Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at NCAA West First Round on May 28, 2025 , , No Team Score
/
FINAL
Women's Track and Field
(No Team Score)
at NCAA West First Round
South Dakota State University Athletics
World's Fourth-Best Rachel King Honored by League
4/2/2019 2:01:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Rachel King earned Summit League's Athlete of the Week for her No. 2 NCAA mark, No. 4 World mark in the Steeplechase
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - South Dakota State senior Rachel King earned the Jackrabbits' first Summit League Athlete of the Week in track and field this year.
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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.
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She trimmed 3.31 seconds off the school-record mark - a mark she ran at last year's NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento, Calif. to be the first female Jack to run on the track at the NCAA DI National Championships, eventually claiming an All-America Honorable Mention.
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King has qualified for the NCAA West Prelims every year of track and field dating back to the 2016 season. She added the school's No. 2 all-time mark (10:25.75) behind Halie Mechels' ('18) reset the record just ahead of her at Mt. SAC Relays (10:25.39), finishing 38th in the West prelims (10:52.89).
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She claimed the school record in 2017, first resetting it at the Stanford Invite on the final weekend in March (10:14.08) and then again at the Mt. SAC Relays (10:10.71) before finishing 38th at the NCAA West Prelims in Austin, Texas (11:03.25).
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In 2018, King finally broke through the West prelims and arrived at the NCAA Championships, finishing 23rd in the prelims (10:27.92) after resetting her best and school-record mark twice in the season - once at Stanford (10:01.14) and again at the NCAA West Prelims (9:57.75, ninth).
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She has also been ranked very high in the event among NCAA and world ranks, reaching fifth in the NCAA in 2017, fifth again in 2018 (21st in the world), and now second in the NCAA and No. 4 in the world this year.
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Her No. 1 mark in the NCAA West Preliminary performance list, and best mark ever, should allow her to compete at the West prelims one last time in May (23-25) in Sacramento, as she looks to be the second-ever Jackrabbit to go to the NCAA DI Championships in back-to-back years (Sara Ackman, 2009-2010).
She wins her second career outdoor track and field weekly honor (won April 3, 2018 - Stanford Invite - 3,000m steeplechase performance) and her fifth all-time weekly accolade (three in cross country).
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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.
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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.
Â
She trimmed 3.31 seconds off the school-record mark - a mark she ran at last year's NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento, Calif. to be the first female Jack to run on the track at the NCAA DI National Championships, eventually claiming an All-America Honorable Mention.
Â
King has qualified for the NCAA West Prelims every year of track and field dating back to the 2016 season. She added the school's No. 2 all-time mark (10:25.75) behind Halie Mechels' ('18) reset the record just ahead of her at Mt. SAC Relays (10:25.39), finishing 38th in the West prelims (10:52.89).
Â
She claimed the school record in 2017, first resetting it at the Stanford Invite on the final weekend in March (10:14.08) and then again at the Mt. SAC Relays (10:10.71) before finishing 38th at the NCAA West Prelims in Austin, Texas (11:03.25).
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In 2018, King finally broke through the West prelims and arrived at the NCAA Championships, finishing 23rd in the prelims (10:27.92) after resetting her best and school-record mark twice in the season - once at Stanford (10:01.14) and again at the NCAA West Prelims (9:57.75, ninth).
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She has also been ranked very high in the event among NCAA and world ranks, reaching fifth in the NCAA in 2017, fifth again in 2018 (21st in the world), and now second in the NCAA and No. 4 in the world this year.
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Her No. 1 mark in the NCAA West Preliminary performance list, and best mark ever, should allow her to compete at the West prelims one last time in May (23-25) in Sacramento, as she looks to be the second-ever Jackrabbit to go to the NCAA DI Championships in back-to-back years (Sara Ackman, 2009-2010).
She wins her second career outdoor track and field weekly honor (won April 3, 2018 - Stanford Invite - 3,000m steeplechase performance) and her fifth all-time weekly accolade (three in cross country).
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Oh, what an opening weekend it was for Jackrabbit senior Rachel King at the #StanfordInvite...#GoJacks ????????? pic.twitter.com/80V9nKjQmD
— SDSU Track/XC (@GoJacksTFXC) March 31, 2019
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.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
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