King & 4x100m Relay Squad Compete in Austin

Wednesday, June 5

Austin, Texas

TBA

South Dakota State University

NCAA DI Outdoor National Championships

Photo by: Waack Creative

6/4/2019 12:25:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Rachel King & the 4x100m relay team of Sam Zenner, Coby Hilton, Daniel Clarke, & Emmanual Phoulom-Smith will compete this weekend at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas

MEETS 17: South Dakota State (Men & Women) at NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships

When	Wednesday, June 5 - Multi Events: Noon CT \| Field Events: 2 p.m. CT \| Track Events: 4:02 p.m. CT - Men's 4x100m Relay Semifinals (Phoulom-Smith, Hilton, Clarke, Zenner): 4:02 p.m. CT Thursday, June 6 - Multi Events: 1 p.m. CT \| Field Events: 4:30 p.m. CT \| Track Events: 7:02 p.m. CT - Women's 3,000m Steeplechase Semifinals (King): 7:32 p.m. CT Friday, June 7 - Multi Events: 2:30 p.m. CT \| Field Events: 7 p.m. CT \| Track Events: 7:32 p.m. CT - Men's 4x100m Relay Finals (Phoulom-Smith, Hilton, Clarke, Zenner): 7:32 p.m. CT* Saturday, June 8 - Multi Events: 1:30 p.m. CT \| Field Events: 5 p.m. CT \| Track Events: 5:32 p.m. CT - Women's 3,000m Steeplechase Finals (King): 5:54 p.m. CT*
Where	NCAA Championships \| Host: Texas \| Stadium: Mike A. Myers Stadium \| Location: Austin, Texas
Live Results	Live Results: FlashResults \| Watch Live: ESPN3 (Multi/Field) /// ESPN2 (Track) /// Broadcast Schedule
Meet Notes	NCAA Central \| Home Meet Page /// Event Schedule /// Tickets /// Parking \| Heat Sheets: Men /// Women NCAA Preview \| USTFCCCA Preview \| FloTrack News \| Summit League Preview South Dakota State's Performance Lists & Records Page
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

South Dakota State's senior Rachel King and men's 4x100m relay team, consisting of junior Sam Zenner, sophomores Daniel Clarke and Coby Hilton, and freshman Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, will look to advance through the semifinals to the championships round of their respective events in Austin, Texas at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field National Championships on June 5-8.

SECOND SCHEDULE UPDATED (Updated: Tuesday at 2:45 p.m. CT)
From the NCAA - After further review of weather and discussion with ESPN the decision has been made to move all running events, with the exception of the 10k, up another 30 minutes. The most updated schedule is now listed below and running events will be televised on ESPN2 barring further weather delays.

Please also note that the committee is considering moving the pole vault and hammer to Friday for event safety purposes. The final decision on the pole vault and hammer will be made no later than 8 p.m. CT tonight.

JACKRABBIT SCHEDULE
The men's 4x100m relay team (Fr. Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, So. Coby Hilton, So. Daniel Clarke, Jr. Sam Zenner) were originally scheduled to compete at 6:32 p.m. CT in the semifinal round on Wednesday, June 5.

However, due to weather predictions, the squad will run 2.5 hours prior (4:02 p.m. CT) on Wednesday in Austin (Updated: Tuesday at 2:45 p.m. CT).

They are running in the third and final heat in lane nine. A total of eight teams will advance out of 24, the top two from each heat plus the next two fastest times. Right now, the Jacks are the 24th-best team in the event, eighth-best in the heat.

If the team qualifies for the championship race, it will take place on Friday at 7:32 p.m. CT to open the running competition on Friday.

For senior Rachel King, she will compete on Thursday, June 6 at 7:32 p.m. CT in the semifinals of the 3,000m steeplechase.

She is set to run in the first heat of two, trying to be one of the top 12 to advance out of the field of 24. She will need to be a top-five runner in her heat or one of the next-two fastest runners out of the two heats.

King has the sixth-best seed mark out of the 24 runners, ranking third time-wise in her heat. If she is able to advance to the championships round on Saturday at 5:54 p.m. CT, she can earn All-America First-Team honors with a top-8 finish.

HOW TO WATCH & FOLLOW (Updated: Tuesday at 2:45 p.m. CT)
All track events throughout the week and weekend are expected to air on ESPN2, barring any future weather delays and time changes. Multi and field events will be streamed on ESPN3 throughout the NCAA Championships.

Stay up-to-date with ESPN air-times and schedule changes on this news release and on SDSU's track and field Twitter account.

