Two Meets with Ranked Competition & League Foes

Saturday, October 13

Madison, WI

11:10 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Pre-National Invitational

10/11/2018 5:30:00 AM | Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

SDSU makes a trip to the Pre-National Invite in Wisconsin and Ron Pynn Classic in North Dakota

MEET 4 & 5: South Dakota State (Men & Women) at the Pre-National Invitational & Ron Pynn Classic

When	Pre-National Invitational (Sat., Oct. 13) UPDATED: WOMEN - White Race (Seeded - 6k): 11:10 a.m. \| MEN - Cardinal Race (Seeded - 8k): 11:50 a.m. Ron Pynn Classic (Sat., Oct. 13): WOMEN (5k): 12:30 p.m. \| MEN (8k): 1:15 p.m.
Where	Pre-National Invitational Host: Wisconsin \| City: Verona, Wis. \| Location: Thomas Zimmer Course \| Google Maps \| Spectator Info Ron Pynn Classic Host: North Dakota \| City: Grand Forks, N.D. \| Location: Ray Richards G.C. \| Google Maps
Tune In	Pre-National Invitational Live Results: RecordTIming.com \| Stream Live ($): FloTrack.org \| Shuttle Bus Tickets ($10): Wisconsin Ron Pynn Classic Live Results: HerosTiming.com
Teams Competing	Pre-National Invitational Team Entries & Rankings (Page 4): South Dakota State Notes Ron Pynn Classic Team Entries & Rankings (Page 6) \| Two Summit League Schools: North Dakota, North Dakota State
Notes	Pre-National Invitational South Dakota State Notes \| Men's 8k Map \| Women's 6k Map \| Wisconsin Meet Info Other Previews: FloTrack.org \| USTFCCCA History Ron Pynn Classic South Dakota State Notes \| North Dakota Meet Info (TBA)
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State cross country teams split into two groups on Hobo Day weekend for the second consecutive year. A group will compete in the Pre-National Invitational among nationally ranked competition - the precursor to the National Championships in mid-November, and the other group will compete against Summit League foes at the Ron Pynn Classic.

MEET INFORMATION - UPDATED 10:45 a.m.
Pre-National Invitational: This year the meet will be hosted by Wisconsin at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Wis. It will be the second consecutive year that both the men's and women's team will compete where the future National Championship races will be on Nov. 17.

There will be three races for both the men and women on Saturday, with two seeded races and one open race. The women will have both their seeded races kickoff the event, starting with the Cardinal Race at 10:30 a.m. and the White Race at 11:10 a.m. (previously: 10 a.m. and the White Race at 10:45 a.m.)

The men's seeded races will follow the women beginning at 11: 50 a.m. with the Cardinal Race and end with the White Race at 12:20 p.m. (previously: at 11:30 a.m. with the Cardinal Race and end with the White Race at 12:15 p.m.)

The Grey Races will start with the women at 1:10 p.m. and finish the day with the men at 1:50 p.m. (previously: women at 1 p.m. and finish the day at 1:45 p.m. with the men)

As for South Dakota State runners, women will be in the White 6k at 11:10 a.m. (previously: 10:45 a.m.) and the men will be in the Cardinal 8k at 11:50 a.m. (previously: 11:30 a.m.)

A bipartisan committee met last Sunday and drew the Cardinal and White races, splitting regionally and nationally ranked teams up into two evenly seeded races.

Ron Pynn Classic: This will be the second year in a row that the Jackrabbits will take a squad to Grand Forks, N.D. to compete in North Dakota's 16th annual home meet. The women will lead Saturday afternoon in the 5k at 12:30 p.m. and the men will follow at 1:15 p.m.

THE COURSE
Pre-National Invitational: The Thomas Zimmer Championship Course is a world-class course offering challenging and exciting terrain for runners and elevated viewing for spectators. The loops cover the area's rolling hills and valleys, with the longer route running through a section of dense woods, which are aflame with color in the fall.

