The Meet

South Dakota track and field travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 112th edition of the Drake Relays held Thursday through Saturday inside the blue oval.
 

The Coyotes

Split between a pair of home meets, South Dakota returns to the Drake Relays. The Coyotes swept the four vertical jumps a year ago to bring USD's total number of Drake Relays titles to 29. Third-year sophomore Carly Haring (high jump) and sophomore Eerik Haamer (pole vault) are returning Drake Relays champions. The Coyotes are coming off a windy South Dakota Challenge, which led to a handful of impressive albeit wind-aided marks in the sprint events. Brithton Senior, for example, clocked 13.62 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. If not for the +7.5 m/s tailwind, his time would have ranked in the top-20 nationally. He did join pole vaulter Marleen Mülla as Summit League Athletes of the Week. She vaulted a personal best 14-6 (4.42m) in the pole vault this past week to move to eighth in the nation. The wind last weekend did not lend a disadvantage to the Coyote throwers. South Dakota broke the women's discus record twice during the competition on Saturday, first by Meredith Clark and then by Lydia Knapp. Knapp's throw of 175-2 (53.39m) ranks third in the Summit this season.
 

The League Leaders

A Coyote leads the Summit League in 12 different events this season.
 
Women's 100m: Erin Kinney, 11.75 seconds
Men's 400m: Demar Francis, 47.64 seconds
Women's 400m: Sara Reifenrath, 54.40 seconds
Men's 10,000m: Merga Gemeda, 29:18.51
Women's 400m Hurdles: Moe Bridgen, 59.57 seconds
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase: Helen Gould, 10:45.95
Women's 4x100m Relay: Erin Kinney, Jacy Pulse, Anna Robinson, Sara Reifenrath, 45.85 seconds
Women's 4x400m Relay: Anna Robinson, Moe Bridgen, Jacy Pulse, Sara Reifenrath, 3:41.16
Women's High Jump: Danii Anglin, 5-10 (1.78m)
Men's Pole Vault: Eerik Haamer, 18-0 ½ (5.50m)
Women's Pole Vault: Marleen Mülla, 14-6 (4.42m)
Men's Triple Jump: Jacob Jenkins, 50-0 ¾ (15.26m)
 

The Competition

Joining South Dakota in the Division I field this weekend are host Drake, Air Force, Bradley, Creighton, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina A&T, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Purdue, South Dakota State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UC San Diego, Utah, Wisconsin.
 

One Last Thing

Coyote alumnus Chris Nilsen, the Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo, will compete in the elite section of the men's pole vault scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Saturday.