MACOMB, Ill.—On the big stage of the final day of the Summit League Championships, South Dakota junior
Zack Anderson finally cleared the bar he had been battling throughout the outdoor season to set a new school record and break the championship meet record in the process. He was one of three Coyotes to win league titles on the final day inside Hanson Field.
Anderson leaped 7 feet, 4 ¼ inches, to win the high jump for the third-straight year and break a 17-year-old Summit championship meet record. His new personal best height ties for fourth in the NCAA this spring. Anderson led the Coyotes to a podium sweep and 30.5 points in the men's high jump. Freshman
Jack Durst placed second with an outdoor best 7-1, the second-best height outdoors in program history. Senior
Deshonn Brown joined them on the podium after clearing 6-10 ¾. Junior
Blake Vande Hoef and sophomore
Travis Larson took fifth and sixth, respectively.
Junior
Chris Nilsen earned the meet's Most Outstanding Performer award after breaking his own meet record in the pole vault by a half-inch, vaulting 19-0 ¾. Nilsen handled a scare early in the competition at 17-9 ¼, but otherwise had clean first-attempt makes over every bar. It marks his fourth time over 19 feet this spring. Junior
Ethan Bray finished runner-up at 17-9 ¼ for all-Summit honors. Classmate
Nick Johnson jumped an outdoor best 17-1 ½ to finish fourth. The height moves Johnson into qualifying position for the NCAA West Preliminary.
Not only did senior
Eldon Warner win the 1,500-meter run on Saturday, but he finished runner-up in the 800 meters and took fourth in the 5,000 meters. His 23 points in the span of three hours tied for the second-most in the men's competition. Warner was the first across the line in the 1,500 meters in 3:49.04. He added a personal best 1:51.43 for the 800 meters. Classmate
Jacob Simmons finished sixth in the 1,500 meters.
South Dakota tallied six Summit titles total. Senior
Lara Boman captured the hammer throw on day one, while senior
Kimmy Peterson took the pole vault and junior
Britny Kerr won the high jump on day two. The Coyotes swept the four vertical jumps on the weekend.
Neck-and-neck with the leader down the home stretch, sophomore
Macy Heinz finished runner-up in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:08.19. Heinz moves to second on USD's all-time charts behind fellow South Dakota native Emma Ladwig. Ladwig also holds the Summit League Championships meet record that Heinz was chasing on Friday. Senior
Mallory Fine took fifth in the race.
Senior
Ben Hammer and sophomore
Jackson Coker took second and third, respectively, in the discus throw. Hammer sent the discus 177-6 while Coker threw 168-4. Junior
Kino Dunkley placed sixth.
With the fourth-most points on the women's side with 22, Kerr followed up her high jump title yesterday with all-Summit honors in the triple jump. She placed third in 39-7 ¾. She also took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.16 seconds. Junior
Carmen Bermudez finished eighth in the hurdles.
Sophomore
Aleksi Rosler placed third in the 400 meters with an outdoor best time of 47.75 seconds for all-league accolades. Senior
Brennan Schmidt finished eighth in the 400 meters.
For the second-straight year, senior
Haley Bruggeman earned all-Summit accolades in the 400-meter hurdles. Bruggeman placed third in a personal best 1:02.44. Sophomore Holly Bruggeman overcame an additional obstacle as an opponent rolled into her lane on the homestretch, going on to finish fourth in 1:02.71.
Senior
Madeline Huglen earned all-Summit honors in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:33.67. She also scored a point in the 5,000 meters to cap off the day.
The Coyote trio of sprinters were led by junior
Tasheka Gordon with all-league honors in the 100 meters. She clocked 11.93 seconds for third. Senior
Karina Dufoe clocked the same time for fourth, while junior
Samara Spencer took sixth in 12.23. Dufoe and Gordon took fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 meters as well.
Both of the Coyote women's relays earned all-Summit League honors with runner-up finishes.
The women's 4x100-meter relay consisted of Spencer, Dufoe, Kerr, and Gordon, who posted a time of 46.59 seconds.
Junior
Hannah Draayer, Fine, Gerberding and Heinz combined for the second-place 4x400-meter relay in 3:47.80. Heinz passed defending champion North Dakota State on the final curve and came just short of catching Oral Roberts down the stretch.
Coming off the 10,000-meter run that was pushed back to yesterday morning, senior
Megan Billington and redshirt-freshman
Abby Ripperda took fourth and fifth in the 5,000 meters. Billington crossed the finish line in 16:48.89 with Ripperda just behind in 16:49.83.
Junior
Habib Jallow placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season best of 53.69 seconds. Sophomore
Zach Renken finished seventh in 56.86 seconds.
Jallow also took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.98 seconds. Junior
Dennis Parsley was sixth in 15.15 seconds.
Senior
Molly Schiermeyer launched the discus 154-6 for fifth place. Sophomore
Leah Dusterhoft took eighth with a mark of 146-0.
Sophomore
Danielle Thompson clocked 57.12 seconds for fifth in the 400 meters.
Brown added to his high-jump finish by placing fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 44-11 ¾.
Freshman
Collin Brison took sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 22.13 seconds.
Senior
Joe Reagan and sophomore
Conor Penington both clocked 10.94 seconds for sixth and seventh, respectively.
The Coyote women finished runner-up in the team race with 189.5 points, while the Coyote men took third with 155.5 points.
Coyote student-athletes ranked in the top-48 of their respective events in the West Region at the conclusion of the conference meet weekend will advance to the NCAA West Preliminary held May 23-25 in Sacramento, California. The NCAA will officially announce qualifiers next week.
