SDSU Scores Personal-Best Marks to Open Outdoors

Thursday, March 28

San Francisco, CA

Thurs: 2:30 p.m. CT | Fri: Noon CT | Sat: 11 a.m. CT

South Dakota State University

Mike Fanelli Track Classic

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

3/30/2019 7:09:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results: ORU Invite 2019 Live Results: Mike Fanelli Classic 2019 Live Results: Stanford Invite 2019

The South Dakota State track and field teams wrapped up their opening weekend for the 2019 outdoor campaign. The team split among three different meets in two different states. A total of 21 Jackrabbits scored a total of 23 personal-best mark reset over the weekend with eight top-10 marks all-time, including a school record.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL
STANFORD, Calif. - Senior Rachel King stole the show on opening weekend for the Jackrabbits, starting her final season right where she left off in 2018 outdoors - a personal-best 3,000m steeplechase mark that sits No. 2 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I performance list.

She finished runner-up (9:54.44) behind the NCAA leader from Providence on Friday evening in the invite section of the event.

The St. Michael, Minn. native reset the school record for the fifth time, this time trimming another 3.31 seconds, and has claimed the No. 4 mark in the world as of March 30.

The story may sound similar, as King had nearly done the same thing a year ago on Cobb Track & Angell Field in California. She improved upon her fifth-place finish from a year ago (10:01.14) and moved up the NCAA and world rankings - being fifth in the NCAA and No. 21 in the world on the weekend.

Her mark should allow her to be eligible to compete in the NCAA West Preliminaries again this coming May (23-25) in Sacramento again, where she ran her previous-best mark (9:57.75) and became the first South Dakota State woman to compete on the track at the NCAA DI National Championships - eventually earning All-America honorable mention status.

Fellow Senior Kyle Burdick, also a NCAA Championship qualifier and Second-Team All-American, also ran his best event at Stanford on Friday, finishing sixth in the second-fastest section (3:45.24). The mark is his second-fastest mark since being in Eugene in 2017.

MIKE FANELLI TRACK CLASSIC
HAYWARD, Calif. - Junior Wyatt Gatrost opened his season up with two personal-best marks in his first two competitions, in the 400m and 800m.

He finished with the fifth-best mark out of 76 runners on Chabot College's track (49.69) with his first career outdoor attempt. He had to out-kick the competition in his section to win his heat and tab a 1.57-second overall personal-best mark on Friday.

The Center Point, Iowa native came back on Saturday to earn the best performance in the 800m and adding his name to the No. 10 all-time mark for the Jackrabbits. He won the second-best heat while sophomore Gabe Peters finished his first career outdoor 800m (1:58.96).

Peters would also finish fourth in his section of the 1,500m (3:56.97) with a personal-best mark by 0.66 seconds.

Sophomore Oksana Covey led the women's 400m, winning her respective heat (2) and resetting her personal-best to have the third overall mark (56.61) in the event of 58 competitors. She narrowly missed the school's top 10 by 0.02 seconds.

Senior Krista Steele tailed Covey, finishing 14th overall, seventh in the first heat, posting her best mark among indoor and outdoor season in 2019.

The duo switch places in the 800m, with Steele claiming the sixth overall mark (2:09.94) and Covey having the seventh-best (2:10.19). Both of their respective marks nearly reached their personal-best marks, but were the best times in the 800m (indoors and outdoors) of the 2019 year.

Freshman Joseph Minor-Williams led the Jackrabbits in the 5,000m late Friday night, finishing ninth (14:38.75) in his respective heat, while juniors Micah Mather (14:43.76) and Lukas Nelson (14:50.82) competed in the same heat, going sixth and 10th.

Mather's mark was a personal-best, resetting his previous-best from the 2018 San Francisco State Distance Carnival (now the Mike Fanelli Classic).

Senior Mackenzie Schell represented the Jacks for the women in the 5,000m, finishing 13th in her heat (17:50.36).

Freshman Ellie Friesen competed in both the 1,500m (on Friday) and the 800m (on Saturday), finishing 15th overall (4:34.41) in the 1,500m and nearly catching the school's top 10 mark. Her 800m mark also almost caught the top 10 list as she finished 35th overall (2:15.13).

