The Meet

South Dakota track and field hosts the USD Early Bird this Saturday at Lillibridge Track Complex and Gottsleben Field in Vermillion. Field events will begin at 10:30 a.m. with running events starting at 12:30 p.m. A free live stream of the meet will be available on GoYotes.com and live stats are available here.
 
Due to COVID-19 capacity limits and the size of this weekend's field, there will be no tickets sold for Saturday's meet.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota opened the outdoor season last weekend at a trio of meets. The Coyote men are ranked No. 25 in the nation this week after a successful first weekend in the vertical jumps. Senior Zack Anderson sits third in the nation after clearing 7-2 ½ (2.20m) for second place in the high jump at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Senior Ethan Bray and freshman Eerik Haamer both cleared 18-0 ½ (5.50m) in the pole vault at Texas to tie for fifth in the country. The Summit's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year Brithton Senior opened his outdoor campaign by clocking a school record 13.54 seconds in the 110 hurdles. His time ranks fifth in the nation. Redshirt-freshman Gen Hirata returned to the site of her first career 14-foot vault, clearing an outdoor best of 14-1 ¾ at the Texas Relays. Her height ranks fifth nationally. Senior Kamberlyn Lamer made her Coyote debut with a score of 5,247 points for the 10th-best point total in the nation. Freshman Sara Reifenrath earned the Summit's Track Athlete of the Week honor after a seventh-place finish in the 400 meters at Texas. Her time of 53.70 seconds ranks 18th nationally.
 

The Competition

Saturday's field includes student-athletes from Northern Iowa, Omaha, South Dakota State, Dakota Wesleyan, Iowa Central CC, Iowa Western CC, Minot State, Northern State, Southwest Minnesota State and U-Mary. There will also be a handful of non-collegians competing from Iron Wood TC.
 

The League Leaders

The Coyotes currently lead the Summit League in 15 of 44 events, the most by a league institution. Both South Dakota State and North Dakota State have nine league leaders after opening weekend.
 
Men's 110m Hurdles: Brithton Senior, 13.54 seconds
Women's 400 meters: Sara Reifenrath, 53.70 seconds
Men's 400 meters: Demar Francis, 47.31 seconds
Women's 400m Hurdles: Holly Gerberding, 1:02.49
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase: Jonna Bart, 10:28.92
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase: Cole Streich, 9:49.50
Men's 4x100m Relay: Virgil Steward, Demar Francis, Ardell Inlay, Dylan Kautz, 40.39 seconds
Women's 4x400m Relay: Holly Gerberding, Alli Wroblewski, Madison Jochum, Sara Reifenrath, 3:46.95
Women's High Jump: Carly Haring, 5-7 ¼ (1.71m)
Men's High Jump: Zack Anderson, 7-2 ½ (2.20m)
Women's Pole Vault: Gen Hirata, 14-1 ¾ (4.31m)
Men's Pole Vault: Ethan Bray and Eerik Haamer, 18-0 ½ (5.50m)
Men's Discus: Jessie Sullivan, 169-4 (51.61m)
Men's Hammer: Matt Slagus, 192-4 (58.63m)
Women's Heptathlon: Kamberlyn Lamer, 5,247 points
 

One Last Thing

This is the first of five Coyote home meets to be held at Lillibridge Track Complex this spring, capped off by the Summit League Championships in mid-May. Since the facility opened in 2016, the most home outdoor meets USD's hosted in a single season has been two.