Results
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The South Dakota track and field teams had several quality performances at the opening day of the Summit League Championships, which were held Friday in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Coyote women are in third after the opening day, just two points out of second, while the men are tied for fifth but are just nine points out of first as several teams are in contention.
For the Coyote women, freshman Analisa Huschle (Bagley, Minn.) set a new school record in the 60-meter hurdles during the preliminaries (7.55), while several individuals qualified for the finals in their events. For the men, the distance medley relay's runner-up performance highlighted the competition.
The Coyote men's distance medley relay, which consisted of sophomore Travis Brenner (Yankton, S.D.), freshman Tyler Sternhagen (Yankton, S.D.), junior Casey Shade (Hartford, S.D.) and junior Ethan Marquardt (Albert Lea, Minn.), took second with a time of 9:59.91.
The Coyote men also had several top five finishes. Junior Kyle Ballew (West Hills, Calif.) was third in the pole vault with an effort of 16-6. Freshman Jeff O'Connell (Philip, S.D.) was fourth in the long jump at 23-5 1/4, a personal-best. Senior Kyle Wheeler (Omaha, Neb.) was fourth in the men's weight throw at 56-6 3/4. Sophomore Jeff Mettler (Eureka, S.D.) was sixth in the 3,000 meters at 8:24.05.
The Coyote women were paced by senior Kenna Wolter (Santa Maria, Calif.), who was third in the long jump (18-10 3/4), with Huschle (Bagley, Minn.) taking fourth at 18-6 1/2. Sophomore Tansha Clarke (St. Catherine, Jamaica) was third in the pentathlon with a season-best score of 895. South Dakota's women's distance medley relay was third at 9:59.91. That consisted of sophomore Ashleigh Giese (Marshall, Wis.), junior Ashley Sveum (Eau Claire, Wis.), freshman Rachel Weinandt (Yankton, S.D.) and senior Emma Ladwig (Gayville, S.D.)
Junior Jessica Brandli (Rapid City, S.D.) was fifth in the 3,000 meters with a personal-best time of 10:02.25.
Preliminaries Several Coyotes advanced to Saturday's finals in their respective events. Huschle's school record in the women's 60-meter dash highlighted the team's preliminary performances.
Two Coyotes - Huschle and junior Gabriel Williams (Sioux City, Iowa) each qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash. Huschle ran the record-setting time of 7.55 in the prelims and followed with a 7.61 in the semifinals - winning both races to advance to Saturday's finals. Williams ran a 7.69 in the semis, taking fourth in that race.
Ladwig reached the finals of the women's 800, taking second in the prelims with a time of 2:17.14. Senior Natalie Newman (Overland Park, Kan.) also advance, running a time of 2:16.95. In the women's 60-meter hurdles, senior Haley Juhnke (Vivian, S.D.) and senior Alexa Duling (Gregory, S.D.) both advanced to the finals. Juhnke was third in the prelims at 8.84 while Duling was fifth at 8.95. Duling also advanced to the finals in the 400-meter dash, taking third in the prelims at 56.72, and in the 200, where she ran a qualifying time of 25.43.
Junior Casey Shade (Hartford, S.D.) had the best time in the preliminaries, posting a time of 1:53.44, to advance to the finals of the men's 800-meter run.
The Coyotes also qualified two men in the 60-meter dash - junior Michael Burrus (Omaha, Neb.), who was second in the prelims at 6.93, and senior Jared Clement (Le Mars, Iowa), who qualified with a time of 7.10. Clement also reached the finals of the 200-meter dash at 22.51
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, freshman Erik Hill (Tea, S.D.) advanced to the final with a time of 8.48.
Saturday's final day of competition begins at 8:30 a.m. Central time with the men's heptathlon. Field events begin at 10:30 a.m. CT, followed by track events starting at noon CT.