ORAL ROBERTS INVITATIONAL
TULSA, Okla. - Sophomore Emma Stewart and freshman Tre Manning added a pair of top 10 marks for South Dakota State at Oral Roberts on Saturday afternoon.

Stewart, from Yankton, S.D., scored a 1-00.50 personal-best increase in the long jump (18-08.50) to reach No. 8 all-time for the Jackrabbits. Her fifth-place performance is the first entry into the school's top 10 list since 2016 (Jazzelina Black).

For the men, Manning reached the school's No. 8 mark in his first career outdoor long jump competition in the Blue and Yellow, joining teammates Bryant Courter (No. 2) and Daniel Clarke (No. 4) on the list. He place third overall in Saturday's competition (23-09.50).

Sophomore Coby Hilton seems to continue right where he left off in the indoor season, notching a personal-best by 0.01 seconds in the 200m to earn his first career outdoor victory (21.33). His mark moved him into sole possession of the No. 4 all-time mark for SDSU after being tied with Mark McConnell (1986, 21.34) since the 2018 Summit League Outdoor Championships on the ONEOK Sport Complex.

Junior Anna Fasen and senior Rachel Propst both competed in the 800m and 1,500m - knocking in personal-best marks in both. Fasen led both events for the Jacks, finishing runner-up in the 1,500m (4:46.94) before coming in ninth in the 800m (2:18.69).

Propst finished sixth overall in the 1,500m (4:51.40) and came back to the track to finish 10th in the 800m with a 9.81-second personal-best.

Sophomore Noah Huber came away with his first victories in the shot put (55-07.75) and discus throw (156-02.00), adding a PR in the shot by two inches to remain No. 4 all-time.

Teammate Logan Ammons also added a personal-best mark on Friday morning, finishing runner-up in the hammer throw (193-02.00) to remain No. 3 all-time for the Jacks.

Junior Chloe Holtz posted two top-three place-finishes over the weekend at ONEOK Sport Complex, being third in the high jump with a two-inch personal-best (5-05.00) on Friday and taking bronze in the triple jump (37-00.25) for the first time in her outdoor career.

Sophomore Nick Wessels cut into the school's top 10 list in the 110m hurdles list at No. 10, finishing third (14.69) while freshman Reid Pierzinski added his first career marks in the 110m hurdles (fifth, 15.04) and 400m hurdles (third, 54.66).

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 Jackrabbits will continue their outdoor trek next weekend (April 6) when they battle in the Dakota Duals in Vermillion, hosted by South Dakota, before going to Minnesota for their Spring Open on April 12-13.

PERSONAL-BEST MARKS RESET (21 Jacks, 23 Events, 8 Top-10s)
- MEN (10 Jacks, 11 Events, 6 Top-10s) -
At ORU Invite (7 Jacks, 7 Events, 4 Top-10s)
So. Coby Hilton (200m - No. 4)
So. Mitchel Acker (400m)
So. Nick Wessels (110H - No. 10)
Sr. Peter Bates (110H)
Jr. Evan Hieber (PV)
So. Noah Huber (SP - No. 4)
Sr. Logan Ammons (HT - No. 3)
At Mike Fanelli Classic (3 Jacks, 4 Events, 1 Top-10)
Jr. Wyatt Gatrost (400m, 800m - No. 10)
So. Gabe Peters (1,500m)
Jr. Micah Mather (5,000m)
- WOMEN (10 Jacks, 12 Events, 2 Top-10s) -
At ORU Invite (7 Jacks, 9 Events, 1 Top-10)
So. Chloe Bermel (100m)
Jr. Anna Fasen (800m, 1,500m)
Sr. Rachel Propst (800m, 1,500m)
Jr. Emma Nelson (5,000m)
Jr. Chloe Holtz (HJ)
Jr. Amy Muller (PV)
So. Emma Stewart (LJ - No. 8)
So. Sophie Bisgard (TJ)
At Mike Fanelli Classic (1 Jack, 1 Event)
So. Oksana Covey (400m)
At Stanford Invite (1 Jack, 1 Event, 1 School Record)
Sr. Rachel King (3,000S - School Record)

Added to the school's top 10 list, but not a personal-best reset:
Fr. Tre Manning (LJ - No. 8)

JACKRABBIT EVENT WINNERS
- MEN -
At ORU Invite
So. Coby Hilton (200m - No. 4)
So. Noah Huber (SP, DT)
At Mike Fanelli Classic
Jr. Wyatt Gatrost (800m)

INDIVIDUAL JACKRABBIT RESULTS
ORU INVITATIONAL
100m - Men - Finals
None.

