BROOKINGS South Dakota State mens track and field team won the Summit League Championships with 164.5 points, while the womens team ended the day in fourth with 121 points on Saturday evening.
Head coach Rod DeHaven
Amazing. The performance of the womens team, where they were maybe going to score 70 points and ended up scoring 121, really that was fabulous. It was unexpected on the mens side. A lot of people contributed to it and its almost surreal that its even happened. Thats a testament to the student athletes, the assistant coaches that all contributed to a great team effort.
Men’s team
Cody Larson had himself a day as the junior posted a 5000-meter program record to take home gold. Larson crossed the line at 13:55.99, besting former Jackrabbit Joseph Minor-Williams time of 13:57.96 to set a new program record and a new Summit League Championship meet record.
Carson Noecker, Eli Hall, and Cashton Johnson competed alongside Larson in the exciting event. Noecker made the podium with a third-place finish at 14:11.34. Hall and Johnson finished not long after in fourth and fifth, respectively. Hall crossed the line at 14:22.91, while Johnson cruised in behind him at 14:28.15.
James Pierce and Thailan Hallman put on a show in the 400-meter finals. Pierce took his place at the top of the podium with a time of 47.23 to become the second-fastest performer in program history, while Hallman finished right behind him at 47.65 to take silver and become the fourth-best performer in SDSU history.
After their amazing 400-meter run, Pierce and Hallman joined forces once again to put on a show in the mens 4X400-meter relay. The team, including Lucas Flemmer and Sam Castle, won the event with a time of 3:12.55, just 0.43 seconds away from the program record that the group set at the SDSU Classic earlier this season.
The sprinters continued to impress as Jared Wipf had a great run in the 60-meter finals. Wipf tied his program record of 6.71 to take home gold. Carter Toews represented the Jackrabbits in the 200-meter finals, where the sophomore secured silver with a personal record of 21.37 to become the third-best performer in program history.
Caiden Fredrick showed up for the Jackrabbits as the sophomore clutched bronze in the shot put with a throw of 55-07.75 (16.96m). Fredricks third-place finish, in conjunction with his runner-up placement in weight throw yesterday, earned the Jackrabbit squad 14 points, and Fredrick the title of Mens Field Championship MVP.
Caymen Gebheim and TJ Christensen competed alongside Fredrick in the shot put. Gebheim placed fourth with a mark of 53-02.75 (16.22m), while Christensen rounded out the top-five with a throw of 52-05.25 (15.98m).
Along with his gold medal in the 4X400-meter relay, Castle also brought home bronze in the 800-meter with a time of 1:52.28.
Women’s team
Brielle Dixon popped off once again as the senior clutched gold with a 60-hurdles time of 8.16, the 23rd-fastest time in the nation and the new Summit League Championship meet record. Moments before Dixons record breaking performance, the senior clocked a 60-meter time of 7.45 to take bronze and become the second-best 60-meter performer in program history.
Madison Kizer also rounded out her indoor collegiate career with a high jump PR of 5-09.75 (1.77m) to secure silver. Kizers personal record is the 68th-best mark in the nation and landed her second-best performer in SDSU history.
The womens distance team made waves as well. Grace Waage put on a show in the mile, finishing runner up with a time of 4:47.43. Lindsey Rotz represented the Jackrabbits in the 800-meter finals. Rotz took home silver in her first collegiate track championship with a time of 2:10.77, just 0.02 seconds away from her personal record.
The womens 5000-meter had a fantastic run. Jessica Lutmer and Courtney Stadter made the podium in second and third, respectively. Lutmer crossed the line at 16:31.07 to become the third-best performer in program history, while Stadter finished at 16:33.40 to become the fourth-fastest of all-time.
The womens 4X400-meter relay team rounded out the night with a new program record. The team, consisting of Katelyn Darnell, Jenna Johnson, Erika Kuntz and Maggie Madsen, finished at 3:43.05 to take fourth.
Friday
The highlight
Brielle Dixon had an exciting night as the senior clocked a new program record in the 60-hurdles. Dixon smashed her previous PR of 8.26 with a time of 8.19 to finish first in the prelims. The seniors new record is currently the 31st-fastest time in the nation and the new Summit League Championship meet record. Dixon will be back in action tomorrow afternoon for the 60-hurdle finals, slated to start at 2:00 p.m.
The finals
The mens weight throwers dominated the finals as three Jackrabbits placed in the top five. Hunter Wallster walked away with a gold medal following a personal record of 68-00.50 (20.74m). Caiden Fredrick threw 67-09.75 (20.67m) to finish runner-up, and Ethan Fischer placed fourth with a throw of 60-00.25 (18.29m).
Cody Larson had a fantastic performance in the 3000-meter finals. Larson won the event with a time of 8:08.64. Eli Hall, Cashton Johnson, and Carson Noecker competed alongside Larson. Hall placed sixth with a time of 8:14.51, Johnson cruised in behind him at 8:18.47 to take seventh and Noecker placed ninth with a time of 8:23.27.
For the womens 3000-meter, Jessica Lutmer, Ashlyn Hillyard, and Courtney Stadter finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Lutmer crossed the line at 9:38.37 to become SDSUs sixth-best performer, Hillyard finished at 9:40.32 to take her place as the seventh-fastest student-athlete in program history and Stadter clocked a time of 9:41.34 to become the ninth-best performer in SDSU history.
The mens and womens distance medley relay put on a show to end the running events. The womens team, consisting of Kayla Christopherson, Erika Kuntz, Reese Luze and Grace Waage, combined for a time of 11:47.13 to clutch gold. The teams run earned them a spot in the record book as their performance was the third-fastest distance medley relay run in Jackrabbit history On the mens side, Nathan Notgrass, Colton Manock, Joe Dustin and Jackson Dutcher finished runner-up with a time of 10:00.84. The mens team also made their mark in the history book as their run was the eighth-best in program history.
In field events, Jaiden Boomsma placed third in the long jump finals with a mark of 19-04.25 (5.90m). Milee Young represented the Jackrabbits in the weight throw, placing fifth with a mark of 61-1.50 (18.63m) to become the fourth-best performer in program history.
Katelyn Darnell saw a wonderful performance in the pentathlon. Darnell kicked off the day with a 60-hurdles personal record of 8.70 to become the fifth-best performer in program history. Later in the afternoon, Darnell rounded out the pentathlon competition with an 800-meter run of 2:26.16, assisting her to a personal record of 3620 points, placing her fourth and advancing her to third-best performer on the SDSU top 10 all-time list.
Up next
The Jackrabbits transition to outdoor track and field with their first meet beginning Thursday, March 27 at the WashU Distance Carnival.
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