SDSU heads to conference championships at PFW

Friday, February 28

Fort Wayn, Ind.

9:30 a.m. EST

South Dakota State University

Summit League Indoor Championships

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

2/26/2020 11:37:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

The 2020 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships Presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare

When	Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 9:30 a.m. EST
Where	Lutheran Health Fieldhouse \| Fort Wayne, Ind.
Meet Schedule	2020 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships Schedule
Meet Info.	2020 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships Meet Information
Live Results	http://www.cfpitiming.com
Live Stream	Live Stream
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State track and field teams travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. for the 2020 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships Presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare Friday and Saturday. The men will look to defend their conference title earned a year ago in the SJAC, while the women will look to better their fourth place finish from 2019.

Hosted by Purdue Fort Wayne, the championship meet is set to begin at 9:30 EST a.m. Friday and Saturday morning at the Lutheran Health Field House.

"Our expectation is that we're going to compete very hard and put ourselves into a position that gets a lof of people in the finals," said Coach Rod DeHaven.

LAST YEAR AT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: (Via GoJacks.com)
For the first time ever, the South Dakota State men's track and field team can call themselves the Summit League Indoor Champions.

The Jackrabbits clinched their first indoor team championship since 1991, first league title, after a swarm of Blue and Yellow jerseys took the top four places in the second-to-last competition of the championships held in Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon— the 5,000.

SDSU retook the lead indefinitely, 116 to 101, over North Dakota State thanks to 29 points from the 5,000m, 24 points from the 200m, and 29 more points from the 800m in back-to-back-to-back championship events.

The 200m sprinters also added another 26 points in the 60m dash.

The team finished the championships with 220 team points, 13 points over runner-up NDSU, by adding another four points in the last event of the meet - the 4x400m relay.

Senior Kyle Burdick scored 30 points individually to earn his first career Summit League Championship Track MVP accolade. He is the second-ever SDSU student-athlete named to the honor (Joel Reichow, 2017) while posting three event-wins that included two meet records (mile and 5,000m) and a personal-best (5,000m - No. 4 all-time for SDSU).

The Rapid City, S.D. native started the winning streak on Friday with the 3,000m (8:13.28), and then kept the momentum going through the mile (4:06.06) and finished with the 5,000m (14:21.45). His win in the 3,000m will keep his undefeated resume intact (six career wins, three in the indoor championships) while his mile mark broke the 32-year old meet record. His 5,000m will be No. 4 all-time for SDSU and knock off 2017 Jackrabbit graduate Joel Reichow's meet record.

Junior Sam Zenner earned the league's second-ever Most Outstanding Performer honor (Burdick won the inaugural honor in 2018) thanks to his first two career wins in the indoor championships - the 60m (6.80) and 200m (21.07). He was within 0.10 seconds of the meet record in the 60m (6.70), but was able to reset recently published 200m meet record with ease (was 21.33).

Teammate and sophomore Coby Hilton first held the 200m championship meet record in the prelims (21.33) by resetting the 2017 record by 0.01 seconds (21.34) - holding the best prelim mark. Hilton would have reset it again in the championship round - adding a personal-best (21.24) and No. 2 all-time SDSU mark - but Zenner was able to out-pace the competition for the record.

Jostling for positioning with Hilton and Zenner in the 200m - a storyline all season long - was junior Landon Larson who also added a personal-best in the prelims (21.54) and finals (21.50) to finish fourth overall. Each of them could have easily owned the school record throughout the course of the season.

In what was one of the tightest events of the championships - the 60m - Zenner (6.80) took crown with Larson in third, just 0.01 seconds behind runner-up (6.86, first career all-league honors in the event), and Hilton just 0.01 seconds behind him for fourth (6.87). Sophomore Daniel Clarke was sixth (6.94) in his first career indoor finals appearance while freshman Emmanunal Phoulom-Smith was seventh (6.99) in his championship debut.

In the prelims of the 60m on Friday, Larson (6.82) and Hilton (6.85) reset their personal-best marks to become the No. 2 and No. 3 all-time fastest Jackrabbits behind Zenner.

The men's 800m were able to string together a true team performance, finishing 1-2-3-4 in the finals to put 29 points in favor of SDSU in a crucial moment of the meet, down to NDSU in the standings. Junior Wyatt Gatrost (1:53.64) out-edged freshman Riley Bauer (1:53.78) for the win down the last stretch to win his first indoor championship 800m (second overall, tied for the win outdoors in 2018) and his second career all-league honors.

Junior Bryant Courter claimed the first event-champion performance for the Jackrabbits on Friday. He won his second career indoor league championship long jump (24-06.50) by adding 1.50 inches to his personal-best mark first set at 2018's indoor championships. His long jump best will remain No. 2 all-time for SDSU.

