The Meet

South Dakota track and field is scheduled to compete at the Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 27-28 inside the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota. There are no fans allowed at the meet.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota competes in its 10th Summit League Indoor Championship this weekend. Over the past nine years, the Coyote women have eight runner-up performances at the meet. The Coyote men won three-straight titles from 2013-15, but have finished in third place the last four years. In the national standings this season, USD's men are just outside the USTFCCCA's top-25 at No. 26.
 
The Coyotes have grown accustomed to competing in scored meets this season. This weekend will utilize the championship meet scoring (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1) with the top eight in each event placing. South Dakota will look to take advantage of its depth in the vertical jumps and sprints. In the USTFCCCA event squad rankings, the Coyotes are in the top-25 of the following events: No. 1 in men's pole vault, No. 3 in women's pole vault, No. 9 in men's 60-meter hurdles, No. 18 in women's shot put, No. 19 in men's high jump, No. 19 in women's weight throw and No. 23 in women's high jump. North Dakota State is the only other league school with a No. 1 ranked squad – taking the top spot in both men's throws and the women's shot put.
 
In addition to competing for conference titles and scoring points this weekend, it will be the athletes' final qualifying weekend for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
 

The Defending Champions

South Dakota has three defending champions entered into the meet this weekend. Sophomore Brithton Senior, the 2020 Summit League Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, captured the 60-meter hurdles last season in a meet record 7.74 seconds. Senior Holly Gerberding looks to defend her pentathlon title from last year, where she scored 3,759 points. Junior Landon Kemp was the seventh Coyote to win the women's pole vault title in 10 seasons, vaulting 13-8 ½. She joins her teammates with the top-four marks in the league this season.
 

The League Leaders

The Coyotes currently lead the Summit League in 13 of 32 events this season.
 
Men's 60-meter hurdles: Brithton Senior, 7.79 seconds
Women's 200 meters: Sara Reifenrath, 23.71 seconds# (adjusted form 24.07 for track size)
Men's 400 meters: Demar Francis, 47.51 seconds
Women's 400 meters: Sara Reifenrath, 54.33 seconds
Men's High Jump: Jack Durst, 7-0 ½ or 2.15m
Women's High Jump: Carly Haring, 5-10 ¾ or 1.80m
Men's Pole Vault: Ethan Bray, 18-6 ½ or 5.65m
Women's Pole Vault: Gen Hirata, 14-1 ¼ or 4.30m
Men's Triple Jump: Jacob Jenkins, 49-1 ½ or 14.97m
Women's Pentathlon: Holly Gerberding, 3,739 points
Women's 4x400-meter relay: Holly Gerberding, Madison Jochum, Danielle Thompson, Sara Reifenrath, 3:47.11# (adjusted from 3:50.12 for track size)
Men's Distance Medley: Brendan Scott, Lionel McPhaull Jr., Dylan Blake, Braden Peters, 10:42.09# (adjusted from 10:50.81 for track size)
Women's Distance Medley: Kelsi Kearney, Haley Arens, Brigit Blote, McKenna Herrmann, 12:29.60# (adjusted from 12:37.63 for track size)
 

One Last Thing

USD's freshman Sara Reifenrath has already made history this season, breaking the school records for both the 200 and 400 meters. She also has the chance to be the first Coyote woman to win a league title in either event.