VERMILLION, S.D.—History was made this week one year ago. The Coyote women tallied 263 points to capture the program's first Summit League title on the track. South Dakota looks to defend its title at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted May 8-10 in Macomb, Illinois.
 
Action kicks off at 10 a.m. Wednesday with the women's hammer throw as the first event.
 
The Defending Champions
 
Only 12 men and six women return to defend their 2018 titles, with South Dakota making up five men and three women (four events).
 
Senior Megan Billington swept the 5,000 meters (17:08.16) and 10,000 meters (36:26.86) a year ago. While it was her first time completing the sweep of those distance races, a Coyote has won both events for five-straight years.
 
Speaking of event dominance, the Coyotes have won every men's and women's pole vault competition since 2014. Juniors Chris Nilsen and Helen Falda are the defending champions from 2018. Nilsen won for the second-straight year with his height of 19-0 ¼. Falda captured the title with a jump of 13-9 ¾ last year.
 
Junior Zack Anderson looks for his third-straight Summit title in the high jump, breaking the 7-foot barrier the last two years to win it.
 
Senior Lara Boman made history last year by not only becoming the first Coyote to win the hammer throw at a Summit League meet, but doing so by breaking the meet record with her throw of 213-9. Boman's ranked 29th in the nation this spring. In the men's throwing events, senior Ben Hammer looks to repeat as the Summit's discus champion (196-6).
 
The senior duo of Joe Reagan and Eldon Warner also look to defend titles from 2018. Reagan took the 200 meters in 21 seconds flat, while Warner won the 800 meters in 1:54.72.
 
The League Leaders
 
The Summit League sent a record 12 student-athletes in 13 events to the NCAA Indoor Championships this year. The league's dominant performance continues on the national stage with 19 top-25 rankings during the outdoor season by league members. Four Coyotes lead the Summit in their respective events this spring.
 
Nilsen and Falda both lead the Summit League in the vault. Nilsen, who was named to the Bowerman Pre-Conference Watch List last week, leads the Summit and ranks second nationally with his height of 19-2 ¼. Falda jumped a personal best 14-5 ¼ at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays over the weekend to increase her Summit lead and move to seventh in the NCAA.
 
Anderson jumped a school-record height of 7-2 ½ three times during the outdoor season. The league-leading height ranks 12th in the nation.
 
Senior Haley Bruggeman enters with the top time in the 400-meter hurdles, having clocked 1:02.38 earlier this spring.
 
The Event Squad Rankings
 
South Dakota sits in the top-15 nationally for five men's events and four women's events on the USTFCCCA's event-squad rankings.
 
The men's pole vault squad leads the country behind defending national champion Nilsen's height of 19-2 ¼. Junior teammate Ethan Bray ranks 11th in the nation.
 
Remaining at No. 2, women's pole vault closed the gap on national leader Arkansas last weekend with season-bests from Falda and freshman Deidra Marrison. Falda's 14-5 ¼ sits seventh in the nation with her squad close behind. Both senior Kimmy Peterson (15th) and sophomore Landon Kemp (19th) have broken 14 feet this spring. Marrison ranks 37th nationally.
 
The men's high jump squad sits second as well, just a half-inch away from national leader Georgia. The Coyote jumpers are led by Anderson at 7-2 ½, with five of the top-six marks in the Summit standings.
 
With three season-bests at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays last weekend, the women's steeplechase crew moved 10 spots to No. 9 in the nation with an average time of 10:42.38.
 
The Coyote throwers are ranked in the top-15 for three events on the men's side. South Dakota's ranked sixth in the discus, 14th in the shot put and 15th in the hammer throw. Hammer, senior Ethan Fenchel, junior Kino Dunkley, sophomore Jackson Coker and sophomore Matt Slagus each compete in two of the three events. Individually, Hammer ranks 20th in the discus (188-6) and 50th in the shot put (60-1 ¾), while Fenchel sits 46th in the hammer throw (208-9).
 
Additional ranked event groups include the women's heptathlon at No. 11 and the women's 10,000 meters at No. 13. The Coyotes swept the podium in the 10,000 meters at last year's Summit meet.
 
The Shoes to Fill
 
The graduation of 2018 Track Athletes of the Year Shanice Cannigan and Gawain Williams left big roles to fill. Cannigan was the top point-scorer at last year's meet, with her 27.5 points leading the Coyotes to the title. Williams became the first athlete in Summit history to win four 100-meter crowns.
 
Cannigan's dominance came in sweeping the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. South Dakota snuck five women into the finals of the 100-meter hurdles a year ago and four into the 400-meter hurdles. There are three returners in both races.
 
Reagan joined Williams in the sprints and scored 25 points at the league meet to earn the 2018 Most Outstanding Championship Performer award. Reagan returns for his final conference meet and looks to help from rookies Aleksi Rosler and Collin Brison to make up points in the sprints.
 
Follow the Championships
 
Updates on the Coyotes will be available on Twitter (@SDCoyotesXCTF) throughout the meet and on GoYotes.com at the conclusion of each day.