The Rich Hill, Mo. native also competed in the triple jump and high jump on Saturday, finishing with his third consecutive all-league honors from the triple jump (third, 49-02.50) and a ninth-place finish (6-04.50) in the high jump. His indoor triple jump win-streak will end at seven, lasting from the 2018 opener to the 2019 SDSU Classic.

Junior Evan Hieber finished runner-up in his second career indoor championship men's heptathlon (5,100), 169 points from the winner and 26 points from his personal-best mark and No. 2 all-time mark. He came away with two wins (one was tied) and two runner-up finishes along with two personal-best marks and a day-one personal-best.

The Jacks in the 400m reset their personal-best marks twice over the weekend - getting into the school's top 10 and then moving up the chart - with sophomore Caleb Bray sitting tied No. 2 all-time (48.37, with Luke Leischner, '11) and sophomore Mitchel Acker No. 6 all-time (48.74). They finished sixth and eight in their first finals appearance and were the first to crack the school's top 10 since 2017.

The women's team finished fourth in the indoor league competition for the second consecutive year, fifth time since joining the league in 2008, with senior Rachel King closing out her last indoor season with two wins.

The St. Michael, Minn. native opened her weekend with her third consecutive win in the 3,000m (9:26.23) - posting a personal-best that was good enough to reset the school and facility record that she had prior.

She closed with the 5,000m victory (16:38.48), her second career championship title in that event, missing the meet record by 0.97 seconds.

Fellow senior Krista Steele came away with one of the more surprising performances for the Jackrabbit women to defend her 800m regime (she won 2018's indoor and outdoor 800m titles). She strolled through the preliminaries behind Covey with an automatic bid, her third finals appearance out of four career attempts.

In the finals, the Monticello, Minn. native looked to be finishing top-three through the first half of the finals race. Towards the end, she passed teammate Covey and out-kicked an NDSU runner with less than 20m to go for the win by 0.14 seconds and close out her indoor career as a back-to-back 800m champion (2:10.06).

Junior Jaymie O'Connor wrapped up her third indoor season with the Jackrabbits with her third indoor all-league performance in the 60m hurdles (second, 8.54). She finished runner-up for the second time in her career (her best championship finals mark), with her first career runner-up performance coming in 2017 when she first reset the school record in the 60m hurdles (8.61).

Since the 2019 SDSU Classic, she has reset the record three times - twice at the SDSU Classic and once in the prelims on Friday (8.50).

Junior Chloe Holtz notched her third PR reset of the season to lead the Jacks in the high jump (fourth, 5-06.50) for her best place-finish in the indoor championships. Her mark will go down as the tied No. 9 all-time performance (with Rachel Hakk, '09). She also had the ninth-place triple jump mark (37-00.00) in the championships on Saturday.

Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams scored wins on Friday as it was the last event on the track. The battle until the end came with the women's team having a winning mark of 12:06.73 go down as the No. 9 all-time performance for State. The men's team finished with the No. 7 all-time mark for SDSU (10:07.39) as freshman Thomas Breuckman kicked his way back into the lead twice before being crowned.

BY THE NUMBERS
The Jackrabbits took eight wins on the men's side and four more on the women's out of 17 scored events while finishing with 25 total Jackrabbits qualifying for All-League recognition (16 from the men, nine from the women).

The men have now won five indoor team titles, the first in The Summit League, claiming for as a member of the North Central Conference (NCAA DII) with the last one coming in 1991.

Throughout the weekend in the SJAC, 26 Jackrabbits added personal-best marks (16 from the men, 10 from the women) from 34 total events (23 from the men, 11 from the women). A total of two school records were reset, with one being a facility record, and 17 more SDSU top-10 individual marks were reset (12 from the men, seven from the women - both school records too). Three relay teams also added top-10 all-time marks.

Seniors Kyle Burdick and Rachel King each have six career wins in The Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships. Burdick is now tied for fourth all-time for most career indoor championship wins, two short of the most, and King is tied for fifth all-time, four short of the all-time mark.

With Burdick winning three events this year, he is one of only three athletes in the league to ever win three or more. The last one to do it was Cameron Levins (2012, four - 800m, mile, 3,000m, 5,000m) of Southern Utah while Nevin Govan (1992 - LJ, TJ, HJ) did it for Eastern Illinois.

Men's Team Scores - Final (17 Scored Events)
1. South Dakota State (220)
2. North Dakota State (207)
3. South Dakota (112)
4. Oral Roberts (78)
5. North Dakota (24)
6. Western Illinois (15)

Women's Team Scores - Final (17 Events Scored)
1. North Dakota State (214.5)
2. South Dakota (146.5)
3. Oral Roberts (79)
4. South Dakota State (76)
5. North Dakota (75)
6. Western Illinois (28)
7. Purdue Fort Wayne (23)
8. Nebraska-Omaha (20)

JACKRABBIT CHAMPIONSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Men's Championship Most Outstanding Performance: Jr. Sam Zenner - voted on by the coaches ... started in 2018 - Burdick won inaugural award ... scored 20 points for the Jacks - wins in 60m & 200m (meet record).
Men's Track Championship MVP: Sr. Kyle Burdick - highest scoring individual on the track for the men ... first career honor for Burdick ... only other Jack to win the award - Joel Reichow in 2017.

