Jacks TF Travel to Three Meets this Weekend

Friday, January 25

Minneapolis, MN

Fri: 2:30 p.m. | Sat: 11 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Jack Johnson Classic

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

1/24/2019 10:37:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

SDSU track and field travels to North Dakota, Minnesota, and Pittsburg State

MEET 5-7: South Dakota State (Men & Women) at North Dakota, Pittsburg State, Minnesota

When	Friday, Jan. 25 Jack Johnson Classic - W-Pent.: 2:30 p.m. \| M-Hept.: 4:15 p.m. \| W-Pole Vault: 5 p.m. UND Indoor Open - M-Hept.: 3 p.m. \| W-Pent.: 3:15 p.m. \| M/W-Discus (Exhib.): 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 UND Indoor Open - M-Hept.: 9 a.m. \| Field Events: Noon \| Track Events: 12:30 p.m. Pittsburg State Invite - Track Events: 9:30 a.m. (Morning) // 3 p.m. (Afternoon) \| Field Events: 11 a.m. Jack Johnson Classic - M-Hept: 11 a.m. \| Field Events: 11 a.m. \| Track Events: 11:30 a.m.
Where	UND Indoor Open - Host: North Dakota \| Location: High Performance Center (Grand Forks, N.D.) \| Parking Jack Johnson Classic - Host: Minnesota \| Location: University Fieldhouse (Minneapolis, Minn.) \| Parking/Information Pittsburg State Invitational - Host: Pittsburg State \| Location: Plaster Center - Harvey Dean Track (Pittsburg, Kan.) \| Parking
Live Results	UND Indoor Open - HerosTiming.com Jack Johnson Classic - WayzataTiming.com Pittsburg State Invite - MidwestTiming.com
Meet Notes	UND Indoor Open - Meet Info \| Event Schedule \| Perform List \| Heat Sheets Jack Johnson Classic - Host Meet Preview \| Meet Info \| Event Schedule \| Heat Sheets Pittsburg State Invite - Meet Info \| Event Schedule \| Performance List \| Heat Sheets
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State track and field teams have made some adjustments to their schedule. The Jackrabbits will split up among three meets across the Midwest, with a majority of the student-athletes traveling to the UND Indoor Open, hosted by North Dakota, that will take place on Friday (multi-events, exhibition discus) and Saturday (multi-events, track and field events).

Several members of the team will also compete in the Jack Johnson Classic, hosted by Minnesota, and in the Pittsburg State Invitational on Saturday.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
UND Indoor Open: Most of the Jackrabbits will be competing at North Dakota. The men's and women's multi-events will begin on Friday at 3 p.m. (men's heptathlon) and 3:15 p.m. (women's pentathlon) with an exhibition in the men's and discus throw beginning at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the men's heptathlon will resume at 9 a.m. while the field events begin at noon and the track events start at 12:30 p.m.

Jack Johnson Classic: The meet will begin on Friday however, there are only 15 SDSU student-athletes scheduled to compete in Minnesota - all of them competing on Saturday.

Follow the Jackrabbit schedule below:

W-60m (Trials - 12:25 p.m./Finals - 1:40 p.m.): Miatta Flemister-Smith
M-Mile (12:45 p.m.): Gabe Peters, Lukas Nelson, Michael Schwinghamer, Ben Olson, Chase Cayo, Micah Mather, Joseph Minor-Williams
W-Mile (1 p.m.): Rachel King, Kendra Dykstra
M-60H (Finals - 1:30 p.m.): Nick Wessels
M-3,000m (3:45 p.m.): Gabe Peters, Thomas Breuckman, Evan Fick
W-3,000m (4:10 p.m.): Ellie Friesen, Mackenzie Schell

Pittsburg State Invite: All of the events will take place on Saturday with six Jacks scheduled to compete.

Follow the schedule of Jackrabbit events below:

M-Long Jump (11 a.m. - East Runway): Bryant Courter
W-High Jump (12:45 p.m.): Addison Eisenbeisz, Chloe Holtz
M-60m (Qualifying - 12:50 p.m./Prelims - 2:25 p.m./Finals - 4:05 p.m.): Daniel Clarke
W-Triple Jump (1 p.m.): Chloe Holtz, Addison Eisenbeisz
M-Pole Vault (4 p.m.): Trent Francom
M-200m (6:15 p.m.): Daniel Clarke
M-Triple Jump (Follow - M-LJ - East Runway): Bryant Courter, Jake Lieberg

PARKING & ADMISSION
UND Indoor Open: Fans and teams should park in the lot directly across 2nd Avenue from the indoor facility.

Jack Johnson Classic: Admission for the meet is $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Children 10 and under are free. General parking will be available in the University Ave. Ramp and the Washington Ave. Ramp.

Pittsburg State Invite: $5.00 per person, 12 & Under and PSU College Students with a Valid Student ID are Free. Parking map can be found above.

RESULTS
Live results for each of the respective meets is listed with links above. Follow Jackrabbit action on SDSU's track and field Twitter page (@GoJacksTFXC). A recap from the weekend will be posted following the conclusion of all the meets.

USTFCCCA WEEKLY RANKINGS
The USTFCCCA.org announced their first regular-season track and field rating index (TFRI) rankings of the season and the men's team is ranked seventh in the Midwest Region out of 31 schools - the second Summit League school ranked in the region - and 114th in the national stage out of 134 schools. The women's team is 27th regionally out of 31 schools.

ALL-COLLEGE WEEKLY MARKS - Full Story
South Dakota State's junior Sam Zenner and senior Kyle Burdick added a total of three top 10 performances to USTFCCCA.org's All-College weekly rankings last weekend. Zenner added the fourth-best all-college 200m mark (21.00) of the week while Burdick added the No. 3 1,000m mark (2:25.08) and No. 4 3,000m mark (8:08.45) of the week.

Zenner's 200m was a school-record time, beating teammate Coby Hilton's then-school record mark by 0.41 seconds and beating his previous-best by 0.50 seconds (was also a school record at one point in the season). It was also the Jim Emmerich meet record and Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex facility record.

The Eagan, Minn. also reset his personal-best mark and previous school record in the 60m finals (6.77). His mark in the 200m is ranked No. 8 in the NCAA performance list while his 60m is No. 50.

Burdick added his first all-college top 10 mark at the SDSU DII Invite on Friday where he reset the 1,000m school record, SJAC facility record, and SDSU DII Invite record with his first performance in the event (won the race, 2:25.08).

The Rapid City, S.D. native came back in the Jim Emmerich Invite on Saturday to win the 3,000m race (8:08.45) and narrowly miss his personal-best mark and the school's second all-time mark (8:07.26). However, he maintained his undefeated career in the 3,000m (five wins) and crushed the meet record by 18.48 seconds.

Burdick's mark in the 1,000m is ranked No. 16 in the TFRRS.org top performances list while his 3,000m mark is ranked No. 6 on the NCAA's performance list.

The Jackrabbit track and field teams have had 13 all-college top-10 weekly performances so far this season, with Zenner having the most (4) and Burdick with the second most (3). SDSU has had two individual women make the list in the season-opening meet (Miatta Flemister-Smith and Lauren Van Dyke).

SUMMIT LEAGUE ITF PRESEASON - Full Story
For the first time since joining The Summit League, the South Dakota State men's track and field program enters the 2019 indoor season as the favorite to win the indoor championships in Brookings on Feb. 22-23.

The women's Jackrabbit team was preseason polled at third place for the fifth consecutive year, finishing third all but once in the league championships.

The men scored 19 points and three first-place votes in the Summit League release, one point and one first-place vote ahead of North Dakota State, who has won the last three indoor championships. The women's team added 34 points to their ledger, one point behind Summit League preseason runner-up South Dakota and eight points behind preseason favorite North Dakota State.

The men's team is coming off of a runner-up finishes in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2018 - adding the second-most team points scored indoors and the most points outdoors in team history with the league. In the 11 years the league has done a preseason poll, the men's team has finished below the indoor preseason ranking only three times, and the last time was in 2013 when they were tabbed as third and finished fourth.

Prior to this season, for both the indoor and outdoor preseason polls, their highest ranking has been second, happening four times since joining the Summit League. Overall, only three times have the Jacks finished below their preseason ranking in both indoor and outdoor through 19 polls.

The last time the Summit League Championships were in Brooking, S.D., the men were preseason polled as runner-up favorites and women in third. The men nearly captured their first indoor championships, falling just 2.5 points short - coming down to the final race. The women placed third behind NDSU and USD.

PRESEASON ATHLETES TO WATCH
Kyle Burdick | South Dakota State | Senior | Distance

Summit League Most Outstanding Performer (2018)
All-League Indoors (2016, 2017, 2018)
Won the mile and 3,000-meters and finished second in the 5,000-meters at the 2018 Indoor Championships

Bryant Courter | South Dakota State | Junior | Jumps

All-League Indoors (2017, 2018)
Summit League Indoor Championship Field MVP (2017, 2018)
Reset the triple jump school record four times and etched his name on three meet records
Won the triple jump with a championship record and finished second in the long jump and high jump at the 2018 indoor championships

Rachel King | South Dakota State | Senior | Distance

2018 Summit League Championship Track MVP
Won the mile and the 3,000-meter race while finishing second in the 5,000-meters at the 2018 Summit League Indoor Championships
2017 Summit League Indoor Athlete of the Year
All-League Indoors (2017, 2018)
Was the first-ever South Dakota State female to compete on the track at the NCAA DI Championships in Eugene last June - earning All-America Honorable Mention.
King is responsible for five individual school-record marks (IN: Mile, 3,000m, 5,000m, OUT: 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m), second all-time mark in the 1,500m, and was a part of the DMR that beat the school record (11:23.20) at the Drake Relays. She was fifth in the NCAA and 21st in the world in the Steeple on March 31.

