The Meet

South Dakota qualified a program-record 26 entries to the NCAA West Preliminaries hosted by Texas A&M at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. The meet will take place Wednesday through Saturday with men and women competing on alternating days.
 

The Coyotes

There are 25 Coyotes in College Station this week for the first round of the NCAA Championships. To make this stage, athletes had to post a mark in the top-48 of the NCAA West region for their event. There are 18 Coyotes making first-time appearances, including 13 redshirt-freshmen and freshmen making debuts. Leading the group are an experienced class of seniors who have qualified each year of their eligibility – fifth-year seniors Zack Anderson, Ethan Bray and Helen Falda are making their fourth appearance and fourth-year student-athlete Jonna Bart makes her third appearance.
 
Overall, the Coyotes have 14 entries in the men's and women's vertical jumps entered in the preliminaries, five more than any other school in the nation. South Dakota's nine pole vault entries are also the most pole vaulters in the country, three more than the next institution.
 
South Dakota advanced 25 athletes totaling 26 entries into the meet – four athletes are doubling at the meet and USD advanced the men's 4x100-meter relay. A complete list of entries and start time of competition is broken down below.
 
Wednesday, May 26
1:30 p.m. Men's Hammer – Jessie Sullivan, Matt Slagus
3:00 p.m. Men's Pole Vault – Ethan Bray, Eerik Haamer, Marshall Faurot, Kaleb Ellis, Tre Young
6:00 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles First Round – Hugo Morvan
7:00 p.m. Men's 100m First Round – Dylan Kautz
7:25 p.m. Men's 400m First Round – Demar Francis
 
Thursday, May 27
1:30 p.m. Women's Hammer – Lydia Knapp
1:30 p.m. Women's Javelin – Josephine Starner
3:00 p.m. Women's Pole Vault – Helen Falda, Gen Hirata, Deidra Marrison, Jaidyn Garrett
7:25 p.m. Women's 400m First Round – Sara Reifenrath
8:45 p.m. Women's 200m First Round – Sara Reifenrath
 
Friday, May 28
1:00 p.m. Men's High Jump – Zack Anderson, Jack Durst, Travis Larson, Ethan Heitman
1:30 p.m. Men's Discus – Jessie Sullivan
5:30 p.m. Men's 4x100m Relay Quarterfinals – Virgil Steward, Demar Francis, Ardell Inlay, Dylan Kautz
6:45 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles Quarterfinals – Hugo Morvan*
7:05 p.m. Men's 100m Quarterfinals – Dylan Kautz*
7:20 p.m. Men's 400m Quarterfinals – Demar Francis*
 
Saturday, May 29
1:00 p.m. Women's High Jump – Carly Haring
6:10 p.m. Women's 3,000m Steeplechase Semifinals – Jonna Bart
7:20 p.m. Women's 400m Quarterfinals – Sara Reifenrath*
8:10 p.m. Women's 200m Quarterfinals – Sara Reifenrath*
 
*Must advance from first round
 

The Competition

At the NCAA preliminary round, the nation is split in half between the NCAA West and NCAA East regions. With a few exceptions – namely Wisconsin, Illinois and Louisiana – the two regions are split by the Mississippi river. The Coyotes will compete in the NCAA West region with schools from a variety of conferences across the Midwest, West coast and South.
 

The League Champions

South Dakota won a combined 14 Summit League titles throughout the three-day Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the most of any school.
 
Men's 110m Hurdles: Hugo Morvan, 13.96 seconds
Women's 200m: Sara Reifenrath, 23.39 seconds
Men's 400m: Demar Francis, 46.45 seconds
Women's 400m: Sara Reifenrath, 53.27 seconds
Women's 400m Hurdles: Holly Gerberding, 1:00.37
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase: Jonna Bart, 10:36.03
Men's 4x100m Relay: Virgil Steward, Demar Francis, Ardell Inlay, Dylan Kautz, 39.94 seconds
Women's 4x400m Relay: Holly Gerberding, Madison Jochum, Jacy Pulse, Sara Reifenrath, 3:42.05
Men's High Jump: Zack Anderson, 7-2 ½ (2.20m)
Women's High Jump: Carly Haring, 5-10 (1.78m)
Men's Pole Vault: Eerik Haamer, 18-4 ½ (5.60m)
Women's Pole Vault: Gen Hirata, 14-2 (4.32m)
Men's Discus: Jessie Sullivan, 174-5 (53.16m)
Women's Heptathlon: Kamberlyn Lamer, 5,488 points
 

One Last Thing

The goal of the weekend is to advance to the final round of the NCAA Championships held June 9-12 in Eugene, Oregon. To punch their ticket, athletes must finish in the top-12 of their event. Each event is unique this weekend as the meet is contested as a preliminary with the winner not being crowned until June. Distance races and field events are contested as finals, while sprints will have a preliminary and final to narrow it down to 12. In the throwing events, each athlete is held to just three attempts. In the vertical jumps, the bar will continue to be raised until 12 or fewer remain alive in the competition.