RUNNERS HEAD TO CALI, FIELD ATHLETES COMPETE IN KANSAS
4/15/2025 12:55:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
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BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State sends its runners to the west coast for a trio of meets beginning Wednesday morning, while the field athletes head south for the Kansas Relays slated to start Thursday afternoon.
The first meet on the schedule for the Jackrabbits is the Bryan Clay Invitational, slated to begin Wednesday with the 3000-meter steeple and 10K races. SDSU's distance squad will be representing the Jackrabbits at the meet, which will take place at Cougar Stadium in Azusa, Calif.
The Bryan Clay Invite is named after legendary Azusa Pacific track athlete, Bryan Clay. Clay is a four-time World Indoor Championships medalist and also won the gold medal at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships. Clay also placed runner-up in the decathlon at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens before winning the event at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
On Thursday, the sprinters will begin the week at the Pacific Coast Invitational where Brielle Dixon will be back in action in the hurdles after a weekend off. The Pacific Coast Invite will be held in Long Beach, Calif. at Jack Rose Track.
The jumpers and throwers will be staying in the Midwest to compete at the Kansas Relays, hosted by the University of Kansas. The Kansas Relays will begin on Thursday and end Saturday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park.
The Jackrabbits will round out the weekend at the Beach Invite, hosted by Long Beach State University. The Beach Invite will begin on Friday and end Saturday afternoon in Long Beach, Calif. at Jack Rose Track.
ATHLETES TO WATCH
James Pierce will be one to watch this season as the sophomore was the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field 400-meter champion in his first year of collegiate competition. Pierce also clutched gold in the 400-meter during the conference championship this past indoor season and assisted the men's 4X400-meter relay team to a new program record.
Hunter Wallster will be returning this year as the former hammer throw champion of last year's outdoor conference championship. This past indoor track season, the senior clutched gold in the weight throw with a personal record of 68-00.05 (20.74m) and will undoubtedly be interesting to watch in his final run as a Jackrabbit.
Caiden Fredrick saw an outstanding start to the outdoor season. The sophomore dominated the discus throw at the USD Challenge with a mark of 187-00 (57.00m) to win the event and set a new South Dakota State program record. Fredrick's mark of 57.00m is currently the 37th-best mark in the nation.
Dixon will be one to keep an eye on this year as the senior enters the outdoor season as a former all-league finisher in the 100-hurdles and an NCAA West First Round qualifier. Along with her successful run last season, Dixon turned heads throughout this past indoor season as she steadily improved her 60-hurdle time, resulting in an 8.16 60-hurdle personal record, a top-25 time in the nation. Dixon clocked her record at the Summit League Indoor Conference Championship, where she won the event and set a new meet record.
RANKINGS
USTFCCCA released its conference and regional rankings on Tuesday. The men's squad ranked fourth, while the women's team ranked fifth in the conference. For regional rankings, the men's team advanced to 14th in the Midwest, while the women moved up to 17th.