100m - Women - Finals
15. Bermel, Chloe (12.63w)
17. Altenburg, Emily (12.66w)
21. Gay, Madisson (12.76W)
25. Wevik, Mikayla (12.86w)
26. Thill, Jennifer (12.87w)
28. Carlson, Delaney (12.93w)

Sophomore Chloe Bermel posted a personal-best mark by 0.25 seconds while sophomore Madisson Gay's mark would have been a PR if there wasn't an illegal wind-aid (5.3). Sophomore Emily Altenburg just missed her personal-best by 0.01 seconds while freshman Mikayla Wevik added her first outdoor mark as a Jack.

200m - Women - Finals
17. Bermel, Chloe (26.25w)
18. Mottinger, Haley (26.29)
21. Carlson, Delaney (26.60w)
24. Wevik, Mikayla (26.70w)
25. Gay, Madisson (26.74w)
33. Kreber, Kendyl (28.33)

Four Jackrabbits ran personal-best marks on their opening 200m competition. Sophomore Chloe Bermel led the Jackrabbits to a 0.02-second PR, junior Haley Mottinger was behind her with a 0.18-second PR, while sophomores Madisson Gay and Kendyl Kreber trimmed 0.33 seconds and 0.07 seconds.

200m - Men - Finals
1. Hilton, Coby (21.33w)
13. Kuil, Cameron (22.26w)

Sophomore Coby Hilton reset his personal-best in the 200m from the 2018 Summit League Outdoor Championships here at ONEOK Sport Complex. He trimmed off 0.01 seconds and claimed his first-ever outdoor 200m victory. He was previously tied for the No. 4 all-time spot with Mark McConnell (1986, 21.34) and is now in sole possession of the spot.

400m - Men - Finals
8. Acker, Mitchel (49.83)
19. Johnson, Sam (52.10)

Sophomore Mitchel Acker posted a personal-best, trimming 0.24 seconds. Both Acker and senior Sam Johnson ran their first outdoor events of the season.

400m - Women - Finals
None.

800m - Men - Finals
6. Goehring, Josh (1:57.92)

Junior Josh Goehring added his first mark of the outdoor campaign.

800m - Women - Finals
9. Fasen, Anna (2:18.69)
10. Propst, Rachel (2:19.46)
13. Glazier, Tori (2:24.04)
23. Dergan, Bailey (2:34.56)

Junior Anna Fasen and senior Rachel Prospt notched personal-best marks - Fasen by 0.52 seconds and Propst by 9.81 seconds. Freshmen duo Tori Glazier and Bailey Dergan added their first marks in the outdoor 800m.

1,500m - Men - Finals
2. Breuckman, Thomas (4:05.12)
3. Schwinghamer, Michael (4:06.82)
4. Bauer, Riley (4:07.11)
6. Olson, Ben (4:07.78)
9. Iverson, Blake (4:10.08)

Freshmen squad of Thomas Breuckman, Riley Bauer, Ben Olson, and Blake Iverson added their first marks outdoors as Jackrabbits. Sophomore Michael Schwinghamer missed his 2018 personal-best by 2.90 seconds.

1,500m - Women - Finals
2. Fasen, Anna (4:46.94)
4. Peterson, Cailee (4:48.11)
6. Propst, Rachel (4:51.40)
8. Berzonsky, Emily (4:52.61)
23. Dergan, Bailey (5:17.53)

Junior Anna Fasen and senior Rachel Propst added personal-best marks in their opening attempts in the 1,500m. Senior Emily Berzonsky and sophomore Cailee Peterson posted their first career marks in the event while freshman Bailey Dergan notched her first outdoor mark as a Jackrabbit.

