The Meet

The South Dakota men's and women's cross country teams race at the Jay Dirksen/Woody Greeno Invitational on Saturday at Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska. The start times were adjusted due to forecasted temperatures and humidity on Saturday morning. The women's 5,000-meter race will begin at 9 a.m. with the men's 8,000-meter race to follow at 9:45 a.m.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota's women entered the USTFCCCA regional rankings earlier this week at No. 15 in the Midwest region. The Coyotes captured their fifth-straight Augustana Twilight title two weeks ago to open the season. Fifth-year junior Abby Ripperda and fourth-year junior Maddie Lavin paced the Coyotes with second- and third-place finishes. On the men's side, fourth-year junior Merga Gemeda finished runner-up individually in leading the Coyote men to a fourth-place collegiate team finish. Both Ripperda and Gemeda garnered TicketSmarter Summit League Cross Country Athletes of the Week for their performance.
 

The Competition

There are 24 teams entered in the field with NCAA Division I competition including host Nebraska, Air Force, Creighton, Iowa, Omaha and Wichita State. While there are no nationally ranked teams, there are four women's and four men's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA's regional polls. On the women's side it's Iowa (No. 9 Midwest), Air Force (No. 10 Mountain), Wichita State (No. 10 Midwest) and South Dakota (No. 15 Midwest). On the men's side it's Nebraska (No. 7 Midwest), Air Force (No. 7 Mountain), Iowa (No. 12 Midwest) and Wichita State (No. 13 Midwest).
 

The History

This marks the 31st annual Jay Dirksen/Woody Greeno Invitational, co-hosted by Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan. The Coyotes have been a regular at this meet over the years. South Dakota took home the women's team title in both 2016 and 2017.
 

One Last Thing

Coyote head coach Dan Fitzsimmons was a guest on the weekly Coyote Report this past Monday (Sept. 13). If you missed it live, it's available on demand by clicking here.