VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Lucky Huber is pleased to announce the addition of Josie Bearden, Renee Brummels, Keyontre Clark, Lexi Duscher, Jake Hafner, Maggie Heesch, Nikki Kelly, Kaiya McKie, Isabelle Missimer, Marleen Mülla, Melanie Pankow and Mason Sindelar to the Coyote track and field program. The dozen athletes join the 15 newcomers announced in January.
 
Josie Bearden | Distance | Ankeny, Iowa| Centennial HS
 
Josie Bearden placed in both the 4x800-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay at the Iowa State Track and Field Championships with Ankeny Centennial High School. She also placed fourth with the 4x800-meter relay at the Drake Relays. An honor roll student in high school, Bearden plans to enroll in USD's nursing program.
 
Renee Brummels | Jumps/Hurdles | Battle Creek, Neb. | Battle Creek HS
 
Renee Brummels, a two-time Nebraska state champion in the triple jump, successfully defended her title with a wind-aided leap of 39-9 ¾ to take gold in her senior season. She also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.71 seconds. Brummels is a six-time placewinner at the Nebraska state meet in three high school seasons. Her junior high school track and field season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She owns the Battle Creek High School record in the triple jump. She also set the triple jump meet record at the Norfolk Track and Field Classic in 2019. She owns personal bests of 39-9 ¾ in the triple jump, 18-4 in the long jump and 15.64 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Brummels was also a team captain for the Braves' volleyball and basketball teams. She made the 2020 Mid-State all-conference volleyball team and helped the Braves reach the 2018-19 and 2019-20 state tournaments. She is an honor roll student and graduated as Battle Creek's Salutatorian. She was named to the Omaha World Herald and the Norfolk Daily News' all-academic teams in 2021. Brummels plans to major in medical biology at USD.
 
Keyontre Clark | Jumps | Sioux City, Iowa |Bishop Heelan HS
 
Keyontre Clark, a jumper from Sioux City, Iowa, captured the Iowa state title in the long jump as a sophomore in 2019. He's a three-time all-state honoree for the Crusaders. He owns a personal best of 22-9 in the long jump. Clark also played football and basketball for Bishop Heelan High School. A National Honor Society member, Clark plans to major in artificial intelligence at South Dakota.
 
Lexi Duscher | Distance | Princeton, Minn. | Princeton HS | U.Mary
 
Lexi Duscher, a transfer from the University of Mary (N.D.), joins the Coyote cross country squad this fall. Duscher posted a personal best of 3:15.49 for 1,000 meters during her freshman campaign at Mary. She was a four-time state qualifier at Princeton High School in Minnesota, holding the school records in both the 3,200 meters and 5,000 meters. Her personal bests were 5:19.85 for 1,600 meters, 11:49.64 for 3,200 meters and 19:18.40 for 5,000 meters. She also earned all-Mississippi 8 Conference honors. Duscher, a member of the Dean's List at Mary and a National Honor Society member in high school, plans to major in health sciences at South Dakota. She's on the pre-med track.
 
Jake Hafner | Jumps | Rapid City, S.D. | Stevens HS
 
Jake Hafner, a three-time placewinner at the South Dakota state meet, placed fourth in the triple jump with a personal best of 44-0 ½ as a sophomore. His junior track and field season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he placed eighth in the triple jump as a senior. He also owns personal bests of 21-1 in the long jump and 11.23 seconds in the 100 meters. Hafner has earned a number of awards from Stevens High School, including Rookie of the Year (2017-18), Iron Raider Award (2018-19), Sledgehammer Award (2018-19) and the Lindsey Keck Award (2017-18, 2018-19). In addition to track and field, he was a member of the Raiders' football, basketball, golf and baseball teams. A National Honor Society member, Hafner plans to major in business at South Dakota.
 
Maggie Heesch | Throws | Watertown, S.D. | Watertown HS
 
Maggie Heesch, a thrower from Watertown, South Dakota, was named the Eastern South Dakota Conference Field Athlete of the Meet as a senior. She was also field MVP as a sophomore and named rookie of the year as a freshman. She owns personal bests of 41-2 in the shot put, 137-10 in the discus and 108-8 in the javelin. Heesch played volleyball and basketball for the Arrows, garnering all-state honors on the volleyball court and all-ESD honors in basketball. Her club softball team were state and national champions. She received the American Legion All-America award and garnered academic all-state honors as well. A National Honor Society member and gold honor roll student, Heesch plans to major in medical biology at South Dakota.
 
Nikki Kelly | Distance | South St. Paul, Minn. | South St. Paul HS
 
Nikki Kelly, a distance runner from South St. Paul, Minnesota, was a three-time Minnesota state qualifier in cross country. She was also a three-time all-Metro East Conference honoree in cross country and three-time honoree on the track. She owns personal bests of 2:27 in the 800 meters, 5:26 in the 1,600 meters and 19:01 in the 5,000 meters. An honor roll student and National Honor Society member, Kelly plans to major in kinesiology and sport management at USD.
 
Kaiya McKie | Hurdles | Olathe, Kan. | North HS
 
Kaiya McKie won a state title in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2021 Kansas High School Track and Field Championships with a clocking of 14.97 seconds. She also anchored North's winning 4x100-meter relay at the state meet. McKie placed third in the 100 hurdles as both a freshman and sophomore, while her junior season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She broke the North High School record in the 100-meter hurdles as a sophomore with a time of 14.67 seconds. She owns a personal best of 9.27 seconds for the 60-meter hurdles. McKie also played club soccer. An academic letterwinner and National Honor Society member, McKie plans to major in medical biology at South Dakota.
 
Isabelle Missimer | Distance | Fort Collins, Colo.| Fossil Ridge HS
 
Isabelle Missimer, a distance runner from Fort Collins, Colorado, lettered all four years in track and field at Fossil Ridge High School. She was an all-Front Range Conference honoree on both the track and cross country course. She owns personal bests of 5:23 for 1,600 meters and 11:27 for 3,200 meters. She also played basketball for the Sabercats. A member of the National Honor Society and an honor roll student, Missimer plans to major in biology at USD.
 
Marleen Mülla | Pole Vault | Rakvere, Estonia | Audentes Sportsgymnasium
 
Marleen Mülla took home the gold at the Estonian National Championships in June with a vault of 13-5 ¼ (4.10m). She's also won the Baltic Championships, placed seventh at the European Championships and took fourth at the Youth Olympics. Mülla plans to major in sport marketing and media at South Dakota.
 
Melanie Pankow | Distance | Hugo, Minn. | White Bear Lake Area HS
 
Melanie Pankow, a distance runner hailing from Hugo, Minnesota, was a state qualifier for White Bear Lake Area High School. She also garnered all-Suburban East Conference honors. Pankow owns personal bests of 2:19 for 800 meters and 5:18 for 1,600 meters.
 
Mason Sindelar | Distance | Pierce, Neb. | Pierce HS
 
Mason Sindelar is a four-time Nebraska state medalist in cross country, finishing runner-up three times. He's a two-time all-state and two-time super-state honoree. Sindelar also owns the Pierce High School record for 800 meters with a time of 1:57.59. He finished third at the Nebraska Track and Field Championships in the 800 meters as a senior with a time of 1:58.00. Sindelar owns personal bests of 4:35 for 1,600 meters and 15:53.9 for 5,000 meters on the cross country course. He also played basketball for the Bluejays. He was an officer and district representative for FCCLA, a National Honor Society member and an honor roll student. Sindelar plans to major in chemistry at South Dakota.
 
The class will enroll at and be eligible to compete for South Dakota in the fall of 2021.