5,000m - Men - Finals
4. Olson, Ben (15:15.17)
5. Breuckman, Thomas (15:21.23)
8. Auch, Alexander (15:44.49)
10. Schwinghamer, Michael (15:48.39)

The men's 5,000m runners all added their first marks in the event as Jackrabbits.

5,000m - Women - Finals
3. Berzonsky, Emily (18:09.04)
4. Nelson, Emma (18:25.46)
5. Peterson, Cailee (18:25.59)

Junior Emma Nelson finished with a 3.61-second personal-best mark while senior Emily Berzonsky earned her second career top-three finish in the outdoor 5,000m.

110m Hurdles - Men - Finals
3. Wessels, Nick (14.69w)
5. Pierzinski, Reid (15.04w)
7. Hieber, Evan (15.67w)
9. Bates, Peters (15.79w)

Sophomore Nick Wessels notched his personal-best mark that will go down as the school's No. 10 all-time mark. He trimmed 0.11 seconds off his PR set in 2018, beating Ben Johnson's 2003 mark (14.71) out of the top 10. Senior Peter Bates also added a PR by 0.80 seconds while freshman Reid Pierzinski ran his first outdoor race as a Jackrabbit.

100m Hurdles - Women - Finals
5. O'Connor, Jaymie (14.26w)
10. Mottinger, Haley (14.85w)
18. Kreber, Kendyl (17.02w)

All three of the Jackrabbit women opened their 2019 outdoor season with marks close to their personal-bests. Junior Haley Mottinger was within 0.12 seconds, junior Jaymie O'Connor was within 0.26 seconds, and sophomore Kendyl Kreber was within 0.29 seconds.

400m Hurdles - Men - Finals
3. Pierzinski, Reid (54.66)
8. Lieberg, Jake (57.83)
10. Bates, Peter (58.48)

Freshman Reid Pierzinski ran his first career mark in the event, leading the Jackrabbits, while junior Jake Lieberg posted his first 400m hurdles competition since 2017.

400m Hurdles - Women - Finals
10. O'Connor, Jaymie (1:10.05)

Junior Jaymie O'Connor added her first career performance in the event.

3,000m Steeplechase - Men - Finals
4. Pierson, Lukas (10:00.82)
5. Rush, Andrew (10:08.55)

Freshmen duo Lukas Pierson and Andrew Rush add their first outdoor marks as Jackrabbits. For Rush, it is his first attached mark in the Yellow and Blue.

3,000m Steeplechase - Women - Finals
None.

4x100m Relay - Men - Finals
--. "A" Team (DNF)
(1. So. Coby Hilton, 2. Jr. Landon Larson, 3. So. Daniel Clarke, 4. So. Cameron Kuil)

The Jackrabbit men started off the relay but did not finish.

4x100m Relay - Women - Finals
4. "A" Team (48.76)
(1. Jr. Delaney Carlson, 2. So. Chloe Bermel, 3. Jr. Jennifer Thill, 4. Fr. Mikayla Wevik)

The Jackrabbit women notched their first outdoor relay this season. It would have been fourth on the season performance list in 2018.

4x400m Relay - Men - Finals
None.

4x400m Relay - Women - Finals
None.

High Jump - Men - Finals
T-4. Milton, Jay-Shawn (6-02.75)
T-4. Sears, Riley (6-02.75)
T-4. Schmidt, Mason (6-02.75)
7. Hieber, Evan (6-02.75)

Freshmen duo Jay-Shawn Milton and Mason Schmidt notched their first outdoor marks as Jackrabbits while junior Evan Hieber and senior Riley Sears notched their season-first marks.

High Jump - Women - Finals
2. Eisenbeisz, Addison (5-05.00)
3. Holtz, Chloe (5-05.00)
5. Mingo, Madison (5-01.00)
8. Stevens, Lynsey (4-09.00)

Junior Chloe Holtz recorded a personal-best mark, tying her overall best, gaining two inches. Freshman Addison Eisenbeisz, along with Holtz, are within the school's top 10 list all-time. Eisenbeisz, with teammate Lynsey Stevens, added their first outdoor marks as Jackrabbits.

