DMR WINS AT DRAKE WITH PROGRAM RECORD

Wednesday, April 23

Yankton, S.D.

South Dakota State University

Mount Marty Twilight

4/26/2025 8:00:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: BECCA BALL

DES MOINES, IOWA — South Dakota State sees a few records fall as the Jackrabbits break two program records at the Drake Relays Saturday afternoon, and one record at the Mount Marty Twilight Wednesday evening.

HEAD COACH ROD DEHAVEN

"It is obviously a big highlight to win a relay at Drake. That's something we haven't done in the Division I era and it was an exciting race to watch, so great day for those four young men. I think overall, it was a really great weekend of competition for the Jackrabbits, whether it was in field events, relays, or individual, I think we competed really well coming off of the Bryan Clay Invite in California last weekend."

DRAKE RELAYS
Results

The Jackrabbits saw some impressive performances at the Blue Oval, specifically from the relay teams as two new relay records were set on Saturday afternoon.

The most exciting event for the Jack was hands down the distance medley relay. Brandon Kampsen, James Pierce, Sam Castle, and Cody Larson put on an unforgettable performance to smash a 50-year-old program record, set at 9:47.4 in 1973. The team ran a full 10 seconds faster than the record, finishing at 9:37.05, the highlight of which was the final 200-meter stretch where Larson bested powerhouse Iowa State University and rival University of South Dakota to take home the gold.

"We thought a couple other times we would have that potential to [break the record] and things wouldn't quite go right," Head Coach Rod Dehaven said when asked about the fall of the DMR record which had been set before Dehaven himself came to SDSU as a student.

"It was fun to see all the pieces come together today. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it ended up being a competitive race which I think played a role in that. It was really cool to see Cody come on strong in the last 120-meters and hold off Iowa State and USD for the win. Overall, it was a great experience, certainly something I won't forget, and I'm sure those young men will remember it for awhile as well."

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The women's sprint medley relay posted a record of their own as well. The team, consisting of Ellie Harris, Sian O'Sullivan, Cerington Jones and Lindsey Rotz, finished the race at 3:58.55 to place eighth. Harris, Sullivan, Jones and Rotz bested the previous record of 4:01.43 set in 2013 and are the only Jackrabbits to clock a sprint medley relay time under four minutes.

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Harris, O'Sullivan and Jones also competed in the 4X200-meter relay with Erika Kuntz. The Jackrabbits posted the third-best 4X200-meter time in program history at 1:39.73 to finish in the top-five.

For the men's sprint medley relay, Hudson Schroeder, Blake Koenen, Nathan McCormick, and Joe Dustin finished sixth at 3:25.56, the fourth-best performance in program history.

The men's shuttle hurdle relay etched their names on the top 10 all-time list as well. The team, made up of Gunnar Gunderson, Carter Johnson, Ryan Benson and Pierre Lear, placed seventh at 59.63, the second-fastest time in program history.

The distance squad saw solid competition at the Blue Oval. Carson Noecker took home a gold medal in the 5000-meter open. Noecker crossed the line at 14:12.40. Ashlyn Hillyard finished runner-up in the 10,000-meter invite with a time of 34:49.20.

Claire Beckman and Grace Waage represented the Jackrabbits in the 800-meter open unseeded event. Beckman took bronze at 2:08.36 to become the fifth-best performer in program history, while Waage crossed the line at 2:09.81 to finish seventh and become the ninth-best performer.

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Opening up the Drake Relays with some top 10 times ??

Claire clutched bronze with a time of 2:08.36 to become the 5th-best performer in program history.

Grace finished 7th at 2:09.81 to take 9th-fastest performer.#GoJacks?? pic.twitter.com/t32NPUtHT2
— Jackrabbit Cross Country // Track & Field (@GoJacksTFXC) April 25, 2025

In throwing events, Hunter Wallster finished fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 197-11.00 (60.33m). Cayman Gebheim represented the Jacks in discus, where he posted a top-five finish with a throw of 177-00.00 (53.97m).

MOUNT MARTY TWILIGHT
Results

The high jumpers put on a show at the Mount Marty Twilight as Madison Kizer tied the school record of 5-10.75 (1.80m) to win the event. Taylor Jochum competed as well, clearing 5-7.25 (1.71m) to place third and become the seventh-best performer in program history.

Starting the week strong with a program record jump from Madison Kizer ??

Kizer lept over 5-10.75 (1.80m) to tie Mary Wirth's program record (2014) and win the event ????

Taylor also had herself a day as the junior cleared 5-07.25 (1.71m) to finish third ??#GoJacks?? pic.twitter.com/q7nQwu77x9
— Jackrabbit Cross Country // Track & Field (@GoJacksTFXC) April 23, 2025

On the men's side, Grayson Ring claimed gold and Brooks Holen finished runner-up. Both Jackrabbits jumped 6-05.00 (1.96m) to earn their respective spots on the podium.

Wallster also competed at Mount Marty, where he won the hammer throw with a mark of 195-10.00 (59.69m). On the women's side, Josie Curry took third with a throw of 169-01.00 (51.54m).

In shot put, Milee Young threw 44-00.75 (13.43m) to win the event, while TJ Christensen finished third on the men's side with a mark of 53-11.00 (16.43m).

Katelyn Darnell had herself a day as she won the 400-meter race with a time of 57.16. Vivian Dalton competed as well, crossing the line at 58.51 to finish runner-up.

Darnell also competed in the 100-meter hurdles, where she secured silver at 14.28 to become the 10th-best performer in program history.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Jackson Roberts posted a first-place finish with a time of 56.32. Landen Matkins raced in the 200-meter dash, finishing runner-up with a time of 21.78.

Sean Murphy and Cade Sanvik represented the Jackrabbits in the 1500-meter race. Murphy won the event at 4:02.27, while Sanvik took silver with a time of 4:02.66.

KIP JAVRIN OPEN
Results

On Thursday and Friday, a few athletes headed south of Des Moines to attend the Kip Javrin Open at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.

Gunderson clutched bronze in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.99. Carter Johnson represented the Jackrabbits in the 110-hurdles, where the sophomore crossed the line at 14.53 to place fifth in the finals.

Koenen competed in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. The freshman crossed the line at 21.83 to place seventh in the 200-meter race. Koenen took ninth in the 100-meter prelims at 10.82, only 0.01 away from making it into the finals.

Emma Ecker represented the distance squad as she finished ninth in both the 800-meter and the 1500-meter races. Ecker crossed the line at 4:44.08 in the 1500-meter on Thursday, before finishing at 2:17.83 in the 800-meter on Friday.

UP NEXT

The Jackrabbits split in two as one half of the team hits the West Coast one final time at UC Irvine, while the other half heads to USD for a Saturday showdown.

-GoJacks.com-