The Meet

South Dakota will compete at the 111th Drake Relays held in Des Moines, Iowa, from Thursday through Saturday. Collegiate action kicks off with the distance carnival at 6 p.m. Thursday, while the next two days the University Division will take over the afternoons.
 
The three-day meet will be live streamed on USATF.TV with a subscription required. There will also be a televised broadcast on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota is back at the blue oval this weekend. The Coyotes captured four of the program's 25 Drake Relays titles the last time out in 2019. The trio of Helen Falda (women's pole vault), Zack Anderson (men's high jump) and Chris Nilsen (elite men's pole vault) are all back at the meet to defend their titles. Alumna Megan Billington (women's 10,000m) was the fourth Coyote to win a title in 2019.
 
The Coyotes have seven athletes ranked in the top-10 of the country entered in this weekends' meet. Anderson leads the nation in the men's high jump (7-5, 2.26m). Falda ranks third in the women's pole vault (14-6, 4.42m) and redshirt-freshman Gen Hirata ranks eighth (14-2, 4.32m). Senior Ethan Bray sits sixth in the men's pole vault (18-4 ¾, 5.61m) and freshman Eeerik Haamer is 10th (18-0 ½, 5.50m). Redshirt-freshman Brithton Senior is scheduled to race for the first time since March. He's ranked seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (13.54 seconds). Redshirt-freshman Carly Haring rounds out the group in ninth for the women's high jump (5-10 ¾, 1.80m).

There are also 14 Iowans making a return to the big blue oval, not only home to the Drake Relays but also the annual Iowa State Track and Field Championships. Those athletes include Dylan Blake (4x800m), Jackson Coker (discus), Leah Dusterhoft (discus), Merga Gemeda (10,000m, 4x1600m, distance medley), Helen Gould (800m, 4x800m, 4x1600m), Callie Henrich (shot put, hammer), Ardell Inlay (4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m), Madison Jochum (400m, 4x400m, sprint medley), Lydia Knapp (discus, javelin, hammer), Zach Renken (400m hurdles), Josephine Starner (shot put, javelin), Blake Vande Hoef (high jump), Noah Weeter (110 hurdles, shuttle hurdle relay), and Alli Wroblewski (800m, 4x400m, 4x800m).
 

The Competition

Elite competition from across the country finds its way to the Drake Relays each spring. The event will include top mid-major athletes from across the Summit League and Missouri Valley Conferences, along with athletes from the Big 12's Iowa State and Oklahoma State, the ACC's Notre Dame, the SEC's Missouri and the Pac-12's Utah. There will be three ranked teams on the men's side competing – #14 Iowa State, #15 North Carolina A&T, and #24 Houston – and two ranked teams on the women's side - #19 North Carolina A&T and #22 North Dakota State. This year's Drake Relays was named a silver level meet by the World Athletics association, bringing Olympians and elite level athletes to the blue oval. Coyote alumni Emily Grove and Chris Nilsen will both compete in the elite pole vault competitions on Saturday afternoon.
 

The League Leaders

South Dakota leads the Summit League in 14 of 44 events this spring.
 
Men's 100m Hurdles: Brithton Senior, 13.54 seconds
Men's 400m: Demar Francis, 46.68 seconds
Women's 400m: Sara Reifenrath, 53.70 seconds
Women's 400m Hurdles: Holly Gerberding, 1:01.95
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase: Jonna Bart, 10:28.92
Women's 10,000 meters: Haley Miller, 37:32.91
Men's 4x100m Relay: Virgil Steward, Demar Francis, Ardell Inlay, Dylan Kautz, 40.24 seconds
Men's High Jump: Zack Anderson, 7-5 (2.26m)
Women's High Jump: Carly Haring, 5-10 ¾ (1.80m)
Men's Pole Vault: Ethan Bray, 18-4 ¾ (5.61m)
Women's Pole Vault: Helen Falda, 14-6 (4.42m)
Men's Triple Jump: Jacob Jenkins, 47-8 ½ (14.54m)
Men's Discus: Jessie Sullivan, 178-7 ¾ (54.45m)
Women's Heptathlon: Kamberlyn Lamer, 5,332 points
 

One Last Thing

A collection of relays – the sprint medley, the distance medley, the 4x100m relay, the 4x400m relay, the 4x800m relay – will count towards the annual Drake Relays Cup competition.