Pole Vault - Men - Finals
3. Francom, Trent (16-00.00)
10. Hieber, Evan (14-06.00)
--. Andera, Anthony (NH)

Junior Evan Hieber notched a personal-best height, increasing it by 1-00.50 feet, while sophomore Trent Francom recorded his fifth top-three finish of his career.

Pole Vault - Women - Finals
16. Muller, Amy (10-06.00)
--. Katz, Shannon (NH)
--. Scott, Summer Lyn (NH)
--. White, Megan (NH)

Junior Amy Muller notched her personal-best mark in the pole vault to lead off the outdoor campaign. She added 1-01.75 feet to her best and is within 4.25 inches from the school's top 10 list.

Long Jump - Men - Finals
3. Manning, Tre (23-09.50)

Freshman Tre Manning opened up his freshman campaign with a top-three finish and the No. 8 all-time mark.

Long Jump - Women - Finals
5. Stewart, Emma (18-08.50)
7. Altenburg, Emily (18-01.00w)

Sophomore Emma Stewart notched a personal-best mark in the long jump, increasing her best by 1-00.50 and moving to No. 8 all-time for South Dakota State. It is the first entry into the school's all-time list since the 2016 season.

Triple Jump - Men - Finals
None.

Triple Jump - Women - Finals
3. Holtz, Chloe (37-00.25w)
7. Eisenbeisz, Addison (35-11.25w)
8. Bisgard, Sophie (35-05.75w)

Sophomore Sophie Bisgard earned a personal-best mark, adding another 6.50 inches to her best. Junior Chloe Holtz posted her first top-three finish in the outdoor triple jump while freshman Addison Eisenbeisz notched her first career outdoor mark in a SDSU uniform.

Shot Put - Men - Finals
1. Huber, Noah (55-07.75)
8. Coil, Sam (47-02.50)

Sophomore Noah Huber recorded his second win of the day at Oral Roberts, finishing with a personal-best mark by two inches. He remains No. 4 all-time on SDSU's top 10 list and notched his first victory in the outdoor event. Redshirt freshman Samuel Coil added his first attached event in a Jackrabbit uniform.

Shot Put - Women - Finals
4. Moorhouse, Madeline (43-09.25)
6. Thilges, Caitlin (39-05.00)
10. Leiseth, Faith (37-10.50)
11. Hettinga, Meghan (37-08.00)

Sophomore Madeline Moorhouse added her first mark of the season while freshmen Caitlin Thilges, Faith Leiseth, and Meghan Hettinga threw their first outdoor marks as Jackrabbits.

Discus Throw - Men - Finals
1. Huber, Noah (156-02.00)
6. Coil, Sam (134-00.00)

Sophomore Noah Huber opened up his outdoor campaign with his first career win in the discus. Teammate, and redshirt freshman, Samuel Coil posted his first career mark for SDSU, beating all his unattached throws from 2018.

Discus Throw - Women - Finals
12. Hettinga, Meghan (121-02.00)
13. Thilges, Caitlin (120-04.00)
17. Leiseth, Faith (112-01.00)

The freshmen women all added their first career outdoor marks.

Hammer Throw - Men - Finals
2. Ammons, Logan (193-02.00)
12. Coil, Samuel (156-04.00)

Senior Logan Ammons came into the season with the No. 3 all-time mark in the hammer throw, and reset his personal-best mark, still No. 3 all-time. Redshirt freshman Samuel Coil notched his first mark as a Jackrabbit, fouling in all attempts last year as a redshirt.

Hammer Throw - Women - Finals
None.

Javelin Throw - Women - Finals
None.

Javelin Throw - Men - Finals
None.

MIKE FANELLI CLASSIC
400m - Men - Final
5. Gatrost, Wyatt (49.69)

Senior Wyatt Gatrost finished by out-kicking the competition in the last stretch to win his heat. It is his first career outdoor 400m mark, finishing fifth out of 76 runners, with a 1.57-second overall PR.

