ELMHURST, Ill. – South Dakota State senior Joel Reichow and sophomore Rachel King were voted the men's and women's Summit League Indoor Track Athletes of the Year by the league's head coaches, announced Friday.
King became the second SDSU student-athlete to win an indoor athlete of the year award, and the first to do so on the track. Mary Wirth won the field athlete of the year in 2015.
Reichow earned the Jackrabbits' first men's indoor track athlete of the year honor since SDSU entered the Summit League in 2007.
Reichow, a senior from White Bear Lake, Minn., was also named the Track MVP of the Championship at the Summit League Indoor Championships.
He won the mile run (4:16.63) and the 5,000-meter run (14:24.17), and placed fourth in the 3,000-meter run (8:24.75) to total 25 points for the Jacks. At the Iowa State Classic, he broke a 32-year-old record in the 5,000-meter run, posting a time of 14:07.19. Reichow also earned the Summit League Cross Country Athlete of the Year award last fall.
King won the 3,000-meter run (9:34.21) and the 5,000-meter run (16:54.68) at the Summit League Indoor Championships. The St. Michael, Minn., native ran the Summit League's fastest 3,000-meter run and second-fastest 5,000-meter run on the season. During the 2016-17 season, King set the school record in the 3,000-meter run (9:34.21), and moved into third on the mile run (4:52.39) all-time top-10 list and fifth in the 5,000-meter run (16:54.68) all-time top-10 list.
Reichow and King were also named to the Summit League's 2016-17 Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team.
Chris Nilsen of South Dakota and Rose Jackson of North Dakota State were named the men's and women's Summit League Indoor Field Athletes of the Year.
