BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—South Dakota fifth-year senior Merga Gemeda placed 17th amongst an elite field Friday morning to lead the Coyotes at the Coaching Tree Invitational at the Sam Bell Cross Country Course.
 
Gemeda clocked a personal best 8,000-meter time of 24:19.4 for 17th in a field that included three nationally ranked teams, including members of the defending national championship squad in Northern Arizona, and eight regionally ranked teams. His time is four seconds faster than his best mark from last fall and leads the Summit League this season.
 
Sixth-year senior Abby Ripperda notched her fastest 6,000-meter time since 2019 on Friday morning with a clocking of 21:12.5. The time also leads the Summit League this season. She finished 27th in a field that included athletes from three nationally ranked teams and 12 regionally ranked squads.
 
Following Gemeda on the men's side was fourth-year junior Charlie Babcock in 57th place. He completed the course in 25:43.0. Freshman Seth Fey finished amongst the Coyote scorers for the second-straight week, placing 70th in 26:11.2 for his first collegiate 8,000-meter race. Junior transfer John Swotek and third-year sophomore Jarek Glenn rounded out the scoring five. Swotek took 79th in 27:18.9 and Glenn finished 81st in 27:27.3.
 
USD's pushers on Friday were sophomore transfer Riley Ruhaak and freshman Daniel Ayoroa. Ruhaak clocked 27:37.2 and Ayoroa posted a time of 28:03.9.
 
The Coyote men finished ninth in the field with 252 points. No. 17 North Carolina won the race with 53 points, No. 23 Georgetown finished second and No. 1 Northern Arizona, which ran a limited squad of just five scorers, placed third. The Lumberjacks had the top three finishers in the individual field.
 
Behind Ripperda on the women's side was third-year sophomore Abrielle Jirele in 42nd place. She completed the course in 21:39.2, just 10 seconds off her personal best mark set last fall. Third-year sophomore Renee Thompson placed 81st in 23:07.7. Fourth-year redshirt-sophomore Haley Miller took 89th in a personal best time of 23:26.0. Fourth-year junior Helen Gould followed behind in 93rd place with a clocking of 23:30.5. This marked the second-straight meet with the same scoring five for the Coyote women.
 
Making their season debuts, fourth-year junior Ella Byers and sophomore Melanie Pankow joined the Coyotes' top seven. Byers completed the course in 23:37.6 and Pankow clocked 24:02.7.
 
South Dakota's women were 12th with 286 points. No. 13 North Carolina also captured the women's race with 37 points, No. 19 Georgetown finished runner-up and host Indiana took third.
 
Coyote cross country returns to action in two weeks at Mizzou's Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri.