LARSON BESTS STEEPLECHASE PROGRAM RECORD

Thursday, April 16

La Crosse, WI

South Dakota State University

Phil Esten Challenge

A male track athlete in a white jersey and blue shorts steps up onto the steeplechase barrier.

4/16/2026 10:30:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

FLEMMER BECOMES FIRST JACKRABBIT TO RUN SUB-47 IN 400M

By: BECCA BALL

AZUSA, CALIF. — South Dakota State sees a few records fall in between meets in California and Wisconsin on Thursday evening.

HEAD COACH ROD DEHAVEN
"It was a big day for Jackrabbit track and field. We obviously had some great results in Wisconsin and capping the night off well with a school record here in Azusa. Hopefully we can keep that rolling through the weekend. I am pleased with what we accomplished today across all event areas and looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

BRYAN CLAY
Cody Larson bested his program record in the 3000-meter steeplechase to close out the night in California. Larson posted a time of 8:28.94 to finish seventh in his heat. Following tonight's steeplechase competition, Larson's time is slated to rank in the top 10 in the country.

Nina Dawson competed in the steeplechase on the women's side, crossing the line at 10:49.90, only 0.08 seconds off from SDSU's 10th-best performer, Alex Suhr's time of 10:49.82. Eleni Lovgren competed as well, finishing at 10:50.25.

Nora Peterson competed in the steeplechase as well, however the freshman was unable to race at the Bryan Clay Invite due to no previous steeplechase marks. Instead, Peterson competed at the Leopard Invitational hosted by the University of La Verne, where she finished fourth with a time of 10:54.00.

PHIL ESTEN CHALLENGE
Lucas Flemmer highlighted the night with a 400-meter program record. Flemmer became the first Jackrabbit in program history to run under 47 seconds as he crossed the line at 46.80 to win the event.

The women's 4X100-meter relay team also clocked a new program record. Silja Gunderson, Ellie Harris, Chloe Raw and Sian O'Sullivan posted a time of 45.54 to win the event.

Harris and Raw saw success in the 100-meter dash as well. Harris won the finals with a time of 11.85, while Raw clocked 11.74 in the prelims to become the fourth-best performer in program history. Raw's performance qualified her for the finals; however, she did not compete alongside Harris.

The men's 4X100-meter relay posted a solid performance as well. The team, consisting of Parker Peterson, Landen Matkins, Carter Toews and Jake Werner, finished third with a time of 40.78 to become the 10th-best performers in SDSU history.

Ty Nelson broke into the top 10 list in the triple jump competition. Nelson jumped 49-05.00 (15.06m) to win the event and become the sixth-best performer in program history.

In throwing events, Piper Eby won the discus competition with a mark of 156-10.00 (47.81m), only one inch off of SDSU's 10th-best performer, Shelby Assmus' mark of 156-11.00. On the men's side, Ethan Fischer threw 176-4.00 (53.74m) to win the event.

Josie Curry won the hammer throw with a mark of 178-8.00 (54.46m). On the men's side, Ryan Hackbart claimed sixth with a mark of 184-9.00 (56.30m).

Alongside her performance in the 4X100-meter relay, Gunderson also claimed silver in the 100-meter hurdles. Gunderson crossed the line at 14.20, only 0.01 seconds away from Erin Zempel's time of 14.19 on the SDSU top 10 list.

Carter Johnson also finished runner-up on the men's side. Johnson finished the 110-hurdle race with a time of 14.44.

In high jump, Hadley Carlson cleared 5-5.00 (1.65m) to take runner-up. Taylor Jochum competed as well, jumping 5-3.00 (1.60m) to tie for fourth. On the men's side, Grayson Ring finished fourth after clearing 6-7.25 (2.01m). Brooks Holen also jumped 6-7.25, taking two extra attempts to finish sixth.

-GoJacks.com-