The course opened in the fall of 2009 with the inaugural Wisconsin adidas Invitational. In addition to the 2018 Pre-National Invitational, Wisconsin hosted the 2010 Big Ten Championship, five NCAA Great Lakes Regionals and will host the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championship. (Course Maps: Men's 8k | Women's 6k)

Ron Pynn Classic: The Ray Richards Golf Course is home to the UND golf and cross country teams' annual home event, the Ron Pynn Classic. The course is set up as a 5k for women and 8k for men, providing a challenging route well-known in the Upper Midwest.

HOW TO WATCH
Pre-National Invitational: To gain admission to the 2018 Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, fans will be required to park in the designated parking lots and ride provided shuttles to the Zimmer Championship Course. The cost will be $10 per person, round trip, to ride the shuttle. The first shuttle is available at 8 a.m. while the last shuttle is scheduled on hour after the final race is completed. (Parking/Shuttle Information)

There will be live results (Click Here), provided by RecordingTiming.com, and a live stream (required membership, Click Here), provided by FloTrack.org.

Ron Pynn Classic: There will be live results (Click Here) provided by HerosTiming.com.

RANKED & SUMMIT LEAGUE COMPETITION
The Jackrabbits will be facing off against numerous regionally ranked teams at the Pre-National Invite while facing Summit League foes at the Ron Pynn Classic.

In Wisconsin, a total of 71 teams are competing in the women's and men's seeded races, including 22 nationally recognized teams for the men and 24 for the women. There will be eight Midwest regional teams in attendance while SDSU is the lone Summit League school competing.

For the men in the Cardinal Race, there are 13 teams with national votes, according to USTFCCCA, and two other Midwest regionally ranked teams competing - both ranked higher than the Jackrabbit men. Only four schools come into the Cardinal Race without being ranked top-15 in their respective region. (See Full List of Team Entries - Page 4)

Notable Competition for the Men's Cardinal Race:

#1 Northern Arizona
#3 Wisconsin
#5 Stanford
#9 Colorado State
#11 Colorado
#13 Oregon
#15 Southern Utah
#20 Michigan
#22 Ole Miss
#26 NC State
Kansas (Midwest Rank: #5)
Iowa (Midwest Rank: #9)

As for the women in the White Race, there are 10 teams who have received national votes and 29 of the 36 schools are ranked in the top 15 of their respective region. Three other schools in the Midwest are competing in the White Race alongside the Jacks - with only one of them ranked top-15 in the regional poll.

Notable Competition for the Women's White Race:

#3 New Mexico
#5 Stanford
#8 Wisconsin
#10 Michigan
#12 Furman
#16 Washington
#20 Utah State
#22 Notre Dame
#24 Yale
Kansas (Midwest Rank: #9)
Nebraska (Midwest Region)

There will be two other Summit League schools represented at the Ray Richards Golf Course in Grand Forks. The Jacks will see North Dakota and North Dakota State for the fourth time this season. The men's team is undefeated against Summit League schools this season - seeing the North Dakota schools in three prior matchup, South Dakota twice, and Western Illinois once. The women's team has outpaced North Dakota twice and Nebraska-Omaha and Western Illinois once. South Dakota (twice) and North Dakota State (three times) has edged out the Jacks in prior meetings. (See Full List of Team Entries - Page 6)

KING ON FLOTRACK'S TOP 255
Senior Rachel King is ranked No. 105 on FloTrack's individual rankings that were updated Oct. 1, moving up 25 spots from her Sept. 15, 130th ranking. She will be competing against 13 top-25 individuals in the White Race on Saturday, including the top four according to FloTrack.

Senior Kyle Burdick and junior Chase Cayo were ranked No. 216 and No. 226 on the men's individual top 255 on Sept. 15. They will be competing 12 top-25 individuals in the Cardinal race on Saturday, including three in the top five.

JACKS PACE SUMMIT LEAGUE PERFORMANCE LIST
As the season unfolds, the league performance list is shaping up with Jackrabbits cracking the league's fastest marks of the season. Both the SDSU teams competed in two championship distances (8k for the men, 6k for the women) in the last two outings.

