that, the competition South Dakota State brought into the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex was fierce, resetting 24 men's meet records (five were Jacks), including nine in The Summit League Championships (three were Jacks), and 13 SJAC facility records (Burdick reset the 1,000m). For the women, 17 meet records were re-established (Flemister-Smith in the SDSU Holiday 60m and Covey in the SDSU DII 600m were Jacks), including three Summit League Championship resets, and 13 SJAC facility records (King reset the 3,000m at the league championships).

Record Breakdown - Total (Jackrabbits)
Men's Meet Records: 24 (5) /// Summit League Championship Records: 9 (3)
Men's Facility Records: 13 (1)
Men's School Records: 5
Men's Top-10 Entries: 35
Women's Meet Records: 17 (2) /// Summit League Championship Records: 3 (0)
Women's Facility Records: 13 (1)
Women's School Records: 3
Women's Top-10 Entries: 21

XC YEAR-END RECAP
Summit League Men (Oct. 28) - The men's cross country team returned to Brookings after the league championships as the three-time defending Summit League Champions, winning their latest championship by 37 points and notching the school's lowest point-score since 2007 (23 points).

The 23-point score was two points under SDSU's 2016 winning score (25) that started the championship run. The 2016 crew had six guys in the top-10, three in the top-five, while the 2018 squad had seven Jackrabbits in the top 10 and eight total winning All-League recognition. Summit League rivals South Dakota and North Dakota State were held to a combined three top-10 finishers.

Five First-Team All-Summit League honorees for SDSU is now the most-ever First-Team All-League honors for SDSU - beating the previous-best set in 2016 (four - won the championship). Three Second-Team All-League members is now tied for the most from South Dakota State (tying the 2014, 2013, 2009 teams). Eight total All-League honors is now the most-ever for South Dakota State in The Summit League era (beating the 2016 championship team's six All-League).

The 37-point margin of victory was the largest-ever by SDSU, beating the previous-best - a 27-point victory over South Dakota in 2012. As far as The Summit League's margin-of-victory records go, it was the second-largest win since South Dakota State joined in 2007 - just five points behind Southern Utah's 42-point win over Oakland in 2007. Southern Utah also holds the all-time record for margin-of-victory, beating Oakland by 60 points in 2006 when they had a perfect score (15).

As for average team times, the Jacks had a pace of 25:23.45 as a team - a time that beats the next-best average by 45.45 seconds from North Dakota State. All Jacks finished in the top-20 with SDSU's Michael Schwinghamer (eighth Jack) earning the last Second-Team All-League honor (14th overall). Schwinghamer, along with Evan Fick (ninth Jack, 17th overall), outpaced two other school's first-scored runner and four other school's second-scored runner. Schwinghamer nearly beat NDSU's and Purdue-Fort Wayne's No. 1 runners (they finished 12th and 13th with Schwinghamer in 14th).

Summit League Women (Oct. 28) - The women's team scored 61 points in a close team-finish behind South Dakota (won, 51 points) and North Dakota State (second, 52 points). It was the second-closest finish among the top-three schools in the league championships (10-point difference between the winners and third place).

The closest was in 2007 when Purdue-Fort Wayne and Southern Utah tied for first (67 points each) and South Dakota State recorded third (68 points). The next closest finish among the top-three schools was in 2016 when South Dakota won (43 points), North Dakota State finished second (48) and South Dakota State placed third (55) - a 12-point difference.

For the Jackrabbit team, it was the fifth-lowest overall team score in The Summit League Championships and the second-lowest team score when they've placed third in the league (2016's team finished third, scored 55 points).

South Dakota State added two First-Team All-Summit League honorees (Rachel King, Emily Donnay), and nearly a Second-Team All-Summit League award-winner (Anna Donnay - missed by 0.05 seconds), to help keep the point-total low. The Jacks have had multiple First-Team All-League performers only three times, with the most being three in 2016 (other times: 2015 - two, 2013 - two).

Jackrabbit Newcomers Take League by Storm (Oct. 28) - Both freshman Joseph Minor-Williams and Thomas Breuckman could have taken home The Summit League's Newcomer of the Championship for the men, as they finished 0.6 seconds from each other in the league's top-10 individual finish. However, Minor-Williams (eighth, 25:38.6) edged out Breuckman (ninth, 25:39.2) for the honor.

Minor-Williams helped SDSU complete the sweep of The Summit League's Newcomer of the Championship awards, as fellow freshman on the women's side - Ellie Friesen (18th, 22:12.3) - won the Newcomer of the Championship on the women's side. Friesen was the second-ever Jackrabbit on the women's side to win the honor - since senior Rachel King was honored as a freshman 2015.

