LINCOLN, Neb.—South Dakota senior
Chris Nilsen broke the NCAA Indoor record for the pole vault with a clearance of 19 feet, 5 ½ inches, at the Nebraska Tune-Up Friday afternoon held inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nilsen moves to third in the world this indoor season with his 5.93m performance behind Sweden's Mondo Duplantis (6.18m) and fellow American Sam Kendricks (6.01m). It is also the 15th-best indoor mark in world history.
Nilsen broke Duplantis' record from 2019 by a centimeter. Duplantis turned professional following last year's outdoor season and has already broke the world pole vault record in 2020.
A three-time NCAA Champion hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Nilsen broke the 19-foot barrier for the third time this indoor season on Friday. He initially took the NCAA lead with a clearance of 19-2 before going on to break the NCAA record.
The height is a four-and-a-half inch indoor best for Nilsen. His all-around personal best of 19 feet, 6 ¼ inches, came at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships where he set the meet record. Nilsen has cleared 19 feet in the pole vault a total of 14 times in his career. Three of his four indoor 19-foot jumps have come at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Simultaneously, senior
Zack Anderson tied his indoor school record in the high jump by clearing 7-3 ¾. The height moves Anderson into eighth place in the NCAA this season. Anderson has cleared 7-feet at five-straight meets dating back to the start of the season in January.
On the track at the same time as the impressive jumps, the Coyotes were sweeping the top-three spots in the women's mile. Junior
Jonna Bart led the way with a winning time of 4:55.07. Junior
Abby Ripperda crossed the finish line with her, taking second with a time of 4:55.28. The pair clocked the ninth and 10th fastest mile times in school history. Senior
Kianna Stewart finished third in 4:59.71.
Junior
Landon Kemp won the women's pole vault as the Coyotes swept the top-five spots. Kemp vaulted 13-6 ¼. Senior
Helen Falda and redshirt-junior
Makiah Hunt took second and third, respectively, with the same height. Sophomore
Deidra Marrison finished fourth with a height of 13-2 ¼. Freshman
Gen Hirata was fifth.
On the men's side, redshirt-junior
Ethan Bray finished runner-up to Nilsen with a clearance of 17-7 ¾.
Senior
Laurel Ketelhut finished runner-up in the weight throw after launching it 55-4 ¾. Senior
Eleni Knapp and freshman
Riley Griffith took fourth and fifth, respectively. In the women's shot put, freshman
Meredith Clark took third with a distance of 46-8. Sophomore
Josephine Starner finished fifth in the shot put.
Junior
Blake Vande Hoef took third in the high jump with a clearance of 6-7 and fifth in the long jump with a leap of 21-5 ½.
Freshman
Carly Haring was third in the women's high jump with a height of 5-3 ¾.
Freshman
Madison Jochum took fourth in the 400 meters and junior
Kelsi Kearney was fourth in the 800 meters.
Senior
Samara Spencer was fifth in the triple jump.
Next up for the Coyotes is the Summit League Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 28-29.