Junior Chase Cayo (25:01.1) is pacing the league in the 8k after his first competition at the Roy Griak Invite, winning the league's athlete of the week for the performance. Sophomore Micah Mather sits third (25:06.0) with his second consecutive 8k PR reset this season at the Griak. Mather has his first PR reset (from the Woody Greeno) sitting ninth-best in the league. Senior Kyle Burdick added the league's fourth-best mark (25:10.9) in his first competition of the season at the Griak. Sophomore Gabe Peters completes SDSU's prominent marks - four of the league's top-five marks - with his PR in the Woody Greeno (25:12.9). His second-best mark from the Griak is 10th-fastest in the league (25:36.7) - which tallies six SDSU marks from five Jacks in the league's top 10.

After the Woody Greeno Invite - the first 8k marks of the season for the league, redshirt freshman Michael Schwinghamer was fifth-best (25:39.5) while redshirt freshman Alexander Auch had the seventh-best mark in the league (25:54.1) and junior Lukas Nelson had the ninth-best mark (26:07.1).

For the women, senior Rachel King is the lone Jackrabbit represented in The Summit League's top 10 6k performances, sitting in fourth place (21:41.7) from her second race of the season at the Roy Griak. She also has her first mark of the season - from the Woody Greeno, still in the league's top 10, sitting in eighth (22:00.4) after being fourth-best after the meet.

As for performances in the men's 6k and women's 4k, six total SDSU student-athletes are represented (four men, two women). The men's 6k list is from the top 10 finishers at the NDSU Bison Open (Aug. 31) with Mather at second-best (18:55.2), Peters at third (19:03.5), and freshmen Ben Olson and Joseph Minor-Williams in seventh (19:21.8) and ninth (19:24.7).

For the women, freshman Ellie Friesen has the second-best 4k mark in the league this season (14:20.8) and sophomore Anna Donnay has the eight-best mark (14:34.8).

PAST JACKRABBIT PERFORMANCES AT PRE-NATIONAL
The South Dakota State cross country teams have competed in three prior Pre-National Invites, with the men competing in the 2010, 2013, and 2017 races and the women competing in the 2017 race.

Each year the men have had a top-100 finisher - including junior Chase Cayo notching the second-best mark and place-finish (67th, 24:13.6) and senior Kyle Burdick posting the third-best mark and place-finish (81st, 24:20.8) in last year's race. It resulted in the Jackrabbits tying their best-place finish as a team (29th out of 41 teams) and trimming their best point-finish to 714 total points.

The best individual mark was set by Trent Lusignan in 2013 when he finished 19th overall (23:49.65) at Indiana State to help the team record their best place-finish at the meet (29th out of 52 teams, 801 points).

Last year, the men beat Midwest regionally ranked No. 10 Kansas and No. 15 Saint Louis while they were ranked No. 11 with Cayo (24:13.6), Burdick (24:20.8), junior Lukas Nelson (24:52.7) setting PR's that still hold up today and sophomore Gabe Peters setting his then-PR (25:28.3).

The women have competed in just the 2017 Pre-National Invite, with senior Rachel King notching a top-75 finish (72nd, 20:55.9) enroute to the team placing 40th (1,012 points) out of 43 teams.

A YEAR AGO: 2017 RON PYNN CLASSIC
The Jackrabbits that competed in Grand Forks, N.D. competed against North Dakota State for the fifth time and North Dakota for third time in 2017. The men's team finished third (143 points) behind both NDSU (35) and North Dakota (94), making them 3-2 against the Bison and 2-1 against the Fighting Hawks.

Redshirt fresh,am Alexander Auch led the Jacks with his 15th-place performance (25:29.3). It was his second race of the year competing unattached, and his best overall 8k mark of his career.

Finishing as the top attached runner for the Jackrabbit team was sophomore Jacob Wilts, finishing 19th (25:45.3) in his fifth race of the season. It still stands as his personal-best mark. Junior Chandler Klawitter also has his 8k PR there from a 31st-place finish (26:28.5).

Also improving his 8k mark was sophomore Evan Fick, who placed 45th (27:42.7). He beat his previous personal-best by more than 30 seconds (28:15.40) and it stands as his best 8k mark of the 2017 season.

