SDSU HUNTS FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday, November 2

Vermillion, S.D.

12:00 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Summit League Championship

11/1/2024 1:26:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: Becca Ball

SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY SOUTH DAKOTA

When	November 2nd Women's Race: 11:00 a.m. Men's Race: 12:00 p.m.
Where	Vermillion, S.D. \| The Bluffs Golf Course
Live Results	www.DakotaTiming.com
Social Media	X \| Instagram

BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State men's cross country looks for their ninth-consecutive Summit League Championship on Saturday morning while the women's team looks to break their runner-up streak.

HEAD COACH ROD DEHAVEN

"The conference meet and the championship time of the season are always special. We are fortunate to have both teams in the mix for the championship on Saturday. Alex has done a great job of steadily bringing the women's team along this fall and it will be exciting to have them kick things off on Saturday. The men will need to be at their best on Saturday to be in the hunt. We have seen the course and the weather should be good. We are very grateful for the opportunity this weekend."

THE MEET
Information | Course

The Summit League Cross Country Championships will be hosted by South Dakota at the Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D. Chase Cayo currently holds the 8K SDSU course record with a time of 24:44.8, set in 2017. Carson Noecker has yet to compete on the Bluffs Course, however, the sophomore finished the Summit League Championships with an Edgebrook course record of 24:17.2 last year, setting him up to beat Cayo's current Bluffs course record.

The men's team will be looking for their ninth consecutive Summit League Championship. The team will be challenged by North Dakota State, which has been runner-up behind SDSU for six of the team's eight conference championships. As a team, North Dakota State has yet to beat the Jackrabbits this year, but senior Hunter Klimek will look to challenge Noecker as the two student-athletes have posted similar times this season.

Like Cayo, Rachel King also set the SDSU Bluffs 6K course record in 2017 when she finished with a time of 20:53.6. Two weeks ago at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet, Meghan Ford bested one of King's course records by six seconds when she finished the Zimmer Championship course 6K with a time of 20:49.9. Ford will be a favorite at the meet this weekend, and will be looking to take another Jackrabbit course record.

The women's team will be looking to break its two-year runner-up streak. Last year, SDSU finished runner-up to USD, however, the Jacks have held USD at bay this season, besting them at both the SDSU Classic and the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals Meet. North Dakota State will also be a challenger this year as the Jacks finished runner-up to the Bison at the conference meet two years ago. South Dakota State has yet to best NDSU as the Bison finished one point ahead of the Jackrabbits at the Roy Griak Invitational before besting South Dakota State by five points at the SDSU Classic.

ATHLETES TO WATCH

Noecker will be the athlete to watch as he was last year's conference champion. He won with a time of 24:17.2, finishing 20 seconds ahead of the field. This year, Noecker will be up against Abraham Chelangam from Oral Roberts. Chelangam currently holds the fastest 8K time in the Summit League this year, posting his PR of 23:35.4 a couple of weeks ago. Noecker's fastest time this season currently sits at 23:56.5, which is 21 seconds slower than Chelangam. However, Noecker's personal record sits at 23:15.7, almost 20 seconds faster than Chelangam's PR.

Ford will be competing in her first Summit League Championship meet this weekend. The transfer currently holds the fastest 5K time in the Summit League this season at 16:47.9. Ford will be challenged by Eliana Malnourie of North Dakota, who holds the fastest 6K time in the league at 20:20.1. Ford clocked her 6K personal record last meet with a time of 20:49.9, almost 30 seconds slower than Malnourie's time.

LAST TIME OUT

Last time out, Noecker finished fifth at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet to lead the men to a 17th-place team finish. Cody Larson was second across the line for the Jackrabbits at 59th, finishing with a time of 24:54.8. Brandon Kampsen and Josh Becker crossed the line together in 94th and 95th, respectively. Kampsen clocked a time of 25:14.3 while Becker finished at 25:14.7. Eli Hall rounded out the scoring five for South Dakota State as the freshman finished in 113th with a time of 25:30.4.

Last time out, Ford placed 12th among Power Four competition to lead the women's team to a ninth-place finish at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals Meet. Jessica Lutmer was next across the line, clocking a time of 21:33.6 to take 50th overall. Courtney Stadter posted a new PR of 21:47.9 to take 72nd. Jenna Soine finished in 76th, with a time of 21:50.2 for a new personal record. Kayla Christopherson rounded out the scoring five in 90th with a time of 22:00.8.

REGIONAL RANKINGS

The final regular-season USTFCCCA Regional Rankings were released last Monday. The men's team finished the regular season ranked 12th in the Midwest, while the women ranked 13th.

-GoJacks.com-