JACKRABBIT NOTABLES

It's the first time since becoming DI in 2009 that multiple South Dakota State entries were punched to the national championship event. A total of 10 total entries have been punched by Jacks since 2009 and it's the fourth consecutive year at least one Jackrabbit represented SDSU on the national stage, third consecutive on the track.
Sr. Rachel King remains the lone Jackrabbit to run on the track at the DI National Championships, being the first to do it last year.
- She is also the first Jack to qualify for the national championship in consecutive years through the DI West Prelims (starting in 2010). Thrower Sara Ackman was the first Jackrabbit to do it in DI era (Midwest Regionals, 2009-West Regionals, 2010).
The men's 4x100m relay team was the first SDSU men's or women's relay team to qualify for the West Prelims.
- They are the first Summit League men's relay team - 4x400m or 4x100m - to qualify for the DI National Championships. One men's 4x400m relay has qualified indoors while there have been two outdoor women 4x400m relay teams. First-ever 4x100m relay qualification for men or women in the league.
King has reset the 3,000m steeplechase school record a total of six times throughout her career, cutting it to 9:50.15 at the 2019 West Prelims in Sacramento on May 23-25.
- She ranked as high as No. 2 in the NCAA, No. 4 in the World this year after her Stanford Invite performance (9:54.44, March 29). She is now No. 7 in the NCAA and No. 32 in the World.
The men's 4x100m relay squad has reset the school record twice this season, trimming it to the first sub-40-second time in school history (39.99) last time out in Sacramento.
- Fr. Emmanual Phoulom-Smith has been a part of two school-record marks this year while the rest of the team in Jr. Sam Zenner, So. Daniel Clarke, and So. Coby Hilton were a member of two then-school-record resets last year.
So. Coby Hilton was the first Jackrabbit to do a lot of things this year - he was the first to win the 100m and 200m at The Summit League Outdoor Championships, the first male Jackrabbit to compete in the 200m at the NCAA West Prelims and the first male SDSU runner to compete in both the 100m and 200m at the West Prelims.
- He is also a member of the first league championship 4x100m relay team and NCAA West qualifying team (as well as the national championship qualifying team).

JACKRABBIT INTERVIEWS
Below are video interviews of King and the 4x100m relay squad (left to right: Clarke, Phoulom-Smith, Zenner, Hilton). At the top of the story is Head Coach Rod DeHaven's interview (the header image).

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sr. Rachel King.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Men's 4x100m Relay (So. Daniel Clarke, Fr. Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, Jr. Sam Zenner, So. Coby Hilton)

OUTDOOR JACKRABBIT TRACK & FIELD NEWS
Burdick Named Google Cloud Academic All-District by CoSIDA (Full Story) - South Dakota State senior Kyle Burdick was named to the to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 6 team for Division I men's track & field and cross country, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced.

The senior from Rapid City, S.D. was one of 12 athletes named to the district and one of six from The Summit League, accumulating a 3.79 undergraduate GPA and a 4.00 graduate GPA in Natural Resource Law Enforcement.

Five Jacks on Summit League's Academic All-League List (Full Story) - The South Dakota State track and field teams had a total of five Jackrabbits on the Academic All-Summit League team for the 2019 outdoor season, the second-most in the league. The Jackrabbits honored were seniors Kyle Burdick, Rachel King, and Rachel Propst, along with junior Sam Zenner and sophomore Noah Huber.

Three SDSU men is the most the Jacks have had in the league since the awards were introduced in 2013, continuing the streak of multiple award-winners in Yellow and Blue since the first outdoor academic all-league presentation. For the women, South Dakota State tied with Oral Roberts for the second-most honors with two each. The team has had at least one academic honoree since 2013 and multiple Jacks named to the list for just the fourth time with three being the most in 2015 (2019, 2018, 2015, 2014).

LAST TIME OUT - NCAA West Prelims Produced Two Jackrabbit Entries to Austin (Full Story) - For the first time since becoming Division I, the South Dakota State track and field teams will bring two entries to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas. The men's 4x100m relay squad will join senior Rachel King at Mike A. Myers Stadium on June 5-8 to compete against the nation's best.

11 Jackrabbits Scored NCAA West Preliminary Spots (Full Story) - The South Dakota State track and field teams qualified 11 entries for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento, Calif. on May 23-25, announced on Thursday, May 16. A total of 11 Jackrabbits will make the trip out to Hornet Stadium, with senior Kyle Burdick qualified to run two events and sophomore Coby Hilton set to run in three events.

It is the second-most entries and student-athletes SDSU has sent to the prelims, qualifying at least 10 entries for the fourth consecutive year. The men are tied with the most entries and student-athletes ever with eight and six, while the women have entered at least three entries every year since being DI eligible in 2009.

The Jackrabbits will bring the largest amount of track athletes out of The Summit League with two entries on the women's side and six entries on the men's side (rest of league has six women, five men/relays).

Summit League Championships - Men Finish Runner-Up as Nine are Event Champs (Full Story) - The South Dakota State track and field teams walked off Hanson Field with three post-season accolades, nine event crowns, and 25 all-league performers after the dust settled at 2019 Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Jackrabbit men finished runner-up (230 points) behind North Dakota State (272) as the only two teams to rally more than 200 points. South Dakota mustered the next-highest total (155.5), the only other school in triple digits.

The men are the first-ever team in conference history (since 1983-84) to win cross country, indoor track and field, and place runner-up outdoors. Four teams over the 37-year history have won all three seasons on the men's side and 25 teams have won at least two seasons. Of the 25 teams to win two, only 12 (including SDSU in 2018-19) have won two seasons and placed runner-up in another.

For the women, the squad finished fifth for only the second time in school history with The Summit League (2012), beating the next-best team by 52 points.

Senior Kyle Burdick won his third Outdoor Championship Track MVP, the most-ever by a league athlete, while fellow senior Rachel King was named Championship Most Outstanding Performer by coaches. Freshman Joseph Minor-Williams was named Newcomer of the Championship to round out the SDSU post-championship awards.

King Wins First Summit League Athlete of the Week for the Jackrabbits (Full Story) - 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.

OTHER JACKRABBIT NOTES
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.

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.

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).

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 season will conclude for the South Dakota State track and field teams and cross country will begin once the 2019-20 academic year kicks off.

-GoJacks.com-