For the women's side, they beat North Dakota (84 points) but lost to North Dakota State (16 points) as they scored 62 points - making their record against NDSU this year 2-3 and 3-0 against North Dakota.

Junior Kendra Dykstra placed two spots behind the Jackrabbit leader for a seventh-place finish (18:12.2) - still her 5k PR, while senior Rachel Propst (17th, 18:38.0) and junior Anna Fasen (19th, 18:50.2) rounded out the top 20 - both marks still their 5k PR's.

Junior Emma Nelson (21st, 18:55.8) and sophomore Maisey Bainbridge (29th, 19:27.8) hold PR's from the 2017 Ron Pynn Classic.

JACKRABBITS PACING WITH PERSONAL-BEST MARKS
The Jackrabbits are off to a fast start in the first three meets of the season, notching 15 personal-best marks (including Mather and Fasen resetting their PR's in consecutive weeks) among 13 Jackrabbits.

At the Roy Griak, the cross country teams totaled 14 Griak personal-best marks and added 10 season-best improvements from the Woody Greeno - excluding the seven PR's reset at the meet (men: six Griak PR's, four season-best marks; women: eight Griak PR's, six season-best marks).

Several Jackrabbits started their season faster than where they did in year's prior from the Woody Greeno: (Women (6k): King, Schell, Dykstra, Nelson, Schweiss; Men (8k): Ivanecky, Klawitter, Munsteman, Wilts).

Men's PRs:
Fr. Thomas Breuckman - 8k PR
So. Evan Fick - 8k PR, 6k PR
So. Micah Mather - 2x 8k PR, 6k PR
Fr. Joseph Minor-Williams - 8k PR
Fr. Ben Olson - 8k PR
So. Gabe Peters - 8k PR
R-Fr. Michael Schwinghamer - 8k PR
So. Jacob Wilts - 6k PR

Women's PRs:
Fr. Jessica Christoffer - 6k PR
So. Anna Donnay - 4k PR
Fr. Elise Emmick - 6k PR
Jr. Anna Fasen - 2x 6k PR
Jr. Emma Nelson - 4k PR

MIDWEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
According to the USTFCCCA, the men are ranked for the fourth week in a row (fifth including preseason) and sitting at No. 11 after being No. 12 for two consecutive weeks. To begin the season, the men were ranked 11th in the preseason poll remained there until they dropped one spot to 12th during week two. Throughout the 2018 season, the Jackrabbits are the only Summit League school that's been ranked in the top 15.

In 2017, the men's squad ranked as high as eighth (preseason through week two) and finished the season 11th overall at the Midwest Regional race in Ames, Iowa. The highest-ever ranking, since becoming Division I in 2007, is sixth - with the last time being there in week five and six of the 2016 season and week five of the 2015 season. The team has been ranked in the top 15 for three consecutive years and counting (27 weeks ... three years, six weeks ... Week 6, 2014 to Week 4, 2018). The 2014 season was a year where the Jacks fell in and out of the rankings - reaching as high as 10th and falling out three weeks (Week 2-3, week 5), but the team finished with the 14th spot. Prior to the 2014 season, the Jackrabbits had a streak from preseason 2010 to week one of the 2014 season being ranked (30 weeks ... four years, two weeks).

The women were ranked during the 2018 preseason rankings on Aug. 27 - sitting at No. 13 out of 15 teams ranked and one of three Summit League schools ranked (South Dakota - now No. 5 and North Dakota State - now ranked No. 14). In the first regular season rankings, the Jackrabbits fell out of the top 15 but the No.13 ranking in the region is the highest-ever for the women's team (edged out the 2014 preseason ranking - No. 14). They have never been ranked for consecutive weeks but have been ranked in the preseason listings for the third consecutive year and fourth time out of five years.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Summit League released the cross country preseason polls on Aug. 20 and SDSU's men were tabbed as the favorites entering the 2018 season, while the women were runner-up. The men tallied 36 preseason points with six-of-the-seven first-place votes while the women scored 41 points (seven points behind the favorite, South Dakota) and notched one-of-the eight first-place votes.