Since the award was changed to Newcomer of the Championship in 2008, only two other schools have claimed both newcomer awards in the same season (2010 - NDSU, 2012 - USD). South Dakota State and North Dakota State are tied for the most Newcomer of the Championship award recipients with six each (Bison: two men, four women; Jackrabbits: four men, two women).

Jacks Pace Summit League at NCAA Regionals (Nov. 9) - The South Dakota State men's and women's cross country teams finished their 2018 campaigns in Peoria, Ill. at the NCAA Midwest Regionals with the men finishing 10th (288 points) and the women tying their best-ever place-finish and scoring their lowest point-total, 13th (369 points).

It was the fifth time the men's team has finished in the top 10 of the Midwest Regionals, while no other active Summit League school has finished in the top 10 of their respective region. The women were the second-best Summit League team in the Midwest Region, knocking off the league championship runner-up NDSU.

The Jackrabbits were led by a couple of seniors on both sides who earned NCAA All-Region honors - the only Summit League school to have a multiple All-Region honorees.

Rachel King led the women, finishing 19th overall (21:01.9) to garner the award. She is the second-ever Jack on the women's team to earn NCAA All-Region accolades (started in 2010) and is the first to win multiple in her career - back-to-back. The women's team has now had three consecutive seasons with a top-25 finisher (Emily Donnay - 2016; King - 2017, 2018) and King is one of three Summit League women to earn All-Region multiple times.

Kyle Burdick led the men's team for the first time this season, en route to his best place-finish at the regional meet and earn All-Region honors, placing 15th (31:18.3). He helps the SDSU team earn the honor for the fourth year in a row, while gathering his second consecutive personally. Only four State runners have received the award, three of them have been honored multiple times (Michael Krsnak - 2010; Trent Lusignan - 2013, 2015; Joel Reichow - 2015, 2016; Burdick - 2017, 2018). In Summit League comparison, he is one of four individuals to achieve the status multiple times (three other individuals being from SDSU).

As for All-Regional honorees in The Summit League, South Dakota State has had the most All-Region individuals since the award was introduced in 2010 with six Jackrabbits winning 10 mentions. Other schools in the league, all together, have 12 mentions from 10 athletes - with the most any one school having is three honorees winning four mentions.

Academic All-Leaguers (Nov. 13) - The Summit League announced the cross country Academic All-League team that included three South Dakota State Jackrabbits - Kyle Burdick, Chase Cayo, and Rachel King. There were five All-League nominations for both men and women, with SDSU tied with North Dakota State for the most All-League nominations at three each.

For senior Kyle Burdick and junior Chase Cayo, they earned their second consecutive Academic All-League honor of their career in cross country - third overall for Cayo (2018 indoor) and fifth overall for Burdick (2017 indoor and outdoor, 2018 outdoor). Only two other SDSU student-athletes have won multiple Academic All-Leagues - Drew Kraft (2012, 2014) and Joel Reichow (2015, 2016).

As for senior Rachel King, she is garnered with her third career accolade in cross country and her sixth overall (2017 indoor, 2018 indoor and outdoor). She is the only Jackrabbit to win multiple Academic All-League honors in cross country - being only the third-ever to garner the accolade (Cheyanne Bowers - 2013, Courtney Neubert - 2014).

USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams & Individuals (Feb. 14) - The South Dakota State cross country teams were named All-Academic teams for the seventh consecutive time, 11th time overall, since becoming Division I according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association..

Seniors Kyle Burdick and Rachel King were also named to the All-Academic individual team for the second times in their respective careers. Burdick keeps the men's cross country streak of now four individuals honored consecutively (since 2015) and King is the all-time women's leader in cross country or track and field for most times named to the USTFCCCA honor list (5 times).

The women's team held the sixth-highest GPA (3.71) among the 232 NCAA DI schools represented on the list, the best mark among Summit League schools and second in the Midwest Region behind Iowa State (fifth, 3.75 GPA). The team's cumulative GPA this year is the second-highest highest behind 2007-08 squad. Last year, the team was tied for the what is now the fourth-highest GPA (3.68) with the 2008 season (3.72 GPA in 2007, 3.71 GPA in 2018, 3.69 GPA in 2016, 3.68 in 2017 and 2008).

The men's team posted the 20th-best GPA (3.51) out of 195 DI schools honored, the second-best mark in the league behind Purdue Fort Wayne (19th, 3.52 GPA) and fourth in the Midwest Region. It is their highest-ever team average, beating last year's average (3.41) and the 2014's GPA (3.49).

