SDSU LOOKS TO DEFEND LEAGUE TITLES

MEET 6: South Dakota State at Summit League Cross Country Championships

When	Saturday, Oct. 29 \| Women's Race @ 11:00 a.m. \| Men's Race @ noon
Where	Ray Richards Golf Course \| Grand Forks, ND
TV	Live Stream
Results	Live.HerosTiming.com
Meet Notes	Meet Information Page
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook

BROOKINGS, SD – The South Dakota State University cross country squads head to Grand Forks, ND, on Saturday in hopes to repeat as champions in both the men's and women's races at the Summit League Cross Country Championships.

Competition kicks off at the Ray Richards Golf Course with the women's race at 11 a.m. and is followed by the men's race at noon.

The SDSU women are in search of their third straight Summit League title, while Leah Hansen will attempt to win the individual title for the third year in a row. On the other side of the lineup, the Jackrabbit men are aiming for their seventh consecutive league team crown and 11^th overall.

South Dakota State broke the Summit League record for most consecutive wins last season after the men earned a sixth straight title in Tulsa.

2021-22 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP:

WOMEN
Leah Hansen repeated as individual champion and South Dakota State claimed its second women's team title in a row by the narrowest of margins at the Summit League Cross Country Championships at Holland Hall in Tulsa, OK.

Hansen crossed the finish line in the 6,000-meter race in 21 minutes, 3.78 seconds to lead three Jackrabbits to top-six finishes. Cailee Peterson finished in fourth place with a time of 21:37.03 and Anna Donnay followed close behind for a sixth-place finish in 21:44.61.

The next Jackrabbit runners crossed the finish line in a pack with Oksana Johnson in the lead, taking 21^st place in 22:41.90. Caitlin Bright followed just behind in 23^rd place with a time of 22:41.90. Kayla Christopherson took 24^th in 22:47.29 and Bailey Dergan finished in 25^th in 22:48.21.

Jessica Christoffer claimed 30^th in 23:02.70 and Nicole Greyer rounded out the Jackrabbit runners for 39^th place with a time of 23:19.01.

MEN
The South Dakota State men's cross country team continued its Summit League dominance Saturday at Holland Hall, winning its league-record sixth consecutive conference title.

Gabe Peters claimed the men's Summit League individual title in the 8,000-meter race, clocking a winning time of 24 minutes, 33.25 seconds, which is the fifth-fastest 8K time in league history. Peters also earned all-Summit League recognition for the fifth time.

Adding to the Jackrabbits' six finishers in the top seven spots included Ben Olson, who followed just behind Peters with a time of 24:38.24 for second and Max Selbach took third in 24:39.74.

The next trio of runners included Tom Breuckman, a four-time All-Summit League runner, for fifth place with a time of 24:53.92. Joseph Minor-Williams finished in 24:58.28 for sixth and Daniel Burkhalter took seventh in 25:00.25.

Mason McDonald ran a 25:33.63 for 16^th, Alex Auch took 24^th with a time of 26:03.77, Michael Schwinghamer finished in 31^st in 26:17.22 and Jacob Knodle ran a 26:39.02 for 38^th.

LAST TIME OUT:

WEIS-CROCKETT INVITE
The South Dakota State men's cross country team roared to a powerful finish at the Weis-Crockett Invite on Saturday morning at the Greiner Family Cross Country Course, where they finished sixth overall in loaded pre-national field.

Ben Olson was first to cross the finish line for SDSU as he clocked a personal-best 24:05.0 for 22^nd place. Joseph Minor-Williams was next in 38^th place with a time of 24:23.8 for a PR.

Daniel Burkhalter and Tom Breuckman finished within less than a second of each other, claiming 42^nd place (24:27.5, PR) and 44^th place (24:28.3, PR), respectively. The final scoring runner, Josh Becker, finished just outside of the Top 50 in 52^nd place with a personal-best time of 24:34.6.

Max Selbach took 73^rd place as he clocked a 24:49.1 for 73^rd place and Mason McDonald rounded out the SDSU finishers in 166^th place with a time of 25:45.0.

"We ran very well as a team today," said Rod DeHaven, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country. "It was a spirited effort from this group on a challenging course. The last kilometer of the race demonstrated the grit of this team."

The Jackrabbits placed sixth overall out of 26 teams in the final standings, finishing with 193 points and beating several top ranked squads from the Midwest Region. Montana State (62 points) edged out CBU (63 points) for the title of meet champion as Butler took third with 97 points.

BRADLEY PINK CLASSIC
The South Dakota State men's and women's cross country teams competed in a total of three races on Friday at the Newman Golf Course as several athletes clocked personal bests in their final contest before the Summit League Championships.

First on the day was the women's 6k White Race, where the Jackrabbits were led by Malorie Schmoll's personal-best time of 22:51.0 for 22^nd place.

Nina Dawson placed 27^th in 23:10.2 for a PR as Bridget Henne clocked a 23:15.6 for a personal best and 30^th place. Just behind her was Jaide Geurts, who took 31^st place in 23:18.3, also for a PR.

