JACKRABBITS RETURN TO ACTION AT GRIAK

Friday, September 24

Falcon Heights, MN

10:30 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Roy Griak Invitational

Cross Country Teaser 9-22 -- Brueckman and Christoffer

9/22/2021 2:41:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

MEET 3: South Dakota State at Roy Griak Invitational

When	Friday, Sept. 24 \| Men's Race at 10:30 a.m. \| Women's Race at 11 a.m.
Where	Les Bolstad Golf Course \| Falcon Heights, Minnesota
TV	None
Results	GopherSports.com
Meet Notes	SDSU \| Meet Information Page
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #LastPlay

The South Dakota State University cross country teams return to action Friday, running against top-level competition at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by University of Minnesota.

Competition gets under way at 10:30 a.m. with the Merrill Fischbein Men's Gold (Division I) 8,000-meter race at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The Jack Johnson Women's Gold 6,000-meter race is slated to follow at 11:15 a.m. College division and high school meets close out a full day of competition on Friday.

The Jackrabbits have not competed since hosting the SDSU Classic Sept. 10. SDSU recorded a perfect score to win the four-team men's title, while the Jackrabbit women notched a second-place finish.

SDSU CLASSIC RECAP: The Jackrabbits swept the individual titles and the men's squad added a team title Sept. 10 at the SDSU Classic held at Edgebrook Golf Course. Both Leah Hansen and Ben Olson were later honored as the TicketSmarter Summit League Cross Country Athletes of the Week for their winning performances.

Men
The Jackrabbit men treated the home crowd to a perfect score as individual champion Ben Olson led the way.

Olson, a junior from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, emerged from the bunched-up pack at the halfway mark to trade blows with one of the top University of North Dakota runners until about the 6,000-meter mark, where he disposed of all the field en route to finishing the 8K race with a sub-25-miunte time (24:59.74).

Teammates Daniel Burkhalter (25:12.73) and Thomas Brueckman (25:14.60) were just off the winning pace as they grabbed second and third overall, respectively.

Gabe Peters kicked in soon after them with a time of 25:19.92 to secure fourth and Joseph Minor completed the sweep with his 25:30.39 effort.

Freshman Cody Larson, who ran unattached, recorded an impressive outing by taking the sixth spot in 25:31.39. Michael Schwinghamer followed close behind to keep the first seven places locked up for the Blue and Yellow with a time of 25:32.81.

Another freshman who ran unattached, Ben Anteau, received 10th overall and earned a spot at the awards ceremony after clocking in at 25:48.54.

SDSU grabbed the team title Friday night with their perfect 15-point total. The next closest squad was University of North Dakota with 65 points.

Women
The Jackrabbits received another outstanding performance from Leah Hansen as she won the individual title at the SDSU Classic.

Hansen was battling early on with the University of North Dakota's top runner until the 3,000-meter mark as she found herself in second place until about the 4K mark. Hansen then started to gain a healthy advantage over the field and pulled away to cross the line at Edgebrook Golf Course in 17 minutes, 56.91 seconds — an 18-second personal best in the 5K race for cross country. Hansen now boasts back-to-back meet wins after taking first at the Augustana Twilight Sept. 3.

Cailee Peterson made her season debut and did not disappoint, posting a third-place finish, dashing to the line in 18:13.92 which bettered her previous personal best by 34 seconds.

Jessica Christoffer (18:27.91) and Bailey Dergan (19:08.66) were next in line for the Jackrabbits as they ran their ways to finishes of sixth and 15th overall, respectively.

Bridget Henne wrapped up the scoring for SDSU, hitting the mats in 19:19.18, which was good enough for 18th overall.

As a team, the Jackrabbits (43 points) were narrowly defeated as a team by the University of North Dakota, which came away with the team title with a score of 39 points.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Jackrabbit men enter the Roy Griak Invitational ranked seventh in this week's Midwest Region rankings conducted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. SDSU, which began the season ranked sixth, fell one spot after not competing last week, and is the lone Summit League team in the rankings.

In the women's division, the Jackrabbits currently find themselves outside the top 15 in the Midwest Region rankings. SDSU opened the season with a 12th-place showing in the preseason poll.

SUMMIT LEAGUE FAVORITES: Both Jackrabbit cross country squads have been picked to repeat as Summit League champions, according to preseason polls conducted in August among the league's head coaches.

Women
SDSU received six of the nine first-place votes and finished with 60 points, narrowly topping North Dakota State by a single point in the preseason poll.

Senior Anna Donnay was nominated as one of two Jackrabbits among the Summit League's Women's Athletes to Watch. Donnay took third overall at the 2020 league championships with a time of 21:58, helping the Jackrabbits secure league title and a low total of 22 points.

Sophomore Leah Hansen was the second nominee for the women's squad as last year she earned All-League honors as the individual champion at the 2020 League Championship with a time of 21:45.60. Then, Hansen went on to claim a berth to the NCAA National Championships where she recorded a season-best mark in the 6K of 21:40.60.

Men
The Jackrabbit men are the odds-on favorite to win a sixth consecutive Summit League crown after garnering seven of the eight first-place votes in the preseason poll. SDSU finished with 49 points, followed by North Dakota State with 42.

Juniors Joseph Minor and Thomas Breuckman were selected as Summit League Men's Athletes to Watch for SDSU. Minor-Williams was the individual champion at the Summit League Cross Country Championships in 2019 along with leading the Jackrabbits at the 2020 Summit League Championships with his runner-up 8K effort of 25:01.5, aiding the low 22-point championship team total.

Breuckman earned all-league honors for his third-place finish at the 2020 league championships. Also during the 2020 season, Brueckman finished as the Jacks' No. 2 runner in both meets the squad competed during a pandemic-shortened campaign that was moved to the spring.

The Summit League Championships are set for Oct. 30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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 nine Summit League cross country team titles, including each of the last five. In addition, the Jackrabbit women claimed Summit League team titles in 2008 and during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, completing a sweep with the men for the first time in program history.

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: The Jackrabbits resume competition Oct. 1 at the Briar Cliff Invitational. Start time for the women's 5,000-meter race is 3 p.m. at the Adams Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The men's 8K competition is slated to follow at 3:40 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-