VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota men's and women's track and field qualified three athletes to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships slated for March 9-10 at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.
 
The defending NCAA indoor champion in the men's pole vault, sophomore Chris Nilsen enters the competition with the top-ranked height of 19 feet, ¼ inch. Nilsen vaulted the height at the Nebraska Tune-Up two weeks ago for the fifth-best height in NCAA indoor history. In addition to his NCAA title a season ago, Nilsen placed third at the outdoor meet to earn All-America honors.
 
Sophomore Helen Falda qualified for the women's pole vault with an indoor best of 14-0 ¾. A transfer from UT Arlington, Falda earned All-America first team honors at the outdoor meet a year ago. Falda enters the competition tied for 14th.
 
Qualifying for her first NCAA Indoor Championships, senior Shanice Cannigan earned her spot in the pentathlon this weekend at The Summit League Championships. Cannigan recorded a championship record of 4,106 points to qualify in the 14th position.
 
The Coyotes are the only Summit League program to send an athlete to the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Cannigan starts competition for the Coyotes with the women's pentathlon kicking off at 12:15 p.m. Friday, March 9. All five events are contested on Friday afternoon.
 
Nilsen vaults in the men's pole vault at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 9. Falda wraps up the competition at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 10, in the women's pole vault.

A live stream of both days will be available on ESPN3 using the WatchESPN app. The live stream begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday. In addition, tape-delayed TV broadcasts will be shown on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. Sunday and on ESPNU at noon Monday.