Emma Gonzalez was next as she took 37^th place in a personal-best 23:30.3. Also in the top 50 was Abby Deutsch, who earned herself a PR as she claimed 44^th place in 23:39.6. Sierra Watterud finished in 23:48.5 for a personal best and 52^nd place. Hannah Neusch (76^th, 24:30.0, PR), Hannah Nelson (94^th, 24:56.0, PR) and Hannah Spoden (120^th, 26:03.1, PR) rounded out the finishers for SDSU.

The Jacks took third place overall out of 22 teams in the final standings of the 6k White Race with 124 points. Grand Valley State won the contest with 24 points, followed by Loyola (Ill.) in second with 82 points. Milwaukee took fourth with 137 points and Oakland finished fifth with 148 points.

Next was the women's 6k Red Race, which featured a top-ten team finish and a top-ten showing from Leah Hansen.

Hansen clocked a personal-best 20:32.3 for 10^th place in the loaded field of runners, finishing just nearly two seconds ahead of Summit League competitor Kaleesa Houston of North Dakota State.

Mya Kizer finished in 40^th place with a personal-best time of 21:21.4 while Caitlin Bright took 51^st in 21:32.6, also for a PR. Nicole Greyer crossed the finish line in 21:45.4 for 68^th place and a PR as Claire Beckman placed 119^th with a personal-best time of 22:10.4.

Kayla Christopherson clocked a 22:14.6 for 125^th place and a personal best, Kadense Dooley was 143^rd with a personal-best time of 22:22.7 and Grace Waage took 145^th in 22:23.8 for a PR. The final finisher for the Jackrabbits was Emma Ecker, who took 175^th place with a personal-best time of 22:42.8.

SDSU was 10^th overall in the women's team standings for the 6k Red Race with 270 points. Northwestern was first with 68 points, Illinois took second with 84 points and Bradley finished third with 105 points. Grand Valley State (122 points) and Augustana (201 points) rounded out the top five team scores.

The final race of the afternoon was the men's 8k Red Race, which saw the SDSU men take 23^rd place overall in the team standings with a total of 600 points.

Ben Anteau led the way for the Jacks as he claimed 100^th place with a personal-best time of 24:53.6. Carter Knaus finished the race in 25:04.7 for a PR and 122^nd place while Lucas Caminiti took 126^th in 25:06.8 for a personal best.

Cody Larson (139^th, 25:14.9, PR), Cormick Logue (193^rd, 25:48.2) and Nathan Notgrass (205^th, 25:53.5, PR) rounded out the SDSU finishers.

Loyola (Ill.) won the men's 8k Red Race with 82 points as Wichita State took second with 84 points. Grand Valley State was third with 96 points, Illinois finished fourth with 145 points and Bradley scored 159 points for fifth.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Week five Division I cross country rankings decided by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association were announced earlier this week with the Jackrabbit men making a huge leap up to fourth place in the Midwest Region for their highest ranking in program history as the SDSU women fell to 15^th.

SDSU MEN AND WOMEN PICKED FIRST IN PRESEASON POLL: SDSU swept the 2022 preseason coaches' rankings for the cross country season following a 2021 campaign that saw the Jackrabbit women win the team title for the second straight time and the men win for a sixth straight time.

2022 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL

South Dakota State (7) – 49
North Dakota State – 37
St. Thomas – 36
North Dakota (1) – 33
South Dakota – 30
Kansas City – 15
Western Illinois – 13
Oral Roberts – 11

2022 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL

South Dakota State (8) – 64
North Dakota State (1) – 56
South Dakota – 47
North Dakota – 42
St. Thomas – 40
Kansas City – 25
Omaha – 20
Western Illinois – 17
Oral Roberts – 13

ATHLETES TO WATCH: Three Jackrabbits – two men and one woman – were recognized as Summit League Athletes to Watch

Joseph Minor-Williams, South Dakota State
Sr. | Minneapolis, Minn.

Garnered All-League first team honors with a sixth-place finish at the League championships, clocking an 8K time of 24:58.28
Took 41^st overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional after clocking a 10K personal-best time of 31:28.5 to help the Jacks to an eighth-place team finish

Ben Olson, South Dakota State
Sr. | Coon Rapids, Minn.

Earned All-League first team accolades after finishing runner-up behind teammate Gabe Peters at the 2021 League championships
Clocked a personal-best 8K time of 24:38.3 at the League championships
Finished 37^th overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional in the 10K with a time of 31:22.2

Leah Hansen, South Dakota State
Jr. | Willmar, Minn.

Repeated as the League's individual champion leading the Jackrabbits to their second women's title in a row
Won the League championships in a 6K time of 21:03.78
Helped the Jacks to a 13^th place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional after finishing 21^stoverall with a 6K time of 21:15.67

A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU men's and women's cross country teams will head to Columbia, Missouri for the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Nov. 11.

-GoJacks.com-

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Alex Auch

Caitlin Bright

Daniel Burkhalter

Jessica Christoffer

Kayla Christopherson

Bailey Dergan

Anna Donnay

Nicole Greyer

Leah Hisken

Oksana Johnson

Jacob Knodle

Mason McDonald

Joseph Minor-Williams

Ben Olson

Gabe Peters

Cailee Peterson

Michael Schwinghamer

Max Selbach

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