For the ninth time since 2010 (every year except 2016 - polled as runner-up), the men's team was nominated as the favorite in The Summit League. In the past eight years, the Jacks have won five championships (four when tabbed as favorite, one tabbed as runner-up), finished runner-up twice (2014, 2015), and took the bronze once (2011). It is also the second consecutive year the men have gathered all but one first-place votes.

It is the first time that both junior Chase Cayo and senior Kyle Burdick were nominated for the league's athletes to watch.

As for the women - who are runner-up favorites, it is the second-consecutive year the team has been selected as runner-ups in the preseason and the third time overall since joining the league (2012). The last times they actually finished in second place at The Summit League Championships was in 2015 and in 2013 - when they were predicted to finish third in the league. The Jacks have placed in the top-three of each league championship since 2012 - winning the league title once in 2008.

Senior Rachel King was nominated as SDSU's athlete to watch in the league. It's her second career athlete to watch nomination (named athlete to watch in 2016) in cross country.

SUMMIT LEAGUE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
South Dakota State's cross country runner Chase Cayo is the most recent Summit League Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 29.

The junior from St. Michael, Minn. led the team to a fourth-place finish (132 points) while beating all of The Summit League competition and beating regionally ranked Montana State (No. 12 in the Mountain Region). It is the best team-finish the Jackrabbits have had in the NCAA Division I Gold race at the Griak, beating 2012's seventh-place finish.

Cayo was the first Jackrabbit and Summit League runner across the finish line in Falcon Heights, Minn. (14th, 25:01.1). The St. Michael, Minn. native, added a Griak PR in his first race of the season, which is better than his 2017 mark by 30.9 seconds and reset the fastest mark at the Griak among active SDSU runners (his 2017 mark was the fastest mark among active Jackrabbits).

It was Cayo's first athlete of the week honor of the season (in his first race of the season, third honor of his cross country career) and the second Jackrabbit. His mark sits atop of the league's season performance list, along with three other SDSU student-athletes (So. Micah Mather, Sr. Kyle Burdick, So. Gabe Peters) who own six of the league's top 10 marks of the season - including four of the top five (1. Cayo - 25:01.1, 3. Mather - 25:06.0, 4. Burdick - 25:10.9, 5. Peters - 25:12.9).

Sophomore Gabe Peters was the first athlete of the week for SDSU and earned his first career Summit League honor after his performance at the Woody Greeno Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15.

The sophomore from Worthing, S.D. led the team to a fourth-place finish (104 points) in Lincoln, Neb. on what was a hot and humid Saturday morning. He placed eighth overall with a personal-best mark in the 8k-race (25:12.9) to be the first non-Big 10 student-athlete to cross the finish line.

He finished as the fastest Jackrabbit in a race for the first time and beat his previous-best mark by 15.4 seconds, which was set at the 2017 Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky.

Peters, the 2017 newcomer to the championship recipient, is the first SDSU cross country runner to win the weekly award in the 2018 campaign after State claimed athlete of the week honors each time they competed in the regular season last year.

The Jackrabbits have now won athlete of the week honors in two out of the three meets they've competed in after winning one every time they competed last year.

LAST TIME OUT: ROY GRIAK INVITE
The South Dakota State cross country teams added numerous Roy Griak personal-best marks that led to the men placing fourth (132 points) and the women finishing ninth (196 points) on the tough Les Bolstad Golf Course.

MEN - The men finished ahead of all Summit League competition (10th - NDSU, 12th - USD, 14th - UND, 15th - WIU) and beat regionally ranked Montana State (Mountain Region: No. 12) by having five Jackrabbits in the top 45 out of 152 total runners.

Junior Chase Cayo was the first Jack, and Summit League runner across the finish line in Falcon Heights, Minn. (14th, 25:01.1). The St. Michael, Minn. native, added a Griak PR in his first race of the season, which is better than his 2017 mark by 30.9 seconds (his 2017 mark was the fastest mark among active SDSU runners).

Sophomore Micah Mather was just 4.9 seconds behind Cayo for an 17th-place finish (25:06.0), which trims his 8k personal-best mark by 30.7 seconds (previously set in the 2018 Woody Greeno Invite). It's his second 8k PR reset of the season while trimming his place-finish of 55th in last year's meet to a top 20 finish. He edged out Minnesota's Jack Manderscheid by 0.1 seconds to make the finish.

