SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—South Dakota fifth-year senior Merga Germeda and third-year sophomore Abrielle Jirele have swept the Summit League Men's and Women's Cross Country Peak Performers of the Week honors presented by TicketSmarter for the period ended Oct. 2.
 
Gemeda picks up his ninth career Summit weekly honor, which ties for the third-most in league history. This marks his second honor this fall. Jirele nets her first weekly award from the league.
 
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Gemeda placed 16th at Mizzou's Gans Creek Classic with a personal best 8,000-meter time of 24:05.5. The time improves his own Summit-best time this fall and ranks sixth all-time in Summit League history. Only three men have posted faster marks in the league's history. The time was a 14-second personal best from two weeks prior and was the fastest mark by a Coyote in the program's Division I era.
 
Hailing from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Jirele finished 16th at the Gans Creek Classic with a personal best 6,000-meter clocking of 20:54.6. She became the first Summit woman to break the 21-minute barrier this season for a new league-leading time. She took more than 30 seconds off her personal best mark from last fall. Her time ranks as the eighth-fastest by a Coyote in the program's Division I era.
 
South Dakota returns to action on Oct. 14 for the Platte River Rumble held at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska.