VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota juniors Merga Gemeda and Abby Ripperda have been named the TicketSmarter Summit League Cross Country Athletes of the Week for the period ended Sept. 5.
 
The duo garner the league's first honors of the season and the Summit's first weekly cross country accolades distributed since 2019. Ripperda earns the honor for the fifth time in her career, while it marks the third career honor for Gemeda.
 
Ripperda, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, placed second at the Augustana Twilight last Friday with a 5,000-meter time of 18:15.90. She was the defending champion, winning the 2019 meet in 16:47.07. Ripperda led the Coyote women to their fifth-straight team title at the Augustana Twilight.
 
Gemeda, a product of Sioux City, Iowa, also finished runner-up at the Augustana Twilight on Friday with a time of 19:34.27 for four miles. He was the top Division I finisher at the meet. Gemeda paced the Coyote men to a fourth-place finish amongst collegiate teams.
 
South Dakota returns to action at the Woody Greeno Invitational on Sept. 18 in Lincoln, Nebraska.