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).

LAST TIME OUT: JACKRABBITS HOSTED A PAIR OF MEETS - SDSU DII | Jim Emmerich
SDSU DII Invite (Friday): Seniors Kyle Burdick and Jordan Hanna added their names to South Dakota State's record books at the SDSU DII Invitational on Friday night. Burdick posted his first career 1,000m attempt (won, 2:25.08) and reset the record previously held by Nick Burrow since 2001 (2:26.47) while also adding his name to the SDSU DII meet record (previous: 2:28.20 in 2018) and the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex facility record (previous: 2:27.20 in 2015).

Hanna, who finished runner-up behind Burdick (2:28.31), wrote his name into the No. 6 all-time mark for State. The school's 1,000m top 10 list had not been touched since 2011 and the top-three all-time had not been touched since 2005 prior to Friday evening.

Freshman Ellie Friesen wrote her own mark on the school's top 10 list in the women's 1,000m - winning the race on Friday (2:57.51) and becoming the fifth-fastest time all-time at SDSU. In her short indoor career so far, she has competed in three events and won two of them.

The first school record of the night was in the women's 600m when sophomore Oksana Covey (won, 1:32.38) reset her own record from 2017 (1:32.53) by trimming 0.15 seconds off and winning her second career 600m race out of three attempts. Covey also reset the SDSU DII meet best that was previously owned by fellow teammate Krista Steele since 2017 (1:34.27).

With the limited number of Jackrabbits competing, SDSU still had four event winners (two men, two women) and eight personal-best marks reset or tied (three men, five women) with three school records reset (one men, two women) and another two top-10 marks added (one men, one women).

The women's shot put contributed to three of the SDSU personal-best marks reset - all of them being freshmen. Junior Micayla TerWee (second, 45-03.50) added her sixth career indoor shot put top-three finish while freshmen Caitlin Thilges (ninth, 42-01.50) unattached Alex Schmidt (11th, 41-09.75) and Meghan Hettinga (13th, 41-03.00) posted the PR's.

Sophomore Noah Huber (Shot Put: won, 52-10.75) added his second consecutive win - career win No. 2 - in the indoor shot while senior Abby Sudbeck notched a top-three finish in the weight throw (third, 58-00.25). She now sits atop the Jackrabbit season performance list with the 2-04.75-foot increase.

Jim Emmerich Invite (Saturday): The Jim Emmerich Invitational proved to be another opportunity for the South Dakota State track and field teams to flex their muscles and improve their marks - totaling eight event-winners and 30 personal-best marks recorded along with 12 marks going into a record book.

The Jackrabbit men's sprints section has been a highlight reel to this point of the season and today, it did not disappoint. Junior Sam Zenner (60m: won, 6.77 ... 200m: won, 21.00) seized the school records in the 60m and 200m, once again, and keeps his undefeated junior season alive. The Eagan, Minn. native shaved 0.01 seconds off his 60m PR and to maintain the school record since the 2017 Jim Emmerich and now has the 50th-best 60m mark in the NCAA.

In the 200m, Zenner, who first held the school record in the 200m after the December SDSU Holiday Invite, recaptured the school record - along with the Jim Emmerich meet and Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex facility record - from teammate Coby Hilton, who held the record for a mere week (recorded 21.41 at the UND v. SDSU Dual for the school record). He holds the NCAA's eighth-best mark in the 200m.

Zenner wasn't the only Jack to improve their sprint mark today, however. Junior Landon Larson (60m: fourth, 6.92, 6.87 in prelims ... 200m: third, 21.78) moved into a tie for the third-best 60m mark and the No. 3 all-time mark in the 200m. Sophomore Coby Hilton(60m: fourth, 6.93, 6.89 in prelims ... 200m: SCR) also jumped into sole possession of the No. 5 all-time spot in the 60m (breaking the No. 5 tie with teammate Daniel Clarke).

The men's 60m school record, after the 2017 season, was 6.84 seconds (Zenner's mark) and the 10th-best time was 7.07 seconds. Now the school record is 6.77 seconds (Zenner's mark) the 10th-best mark is 7.00 seconds.

