MEN WIN CONFERENCE TITLE TO ACHIEVE TRIPLE CROWN

Thursday, May 15

Vermillion, S.D.

South Dakota State University

Summit League Championships

5/17/2025 8:29:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Summit League Championship Results

By: Becca Ball

VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota State's men's track and field team won the Summit League Outdoor Championship on Saturday evening to complete the sweep of the 2024-25 men's cross country and track and field conference titles. The women's team finished fourth.

THE MEN'S TEAM
"Wow, what an amazing day!" Head Coach Rod Dehaven said about the men's performance. "To win our first outdoor title in 39 years is a huge deal for our men. So many people stepped up to make this happen. And to capture the triple crown is a big cherry on top!"

South Dakota State secured its first Division I outdoor conference championship in program history and first overall outdoor conference title since 1986. On top of their first outdoor conference title in nearly 40 years, the Jackrabbits also clinched the triple crown as the squad also won conference championships in both cross country and indoor track and field earlier this year. SDSU last saw a conference title sweep in the 1974-75 season when the team was a member of the North Central Conference. The Jackrabbits' conference title sweep is the first to occur in the Summit League since the 2006-07 season, when former conference member Southern Utah achieved the feat.

Cody Larson and Josh Becker started off the final day of competition with two podium finishes in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Larson won the event with a new Lillibridge Track Complex facility record time of 8:58.57, while Becker finished runner-up at 8:59.10. Later in the day, Larson finished runner-up in the 5000-meter race with a time of 14:12.26. Cashton Johnson made the podium as well, crossing the line at 14:23.78 for third.

Larson is currently slated to attend the NCAA West First Round in both the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 5000-meter. Larson's program record 3000-steeplechase time of 8:30.96 is the fifth-fastest in the western region this season and 11th in the nation. Becker will likely join Larson as he clocked a steeplechase time of 8:50.81 at the Cyclone Twilight, which is currently the 46th-best time in the region. In the 5000-meter, Larson posted a Jackrabbit record time of 13:34.46, which currently sits at 24th-best in the region.

James Pierce and Lucas Flemmer posted impressive performances in the 400-meter dash. Pierce won the event with a time of 47.18, while Flemmer ran 47.64 to take bronze and become the sixth-fastest Jackrabbit in program history.

The 800-meter runners had a big day as well. Sam Castle took gold with a time of 1:51.47, while Joe Dustin capped his first collegiate season with a third-place finish at 1:52.04.

Gunnar Gunderson had an outstanding performance in the 400-meter hurdles as he finished at 51.96 to win the event and become the second-best performer in program history. Jackson Dutcher posted a second-place finish in the 1500-meter with a time of 3:48.02.

The men's 4x400-meter team rounded out the competition with an exciting runner-up finish as Pierce battled first-place finisher Kansas City in the final stretch. The team, consisting of Flemmer, Castle, Thailan Hallman and Pierce finished at 3:12.04, the fourth-best time in SDSU history.

In field events, Caiden Fredrick and Caymen Gebheim placed second and third in the discus throw, respectively. Fredrick posted a mark of 179-03 (54.65m), while Gebheim threw 175-06 (53.51m). Ethan Fischer posted a top-five finish as well with a throw of 175-04 (53.46m). Fredrick, Fischer and Gebheim are all slated to attend the NCAA West First Round from their marks at the USD Challenge earlier this year. Fredrick threw 187-00 (57.00m) which is currently the 27th-best mark in the region, Fischer posted a mark of 186-03 (56.78m) which is the 32nd-best mark in the region and Gebheim threw a mark of 183-02 (55.82m), which is currently the 43rd-best throw in the western region.

Grayson Ring made the high jump podium with a leap of 6-09.00 (2.06m) to finish third. Ring is set to head to the NCAA Regionals as well as the junior tied the program record of 7-01 (2.16m) just last weekend, which is currently the 17th-best mark in the West Region.

Other notable performances came from Rylan McDonnell in the long jump and Jared Wipf in the 100-meter dash. McDonnell leaped 24-04.25 (7.42m) to take fifth and become the fourth-best performer in program history. Wipf ran 10.57 to take fourth in the 100-meter and become the fifth-best performer in program history.

THE WOMEN'S TEAM
"I thought women's team competed with a lot of heart," Dehaven said about the women's team. "To cap the meet with a school record in the 4x400-meter relay was really cool! And it was also cool that Kayla started us off with a thrilling victory in the steeplechase. Much like the men we had a lot of different people step up!"

Kayla Christopherson kicked off competition with a fierce battle against UND's Frida Giersdorff in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Christopherson managed to claim gold with a time of 10:48.82. Eleni Lovgren competed as well, finishing in fifth at 10:51.21.

Brielle Dixon took runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles. Dixon finished at 13.44, just 0.06 seconds from the first-place finisher Averi Schmeichel of USD. Despite finishing runner-up, Dixon is slated to compete at the NCAA West First Round as her time of 13.44 is the 37th-best time in the region.

Claire Beckman took silver in a tight 800-meter race. She bested the third-place finisher by just 0.005 seconds, finishing at 2:12.013.

Courtney Stadter capped her freshman year with a podium finish as she took silver in the 5000-meter at 16:31.23 to become the fourth-best performer in SDSU history.

One of the most impressive performances came from the women's 4x400-meter team to round out the night. The team, consisting of Katelyn Darnell, Jenna Johnson, Cerington Jones and Erika Kuntz, bested the SDSU program record by three seconds at 3:40.81 to take bronze.

In field events, Madison Kizer won bronze in the high jump to round out her final Summit League meet. Kizer cleared 5-06.00 (1.68m) to make the podium. The senior is set to compete at NCAA West Round as she previously posted a season PR of 5-10.75 (1.80m), which is currently tied for 18th-best in the Western Region.

Other notable performances came from Dixon in the 100-meter and Kuntz in the 400-meter races. Dixon posted a time of 11.89 to take eighth and tie Sian O'Sullivan as the seventh-best performer in program history. Kuntz bested her 400-meter personal record with a time of 55.11 to place in the top five and become the third-best performer in program history.

NOTES
The Jackrabbits have won four of six possible Summit League Championships between the men's and women's programs this season. The women's squad won the cross country title this past fall.

-GoJacks.com-