Senior Kyle Burdick also notched his first race mark of the season at the Griak (22nd, 25:10.9), trimming his best at the meet by 42.3 seconds and tying his best place-finish of 22nd overall (was 22nd in the 2017 meet).
Sophomore Gabe Peters was the fourth Jackrabbit to cross the line on Saturday, recording 38th overall (25:35.8) and a Griak personal-best mark.

Freshmen Joseph Minor-Williams (T-44th, 25:41.0), Thomas Breuckman (57th, 25:58.3), and Ben Olson (81st, 26:27.1) added 8k personal-best marks in their first Roy Griak competition in a Jackrabbit uniform. All three of them trimmed their Woody Greeno Invite marks by - one minute (Minor-Williams), 59.3 seconds (Breuckman) and 16 seconds (Olson).

Juniors Lukas Nelson (60th, 26:03.0), Sam Ivanecky (91st, 26:36.9) and Chandler Klawitter (105th, 26:51.2), along with sophomore Jacob Wilts (119th, 27:21.1) all recorded season-best marks in the 8k on the early season. Ivanecky, Klawitter, and Wilts notched Griak personal-best marks as well.

WOMEN - As for the women, the team beat Midwest regionally ranked Northern Iowa (No. 9, 10th place - 256 points) and Summit League foes - North Dakota (11th - 290) and Western Illinois (13th - 379) to grab ninth overall (196).

Senior Rachel King led the Jackrabbit squad for the second meet in a row - notching a season-best and a Griak personal-best, being the second Summit League runner to cross the finish line (ninth, 21:41.7). She beat her Woody Greeno Invite 6k mark by 18.7 seconds and her Griak previous-best by 1:49.2 minutes. The St. Michael, Minn. native also beat Emily Donnay's mark from 2015 (22:51.3) to have the fastest mark among active Jackrabbits at the Griak.

Junior Emily Donnay recorded a 30th-place finish (22:17.1) behind King to record her best at the Griak - beating her 2015 mark by 34.2 seconds. It is her best 6k of the season, beating the Woody Greeno mark by 24.1 seconds.

Sophomore Anna Donnay was right behind her older sister to be the third Jackrabbit across the line for a 46th-place finish (22:32.2) - adding both a season-best (by three seconds) and personal-best at the Griak (by 1:03.6).
Seniors Mackenzie Schell (67th, 23:01.1) and Emily Berzonsky (82nd, 23:23.1) notched Griak-bests with Berzonsky also topping her Woody Greeno Invite mark for a new season-best mark.

Junior Anna Fasen notched her second PR reset in the 6k by getting under 24 minutes for the first time in her career (86th, 23:27.3). She knocked off 37 seconds from the Woody Greeno and 54.2 seconds off her previous-best set in 2016.

Juniors Jamie Schweiss (92nd, 23:35.0) and Emma Nelson (110th, 24:04.4) notched season -best marks in the 6k while also resetting their Griak personal-best marks. Junior Kendra Dykstra (112th, 24:10.2) also notched a Griak best.

#SUNDAYSPOTLIGHTS FEATURES
Sunday Spotlight is a weekly feature to share some of the stories of the Jackrabbits competing in cross country and track and field.

PREVIOUS SUNDAY SPOTLIGHTS
Donnay & Peters Set For Sophomore Step (Sept. 9)
Two Jacks Share Different Hometown Experiences (Sept. 16)
Cayo Looking For Another Big Step (Sept. 23)
Berzonsky Shares Senior Experience (Sept. 30)

UP NEXT
The team will have a weekend off (Oct. 20) before traveling to Omaha, Neb. for a chance to win a Summit League title. The men will be looking for a three-peat with Cayo as the defending MVP and athlete of the year. The women will reach for their seventh top-three finish with King defending MVP and athlete of the year honors. In Addition, junior Emily Donnay returns, who won the MVP in 2016 and was the first female Jack to win athlete of the year.

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

-GoJacks.com-