400m - Women - Final
3. Covey, Oksana (56.61)
14. Steele, Krista (58.62)

Sophomore Oksana Covey opened up her outdoor season with a personal-best mark - missing the school's top 10 by 0.02 seconds - and winning her heat (2). She finished with the third-best time out of 58 competitors. Senior Krista Steele finished seventh in the opening heat (1) and finished 14th overall, with her best 2019 indoor/outdoor mark this season in the event. Megan Bren is the 10th all-time mark in the 400m for the Jacks (56.59).

800m - Men - Finals
1. Gatrost, Wyatt (1:51.73)
69. Peters, Gabe (1:58.96)

Junior Wyatt Gatrost notched the school's 10th best mark all-time with a PR at the Mike Fanelli Classic. He won his heat (2) and finished the event with the best time. Sophomore Gabe Peters finished fourth in his heat (9), with his first career 800m outdoors. They competed against 132 total runners.

800m - Women - Finals
6. Steele, Krista (2:09.94)
7. Covey, Oksana (2:10.19)
35. Friesen, Ellie (2:15.13)

Senior Krista Steele led off the Jackrabbits in their second day at the Mike Fanelli Classic, finishing with the sixth-best mark in the event. She finished fifth in her heat (1) and posted her best mark in the indoor/outdoor 800m so far in 2019, just missing her outdoor PR and No. 2 all-time mark by 2.39 seconds.

Sophomore Oksana Covey followed Steele, winning the second section by 0.007 seconds, and placing seventh overall in the event. She also posted her best indoor/outdoor 800m of the 2019 seasons, missing her outdoor PR and No. 3 all-time mark by 1.61 seconds.

Freshman Ellie Friesen placed sixth in her heat (6) and 35th overall. She tied her indoor PR (2:15.13) from the SDSU Classic and was within 2.57 seconds from the school's top 10 list. They all competed against 105 runners.

1,500m - Men - Final
49. Peters, Gabe (3:56.97)

Sophomore Gabe Peters finished fourth in his heat (4) with a personal-best mark by 0.66 seconds. Out of a total of 142 competitors, Peters placed 49th overall.

1,500m - Women - Final
15. Friesen, Ellie (4:34.41)

Freshman Ellie Friesen finished runner-up in her section (4) of the 1,500m, and 15th overall out of 145 total competitors. It was her first attempt as a Jack outdoors, missing the school's top 10 list by 1.54 seconds.

5,000m - Men - Final
60. Minor-Williams, Joseph (14:38.75)
70. Mather, Micah (14:43.76)
82. Nelson, Lukas (14:50.82)

Freshman Joseph Minor-Williams competed in his first career outdoor event, finishing ninth in his respective section. Juniors Micah Mather and Lukas Nelson competed in the fifth section of the meet, finishing sixth (Mather) and 10th (Nelson). Mather added a personal-best, a mark he had reset in the 2018 SF Distance Carnival. A total of 227 runners competed.

5,000m - Women - Final
88. Schell, Mackenzie (17:50.36)

Senior Mackenzie Schell added her first mark of her senior outdoor campaign, finishing 13th in her respective heat, 88th overall among 157 runners.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL
1,500m - Men - Section 2
6. Burdick, Kyle (3:45.24)

Senior Kyle Burdick finished sixth in his inaugural competition. His mark is the second-fastest mark since his NCAA Championship run at the end of the 2017 season.

3,000m Steeplechase - Women - Invite
2. King, Rachel (9:54.44)

Senior Rachel King reset her personal-best mark in the first steeplechase event of the season, trimming 3.31 seconds to finish runner-up in the invite section. According to results on TFRRS and over the weekend, King is sitting No. 2 in the NCAA behind the Stanford Invite winner and No. 4 in the world. Not to mention, the school record.

Last year, she was sitting fifth in the NCAA and No. 21 in the world with her fifth-place finish (10:01.14). She would reset her personal-best mark in the steeple at 9:57.75 at the NCAA West Prelims to qualify for the NCAA DI Championships - the first female Jackrabbit on the track in a championship.

-GoJacks.com-