BROOKINGS, S.D.—South Dakota junior
Samara Spencer was named the Summit League Field Championship MVP and junior
Zack Anderson broke a meet record to highlight the Coyotes on day two of the Summit League Championships inside the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.
South Dakota finished runner-up in the women's team race with 146.5 points, while North Dakota State claimed the title with 214. Oral Roberts' winning 4x400-meter relay moved the Golden Eagles into third place with 79 points. South Dakota State took fourth with 76 and North Dakota finished fifth with 75.
The Coyote men took third in the team race with 112 points. South Dakota State edged out North Dakota State 220 to 207 for the title. Oral Roberts finished fourth with 78 points.
Spencer earned the Summit League's Field Championship MVP for the second time in three years. She totaled 28 points, with 20 in the field events, over the two-day meet. Spencer won the long jump on Friday and added another pair of all-Summit finishes today. She finished runner-up in the 60 meters in 7.56 seconds and placed third in the triple jump in 39-8 ¾. She also took fifth in the high jump, clearing 5-6 ½.
Anderson leaped 7 feet, 2 ¼ inches, to break the six-year-old Summit League Championships meet record in the high jump. The junior also took three shots at 7-5, narrowly missing his third try. Anderson's personal best of 7-3 ¾ from earlier this season ranks 10th in the NCAA.
The Coyotes set three Summit League Championship meet records this weekend. Junior
Chris Nilsen set a record in the pole vault and senior
Lara Boman broke the weight throw record on Friday.
Behind Anderson in the high jump, freshman
Jack Durst placed third by clearing 6-10 ¼ for all-league honors. Senior
Deshonn Brown took fourth and sophomore
Travis Larson was seventh, giving USD 23 points in the event.
Sophomore
Danielle Thompson finished runner-up in the 400 meters with a personal best clocking of 56.22 seconds. The time ranks fifth in USD history.
Junior
Helen Falda placed second in the women's pole vault with a height of 13-9. Sophomore teammate
Landon Kemp also earned all-league honors in third place with a jump of 13-3. Freshman
Deidra Marrison finished fourth and senior
Kimmy Peterson tied for sixth as the Coyotes tallied 21.5 points in the event.
While he placed third in the race, sophomore
Aleksi Rosler clocked the second-fastest time by a Coyote ever in the 400 meters. He crossed the finish line in 47.25 seconds. Rosler also outkicked North Dakota State's anchor in the 4x400-meter relay to give the Coyotes second place in 3:15.53. Senior
Brennan Schmidt, junior
Habib Jallow and junior Sal Fidone joined him on the relay.
Senior
Megan Billington earned all-Summit honors in the 5,000 meters with a third-place finish in 16:59.59. Classmate
Madeline Huglen took sixth, sophomore
Laura Nelson finished seventh and sophomore
Jonna Bart was eighth.
Finishing behind Spencer in the 60 meters were teammates junior
Tasheka Gordon in third and senior
Karina Dufoe in fourth. Gordon clocked 7.69 seconds and Dufoe finished in 7.73. Dufoe and Gordon also placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 meters.
Senior
Eldon Warner placed third in the mile to earn all-league honors with a time of 4:11.61. Classmate
Jacob Simmons took seventh. Warner added a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters.
Billington added a fourth-place performance in the mile with a time of 4:55.98. Huglen finished eighth.
Junior
Britny Kerr placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 39-3 ¾. Kerr also took sixth in the 60-meter hurdles, with freshman
Madason Tessier following behind in eighth place.
Senior
Mallory Fine and freshman
Haley Arens both scored in the 800 meters. Fine took fourth in 2:12.09, while Arens finished seventh. Arens had clocked a personal best 2:13.49 on Friday to make the final.
Junior
Kino Dunkley launched the shot put his furthest this season, with his throw of 56-10 placing fifth. Senior
Ben Hammer took seventh. Sophomore
Callie Henrich took fifth on the women's side.
Both senior
Joe Reagan and junior
Dennis Parsley placed fifth in the short sprints. Reagan competed in the 60 meters while Parsley was in the 60-meter hurdles.
South Dakota wraps up the indoor season with a handful of athletes competing at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.
