Women's Results | Men's Results

LINCOLN, Neb.—South Dakota sophomore Megan Billington placed fourth overall and the Coyotes put six in the top-20 to capture the Nebraska Woody Greeno Invitational title Saturday morning at Pioneers Park. It is the Coyotes second meet title in as many competitions this season. South Dakota's men finished fifth in the Division I race.
 
With the scores divided to include Division I runners alone, the Coyote women tallied a score of 32 points. Nebraska finished runner-up with 47 points and Kansas State took third with 53 points. Omaha and Wichita State rounded out the field. Air Force captured the men's title with 24 points.
 
"We had a solid pack in the women's race," said USD head coach Dan Fitzsimmons. "The women got out well and were in scoring position by the 2,000-meter mark. From there, it was a matter of finishing. We weren't as aggressive with the pace as two weeks ago because of the humidity. We wanted to be more patient, especially with the hills."
 
The Pioneers Park course features varying conditions including rolling hills early, a forested downhill midway through the race and a steep hill known as 'Choo Choo' within the final third of the course. The men's race covers the final hill twice.
 
Billington was the second Division I runner to cross the finish with a 22:18.5 clocking for 6,000 meters. She averaged 5:58 minutes per mile on the course.
 
Junior Bailey Oettel and freshman Kianna Stewart took sixth and seventh overall. The duo finished a tenth of a second apart with Oettel recording 22:38.4 and Stewart finishing in 22:38.5.
 
"Bailey was a key contributor for us today," Fitzsimmons said. "She was our sixth runner at Augustana, but today she stepped up as our second finisher. She stayed right with the lead pack and helped us out in the team race."
 
Junior Erin Wetzstein finished 13th in 22:54.3. The Coyotes' fifth and sixth runners, sophomore Madeline Huglen and freshman Julia Noah, also finished together. Huglen clocked 23:01.0 for 18th and Noah took 19th in 23:02.0. Redshirt-sophomore Bethany Kozak was South Dakota's seventh placer, crossing the finish in 23:19.5 for 25th.
 
South Dakota had a 1:01 spread between its first and seventh runner and a 42.5 second spread between the five scorers.
 
 
On the men's side, sophomore Eldon Warner led the way. Warner placed 26th with a time of 26:44.0 for 8,000 meters.
 
Senior Mach Dojiok finished in 27:35.6 for 53rd and sophomore Jacob Simmons was 58th in 27:42.9. The final Coyote scorers were junior Brice Cowman and sophomore Hunter Paulsen in 61st and 70th, respectively. Cowman crossed the finish in 27:47.8 and Paulsen clocked 28:01.0.
 
The Coyotes' next race is the NCAA Regional Preview held in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday, Oct. 1.