JACKRABBITS HEAD TO NCAA REGIONAL

Friday, November 12

Iowa City, IA

10:30 a.m.

South Dakota State University

NCAA Midwest Regionals

11/11/2021 11:05:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

MEET 7: South Dakota State at Summit League Cross Country Championships

When	Friday, Nov. 12 \| Women's 6K Race at 11 a.m. \| Men's 10K Race at noon
Where	Ashton Cross Country Course \| Iowa City, Iowa
TV	HawkeyeSports.com
Results	Click Here
Meet Notes	South Dakota State \| Championships Page
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \|

The South Dakota State University men's and women's cross country teams continue their championship racing season by heading to Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday for the NCAA Midwest Regionals at the Ashton Cross Country Course.

The women's 6,000-meter championship race is slated to begin at 11 a.m. with the men's 10K championship race starting at noon.

The races will feature 38 women's teams and 34 men's squads, and will bring the Jackrabbits against familiar league opponents like North Dakota State and South Dakota, as well as top teams from previous meets earlier this season like Minnesota and Iowa State.

The top two teams in each of nine regions will advance to next week's NCAA Championships, with a selection process used to determine 13 at-large teams. In addition, the top four runners in each region not on a qualifying team will receive an invitation to the national meet.

LAST TIME OUT: SDSU swept the team titles for the second year in a row and claimed both individual titles at the Summit League Cross Country Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Oct. 30.

Women's Recap
South Dakota State claimed its second women's team title in a row by the narrowest of margins, finishing with 55 points ahead of North Dakota State's 56 points.

Leah Hansen led three Jacks to top-six finishes, repeating as the individual champion and finishing first in 21 minutes and 3.78 seconds. Cailee Peterson took fourth with a time of 21:37.03 and Anna Donnay finished sixth in 21:33.61.

The next runners crossed the finish line in a pack with Oksana Johnson in the lead, taking 21st in 22:41.90. Caitlin Bright followed just behind in 23rd place with a time of 22:41.90. Kayla Christopherson took 24th in 22:47.29 and Bailey Dergan was 25th in 22:48.21.

Jessica Christoffer claimed 30th in 23:02.70 and Nicole Greyer rounded out the Jackrabbit runners for 39th with a time of 23:19.01.

Men's Recap
Gabe Peters claimed the individual crown on the men's side and finished the 8,000-meter race in 24 minutes and 33.25 seconds, which is the fifth-fastest 8K time in league history. Peters also earned all-Summit League recognition for the fifth time.

Adding to the Jackrabbits' six finishers in the top seven spots included Ben Olson, who claimed second with a time of 24:38.24, and Max Selbach, third in 24:39.74.

The next trio of runners included Tom Breuckman, a four-time All-Summit League runner in fifth place with a time of 24:53.92. Joseph Minor-Williaims finished in 24:58.28 for sixth and Daniel Burkhalter took seventh in 25:00.25.

Mason McDonald ran a 25:33.63 for 16th, Alex Auch took 24th with a time of 26:03.77, Michael Schwinghamer finished in 31st in 26:17.22 and Jacob Knodle ran a 26:39.02 for 38th.

With their team score of 17, SDSU easily beat league newcomer St. Thomas with 46 points for the team title, making it a league-record sixth straight conference title.

PETERS HONORED: Fresh off his individual victory at the league's cross country championships, South Dakota State's Gabe Peters was honored Nov. 4 as TicketSmarter Summit League Male Athlete of the Month for October.

A fifth-year senior from Worthing, Peters won his first individual league title in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by clocking a winning time of 24 minutes, 33.25 seconds, which is the fifth-fastest 8,000-meter time in league championship history. Peters, who earned all-Summit League recognition in cross country for the fifth time, led a group of Jackrabbits that swept the top three spots and claimed six of the top seven spots en route to a league-record sixth consecutive championship title.

Peters also was the Jackrabbits' top finisher in a star-studded field at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Oct. 15.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Jackrabbit men head into the NCAA?Midwest Regional ranked 10th in the Nov. 1 edition of the Midwest Region rankings conducted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association. SDSU, which began the season ranked sixth in the region, remained in the 10th spot following their victory at the Summit League Championships.

The Jackrabbits are the lone Summit League team in the men's rankings.

In the women's division, the Jackrabbits also held steady in the rankings after their performance at the Summit League Championships with a 12th-place showing, ranking just ahead of Summit League rivals North Dakota State and South Dakota.

SDSU opened the season with a 12th-place showing in the preseason poll.

COACH DeHAVEN: South Dakota State coach Rod DeHaven is in his 18th season leading the Jackrabbit cross country and track and field programs. During his tenure, DeHaven has been named a conference coach of the year 15 times — 13 times in cross country and twice for indoor track and field.

DeHaven has led the Jackrabbit men to 10 Summit League cross country team titles, including each of the last six. In addition, the Jackrabbit women have claimed Summit League team titles three times — in 2008, during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season and again this fall, completing sweeps with the men each of the past two seasons.

DeHaven was a standout distance runner for the Jackrabbits from 1984-89 and later represented the United States in the marathon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

A LOOK AHEAD: Should South Dakota State have any national qualifiers, the NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held on Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Florida.

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Selection Show is scheduled to air at 4 p.m. Saturday online through NCAA.com.

-GoJacks.com-