WINNERS
- MEN (5 Jacks/Teams, 8 Wins) -
Jr. Sam Zenner (60m, 200m - Meet Record)
Jr. Wyatt Gatrost (800m)
Sr. Kyle Burdick (Mile - Meet Record, 3,000m, 5,000m - Meet Record)
Jr. Bryant Courter (LJ)
DMR (So. Gabe Peters, Jr. Wyatt Gatrost, Sr. Cal Lawton, Fr. Thomas Breuckman)
- WOMEN (3 Jacks/Teams, 4 Wins) -
Sr. Krista Steele (800m)
Sr. Rachel King (3,000m, 5,000m)
DMR (So. Cailee Peterson, Jr. Delaney Carlson, Sr. Rachel Propst, Jr. Anna Fasen)

ALL-LEAGUE PERFORMANCES (25): MEN (16) - Sam Zenner (60m, 200m), Landon Larson (60m), Coby Hilton (200m), Wyatt Gatrost (800m, DMR), Riley Bauer (800m), Derek Boekelheide (800m), Kyle Burdick (Mile, 3,000m, 5,000m), Joseph Minor-Williams (5,000m), Micah Mather (5,000m), Nick Wessels (60H), Trent Francom (PV), Bryant Courter (LJ, TJ), Evan Hieber (HEPT), Gabe Peters (DMR), Cal Lawton (DMR), Thomas Breuckman (DMR) ... WOMEN (9) - Krista Steele (800m, 4x400m), Oksana Covey (800m, 4x400m), Rachel King (3,000m, 5,000m), Jaymie O'Connor (60H), Delaney Carlson (4x400m, DMR), Chloe Bermel (4x400m), Cailee Peterson (DMR), Rachel Propst (DMR), Anna Fasen (DMR)

LAST TIME OUT: (Via GoJacks.com)South Dakota State track and field concluded it's home slate Friday afternoon with the SDSU Last Chance Meet in the SJAC. Three Jackrabbits took this as an opportunity to rewrite the program's all-time lists before conference championships next weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Ellie Friesen took first to put herself on the all-time list in the women's 800 with her mark of 2:13.72 that landed her the eighth best time in program history. Behind Friesen, the Jackrabbits went 2-6 at the finish line.

In the shot put ring, Tyson Jenkins took first place with his throw of 56-10.00 that put him fourth all-time, while Trevor Begeman followed in second with a hurl of 54-08.75 that put him at seventh on the top 10 list.

MEN:
Daniel Clarke picked up a first place finish in the men's 60m dash with a time of 6.90. Carter Knaus took first in the men's 800 with a 1:57.15 and Blake Iverson took first place in his first career 600 with a mark of 1:22.31. Gabe Peters finished first in the men's 3,000 with an 8:31.16. In the jumping pits, Tre Manning picked up first in the men's triple jump with a leap of 43-09.5 and Trey Tiefenthaler grabbed first in the men's long jump with a mark of 43-09.5.

WOMEN:
Unattached Jack Jaymie O'Connor took first in the women's 60m hurdles with her mark of 8.66. Also making an event debut and grabbing first place, Rich-Ann Archer crossed the finish line with a 25.6 in the women's 200. Anna Donnay took first in the women's mile at 5:09.53. Like the women's 800, Jacks would again go 2-6 behind the leader. Delaney Carlson came in second in the women's 400 at 59.72. Lydia Radershadt took second place in the women's 800 with a time of 1:42.41. In the pits, Chloe Holtz matched her previous best mark in the women's long jump to take second place and continues to hold down the No. 10 spot on the Jacks all-time list. In shot put ring, Madeline Moorhouse finished runner-up with her toss of 46-11.75.

The SDSU Last Chance Meet was a non-scoring event. Full results of the meet can be found here.

JACKS LEADING THE SUMMIT LEAGUE:
Oksana Covey continues to hold the fastest 800 mark in the Summit League with a time of 2:08.33 from the Iowa State Classic where she took ninth an earned the new SDSU indoor record. Joshua Yeager ran an 8:15.18 at the same meet, earning fifth in the event as well as landing him fifth on the all-time list at SDSU and first in the conference. Joseph Minor Williams grabbed the No. 10 spot on SDSU's all-time list for the men's 5000 with his mark of 14:30.09, also at the Iowa State Classic. Daniel Clark is first in the Summit League in the men's long jump where he holds a mark of 24-00.25.