Burdick, majoring in natural resource law enforcement, was named to last year's team while also being an honoree for the track and field season along with 2018 graduate Colton Bender. Combining his track (2) and cross country all-academic teams (2), he's now been a part of four lists.

King, studying health education, was named to her first cross country list last year while adding her third consecutive individual honor in track last season. Sara Ackman (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10) and Michelle Schuch (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10) were each nominated three times for the second-most by an individual State student-athlete.

2018 OUTDOOR SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
TULSA, Okla. (May 10-12, 2018) - Back in the May of last year, the Jackrabbits traveled to Oral Roberts to compete in the league championships, finishing runner-up (215.50) on the men's side and fourth (111.0) on the women's side.

Junior Bryant Courter led the Jacks in capturing all of the men's awards by winning his second Field Championship MVP accolade. Scoring 23.50 points, he won both the long jump and triple jump for the second year in a row, adding PR's in both. His triple jump was a school record while his farthest long jump would have been the school championship record if it was not wind-aided. However, his second farthest jump 25-00.00 feet to push his name up to second all-time on the school's top 10.

Senior Kyle Burdick added his second straight Championship Track MVP by winning the 1,500m, finishing runner-up in the 10,000m, and grabbing the bronze in the 800m - totaling 24 points. It was his first attempt in the 800m at the championships, while he defended his title in the 1,500m.

Sophomore Daniel Clarke gathered 13 points individually, then helped the team add another 10 in the 4x100m relay to win the Jacks' second straight Newcomer of the Championship Award (Courter won it last year).

Clarke scored his points by adding PR's in three of the four events he competed in, including the school record in the 100m (set it in the prelims, and would have set it in the finals) and the 4x100m relay (team reset the school record, trimming off 0.44 seconds). His third personal-best mark came in the long jump where he scored the school's fourth-best jump.

Juniors Chase Cayo and Wyatt Gatrost joined Burdick and Courter as the SDSU event winners. Cayo competed on the first day, taking the victory in the 10,000m with teammates Burdick and 2018 graduate Trevor Capra rounding out the podium. Gatrost earned a photo-finish in the men's 800m, tying South Dakota's Eldon Warner, and leading five other Jackrabbits in the finals.

2018 graduate Mason Leiseth had one of the five school records set at the outdoor championships, setting the all-time mark in the shot put and increasing his PR by 7.50 inches.

Junior Evan Hieber broke the 1989 school record in the decathlon by 60 points, gathering nine personal-best marks out of the 10.

Sophomore Coby Hilton was one of five student-athletes to have multiple personal-best marks. He advanced to the finals of the 100m and 200m, finishing fifth and fourth. He jumped to the fourth-best mark in school history in the prelims of the 100m and (tied fourth-best) finals of the 200m.

Hilton would have had the third-best mark in the 200m if his preliminary time was not illegally wind-aided. The Marshall, Minn. native complimented his individual accolades with a team effort to reset the school record in the 4x100m relay once more along with Clarke. The team trimmed off another 0.44 seconds and won the league race, a championship record as well.

On the women's side, senior Rachel King finished with two top-three finishes, including her first league victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, 14th overall career win.

Seniors Krista Steele and Kasie Vollmer, along with 2018 graduate Vanessa Lane totaled up the last of the four Jackrabbit victories in Tulsa. Vollmer added another 2-11.00 feet to her season-best to win the discus throw while Steele posted her first outdoor 800m championship (she won both 2018 indoor/outdoor league 800m), her fifth career win in the event.

Lane ended her Jackrabbit career finally winning the heptathlon by posting two PR's and two event wins on the second and final days.

Junior Miatta Flemister-Smith represented two of the eight personal-best marks set at ONEOK Sports Complex, en route to a seventh-place finish in the 100m and a fifth-place finish in the 200m. Both her 100m (11.92) and 200m (24.39) are in the school's top 10 (100m -T-4th, 200m - T-7th).

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the South Dakota State cross country and track and field teams, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksTFXC) and Instagram (@GoJacksTFXC), and like us on Facebook (/GoJacksTFXC).

UP NEXT
The regular season wraps up with a weekend in Sioux Falls at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays while some Jackrabbits may compete at the Nebraska Invitational in Lincoln.

Once the regular season is over, South Dakota State will pack up and head to Macomb, Ill. to compete in The Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, looking to defend their 2019 indoor men's title.

-GoJacks.com-