The men's indoor 200m school record had been reset only once since Edmund Estephane's 1994 mark (21.83) - reset by Luke Leischner in 2011 (21.82) - prior to the 2019 season. However, it has been reset three times in three weekends of competition - first with junior Sam Zenner's mark in the SDSU Holiday Invite (21.50), then Hilton's mark in the UND v. SDSU Dual (21.41) and now with Zenner's top mark (21.00). Three Jackrabbits would have had the school record prior to the 2019 season (Zenner - 21.00, Hilton - 21.41, and Larson - 21.78).

On the women's side, the middle distance and distance races had competitive finishes that came down to the very last step. Senior Rachel King came out on top in the women's mile (4:55.61), edging South Dakota's Megan Billington by 0.01 seconds for her fourth career win. Then King came back at the end of the meet to finish runner-up in a tight 3,000m race (10:00.88) - adding her seventh top-three finish in eight career attempts in the event.

Freshman Ellie Friesen added the school's No. 5 all-time mark in the 1,000m at SDSU DII Invite (won, 2:57.51) on Friday and continued re-writing SDSU's top 10 marks with the No. 8 all-time mark in the mile (fifth, 4:57.48) at the Jim Emmerich Invite.

In the 800m women's race, sophomore Oksana Covey (fourth, 2:14.59) was leading the Jackrabbits until the last stretch when junior Kendra Dykstra (won, 2:12.86) made a last-second effort towards her second career indoor win by 0.37 seconds. Covey, along with senior Krista Steele, added season-best marks while Dykstra was within 0.22 seconds of her personal-best.

Senior Kyle Burdick, like Friesen a night ago, ran the 1,000m and set the school record (SDSU DII & SJAC record too) at the SDSU DII Invite (won, 2:25.08). Then, he came back to the track on Saturday and cruised past the 3,000m competition, winning the race by 15.44 seconds (8:08.45) and resetting the Jim Emmerich meet record to preserve his undefeated status in the indoor event - five career wins. His 3,000m mark is sixth in the NCAA (has the 10th-best mile from the Thundering Herd Classic - Jan. 12). A total of six Jackrabbits in the 3,000m recorded a personal-best mark.

On top of the stellar track performances, field events showed just as much exhilaration. Junior Bryant Courter added wins in both the long and triple jump (LJ: 23-09.50, TJ: 49-06.25 ... both season-best marks) - his sixth career win in both events. He has now won both the long and triple jump events in a single meet on four separate occasions and holds a win-streak of six in the triple jump - dating back to the 2018 SDSU Holiday Invite. His triple jump mark (47th) and long jump mark (74th) rank in the top-75 of the NCAA.

Freshman Addison Eisenbeisz (HJ: third, 5-6.00), hailing from Pierre, S.D., posted her name in a ninth-best-tie all-time in the high jump with Lisa Jensen (1990) with her three-inch PR increase. It is the first mark added to SDSU's top 10 since Monique Mack in 2017 (No. 4, 5-08.00). High jump teammate Chloe Holtz (HJ: seventh, 5-04.25) notched a PR as well, breaking the 5-03.00-barrier with a 1.25-inch increase. She had tied her 5-03.00 then-personal-best performance five times indoors dating back to the 2018 Jim Emmerich.

Holtz (TJ: third, 37-05.75) also added her third consecutive top-three finish in the triple jump (dating back to 2019 SDSU Holiday Invite).

In the throws, senior Logan Ammons (WT: second, 60-07.25) reset his weight throw personal-best mark for the second consecutive week - increasing by 4.25 inches maintaining the school's No. 3 all-time mark. Sophomore Noah Huber (third, 55-08.25) added his season-best mark in the shot put while posting his third top-three finish this season, sixth for his career in both indoors and outdoors.

JACKS' XC - DEHAVEN'S DYNASTY
The Summit League announced Jackrabbit Head Coach Rod DeHaven won the 2018 Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year on Nov. 29.

It is his seventh men's honor, which is the second-most ever on the men's side since the honor was introduced in 1982. DeHaven has won the men's honor seven out of the 12 years the Jackrabbits have been in the league, which is the most in that span.

Overall, Coach DeHaven has won eight cross country coach of the year honors, garnering the women's accolade in 2008. He has also earned a Summit League Indoor Coach of the Year honor on the men's side in 2017.

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).

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).

UP NEXT: ANOTHER THREE-MEET WEEKEND (Weekend of Feb. 1-2) - Schedule
The Jackrabbits plan to have another weekend on the road with several student-athletes in multiple locations. SDSU will split among the Dakota Realty Invitational (hosted by South Dakota), Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational (hosted by Nebraska), and the Mayo Invitational (hosted by Notre Dame).

The track and field teams will then return home in the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on Feb. 8-9 and Feb. 16 for the SDSU Classic and SDSU Last Chance before hosting The Summit League Indoor Championships on Feb. 22-23. See full information on the home meets in the "Home Meet Info" page.

-GoJacks.com-