South Dakota State University Athletics
JACKS CLAIM POSTSEASON HONORS
4/1/2021 12:22:00 PM | Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Rod DeHaven has been named Summit League Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Jackrabbit men to their fifth-consecutive league title and the women to their first since 2008, while Leah Hansen was named Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
In his 17th year at the helm of the Jackrabbit cross country and track and field programs, Rod DeHaven has been named a conference Coach of the Year 14 times. In 13 of those 14 seasons he has led teams to titles. Twice he was named NCAA Division I Independent Cross Country Coach of the Year for leading both the men's and women's team to titles during SDSU's transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status.Â
Responsible for coaching the women's distance and middle-distance athletes and assisting with coaching the men's distance events, DeHaven passes along the title of Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year to graduate assistant coach Anna Bearss.
In a year unlike any other, the coaching duo led the SDSU men to their ninth overall conference championship and the women to their first in over a decade.
Under Bearss' guidance, the SDSU women put up a 1-4 sweep at the conference championships led by Leah Hansen, Ellie Friesen, Anna Donnay, and Cailee Peterson, respectively. Scoring runners were rounded out by another All-Conference performance from Jessica Christoffer (12th).
The race earned Hansen a spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as an individual, where she finished 120th. This is the only NCAA Cross Country Championships appearance by a female athlete from SDSU since the university's transition to Division I.Â
Hansen, a sophomore from Willmar, Minn., won the Summit League Cross Country Women's championship individual title with a mark of 21:45.60, earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, Okla. There, she turned in a career-best 21:40.6 6K time, finishing 120th overall. Her finish stands as the seventh-best by any Summit League women's athlete in NCAA Cross Country Championship history.
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In his 17th year at the helm of the Jackrabbit cross country and track and field programs, Rod DeHaven has been named a conference Coach of the Year 14 times. In 13 of those 14 seasons he has led teams to titles. Twice he was named NCAA Division I Independent Cross Country Coach of the Year for leading both the men's and women's team to titles during SDSU's transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status.Â
Responsible for coaching the women's distance and middle-distance athletes and assisting with coaching the men's distance events, DeHaven passes along the title of Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year to graduate assistant coach Anna Bearss.
In a year unlike any other, the coaching duo led the SDSU men to their ninth overall conference championship and the women to their first in over a decade.
Under Bearss' guidance, the SDSU women put up a 1-4 sweep at the conference championships led by Leah Hansen, Ellie Friesen, Anna Donnay, and Cailee Peterson, respectively. Scoring runners were rounded out by another All-Conference performance from Jessica Christoffer (12th).
The race earned Hansen a spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as an individual, where she finished 120th. This is the only NCAA Cross Country Championships appearance by a female athlete from SDSU since the university's transition to Division I.Â
Hansen, a sophomore from Willmar, Minn., won the Summit League Cross Country Women's championship individual title with a mark of 21:45.60, earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, Okla. There, she turned in a career-best 21:40.6 6K time, finishing 120th overall. Her finish stands as the seventh-best by any Summit League women's athlete in NCAA Cross Country Championship history.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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