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South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: GoJacks.com
Jackrabbit Speedsters Finish 19th in Country
6/5/2019 6:30:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The SDSU men's 4x100m relay squad end their season as the 19th-best team in the country with a sixth-place finish in the third heat of the NCAA Track & Field Championship semifinals
AUSTIN, Texas - The South Dakota State men's 4x100m relay squad ended their 2019 campaign as the 19th-best team in the country, competing in the semifinals of the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
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The squad of freshman Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, sophomores Coby Hilton and Daniel Clarke, and junior Sam Zenner (raced in that order) came into the semifinals as the 24th seed and finished 19th overall, sixth in the third and final heat of the round, with their third-fastest time of the season and in school history (40.17).
The four Jackrabbits will be announced as All-America Honorable Mentions by the USTFCCCA as soon as the track and field championships conclude.Â
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The quartet earned a bid to Austin with the school's first sub-40-second performance at the NCAA DI West Preliminaries on May 23-25 in Sacramento, Calif. (39.99).
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The road to the national championships began with a No. 2 all-time SDSU performance at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 18, 40.55) and improved to the then-school record at the Drake Relays when pitted against a Houston squad (April 24-27, 40.12).
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The team defended their Summit League Championship title at the beginning of May (8-10, 40.99) and reset the school record for the second time of season at the west prelims to score the last qualifying spot to Austin.
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The Jackrabbit speedsters of Zenner, Hilton, and Clarke have been a member of four school-record resetting teams, including two from 2018, while true freshman Phoulom-Smith has been a part of two.
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The four were the first Jackrabbit men's or women's relay squad to qualify for the NCAA DI West Preliminaries while Hilton was the first SDSU male to compete in the 200m and qualify for both the 100m and 200m at the preliminaries.
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The squad accomplished many historical achievements for not only South Dakota State, but for The Summit League as well by becoming the first men's relay team - 4x400m or 4x100m - to qualify for the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships.
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The last qualifying spot to compete for the national championship crown on Friday belongs North Carolina A&T with a time of 39.00 seconds while the fastest team out of the semifinals was Florida with a time of 38.35 seconds.
FULL VIDEO: The SDSU Men's 4x100m Relay team finishes 19th in the semifinals of the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Order: Phoulom-Smith, Hilton, Clarke, Zenner).
UP NEXT
Senior Rachel King will represent South Dakota State tomorrow as the women's semifinals begin. She will compete in the 3,000m steeplechase scheduled at 7:32 p.m. CT. She is set to run in the first heat of two, trying to be one of the top 12 to advance out of the field of 24. She will need to be a top-five runner in her heat or one of the next-two fastest runners out of the two heats.
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King has the sixth-best seed mark out of the 24 runners, ranking third time-wise in her heat. If she is able to advance to the championships round on Saturday at 5:54 p.m. CT, she can earn All-America First-Team honors with a top-8 finish.
All track events will be aired on ESPN 2 while field and multi events will be shown on ESPN 3.
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).
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The squad of freshman Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, sophomores Coby Hilton and Daniel Clarke, and junior Sam Zenner (raced in that order) came into the semifinals as the 24th seed and finished 19th overall, sixth in the third and final heat of the round, with their third-fastest time of the season and in school history (40.17).
The four Jackrabbits will be announced as All-America Honorable Mentions by the USTFCCCA as soon as the track and field championships conclude.Â
Â
The quartet earned a bid to Austin with the school's first sub-40-second performance at the NCAA DI West Preliminaries on May 23-25 in Sacramento, Calif. (39.99).
Â
The road to the national championships began with a No. 2 all-time SDSU performance at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (April 18, 40.55) and improved to the then-school record at the Drake Relays when pitted against a Houston squad (April 24-27, 40.12).
Â
The team defended their Summit League Championship title at the beginning of May (8-10, 40.99) and reset the school record for the second time of season at the west prelims to score the last qualifying spot to Austin.
Â
The Jackrabbit speedsters of Zenner, Hilton, and Clarke have been a member of four school-record resetting teams, including two from 2018, while true freshman Phoulom-Smith has been a part of two.
Â
The four were the first Jackrabbit men's or women's relay squad to qualify for the NCAA DI West Preliminaries while Hilton was the first SDSU male to compete in the 200m and qualify for both the 100m and 200m at the preliminaries.
Â
The squad accomplished many historical achievements for not only South Dakota State, but for The Summit League as well by becoming the first men's relay team - 4x400m or 4x100m - to qualify for the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships.
Â
The last qualifying spot to compete for the national championship crown on Friday belongs North Carolina A&T with a time of 39.00 seconds while the fastest team out of the semifinals was Florida with a time of 38.35 seconds.
FULL VIDEO: The SDSU Men's 4x100m Relay team finishes 19th in the semifinals of the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Order: Phoulom-Smith, Hilton, Clarke, Zenner).
UP NEXT
Senior Rachel King will represent South Dakota State tomorrow as the women's semifinals begin. She will compete in the 3,000m steeplechase scheduled at 7:32 p.m. CT. She is set to run in the first heat of two, trying to be one of the top 12 to advance out of the field of 24. She will need to be a top-five runner in her heat or one of the next-two fastest runners out of the two heats.
Â
King has the sixth-best seed mark out of the 24 runners, ranking third time-wise in her heat. If she is able to advance to the championships round on Saturday at 5:54 p.m. CT, she can earn All-America First-Team honors with a top-8 finish.
All track events will be aired on ESPN 2 while field and multi events will be shown on ESPN 3.
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).
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-GoJacks.com-Â
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Players Mentioned
Sprints/Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
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