BROOKINGS, S.D.—South Dakota placed four women inside the top-six Saturday afternoon to take home the team title at the Summit League Championships held at Edgebrook Golf Course.
 
South Dakota tallied 50 points in the team race to take home the trophy. It marks the sixth Summit League women's team title and first since 2018. The Coyotes topped runner-up South Dakota State by five points, while North Dakota State finished third with 69 points. All three squads entered the meet ranked in the top-15 of the USTFCCCA Midwest Rankings.
 
Seventh-year senior Abby Ripperda led the pack with a third-place finish, completing the 6,000-meter course in 21:13.97. This marks the third time of the season that Ripperda has finished as USD's frontrunner. She garners all-Summit honors for the third time of her career.
 
Freshman Madison Brouwer and fourth-year junior Abrielle Jirele crossed the finish line together in 21:17.52 and 21:17.64, respectively, for fourth and fifth place. Brouwer captured the Summit League Newcomer of the Championship award as the highest-placing true freshman in the race. Jirele was named the Summit's Scholar of the Championship on Saturday morning prior to the race. Both Brouwer and Jirele were all-Summit League first team. Jirele previously made all-Summit second team in 2021.
 
Fifth-year senior Ella Byers took sixth in a season-best 21:18.64 to clinch first-team all-Summit honors for the first time of her career on the cross country course. Byers, an all-league 800 runner, made a move over the final 2,000-meter loop and passed seven runners down the stretch to help clinch the team victory for the Coyotes.
 
This was the third time that South Dakota's placed four women on the all-Summit League first team since joining the league in 2011. The last time USD put four women in the top-seven was in 2017.
 
Freshman Alexis Pagel rounded out the Coyote scorers in 33rd place with a time of 22:50.25.
 
Fourth-year junior Abbie Schmidt and fifth-year senior Haley Miller were the Coyote pushers on Saturday. Schmidt took 40th in a season-best 23:06.30 and Miller was 48th in 23:29.65.
 
The Coyotes six Summit League women's titles is the second-most by a Summit League school behind Southern Utah's seven.
 

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South Dakota took fifth in the men's race with 150 points. South Dakota State edged North Dakota State in tiebreak procedure to capture the men's title. Both teams scored 46 points.
 
Sophomore Carson Lauterbach continued as the Coyotes' frontrunner in 19th place. Lauterbach completed the 8,000-meter course in a season-best clocking of 25:25.51.
 
Junior Mason Sindelar took 22nd in a season-best 25:36.53.
 
Freshman Piercze Marshall finished 33rd in a season-best 26:01.80.
 
Sophomore Seth Fey and freshman Grant Dixon rounded out the scoring five in 46th and 47th, respectively. Fey clocked 26:35.59 and Dixon posted a season-best time of 26:40.78.
 
Next up for the Coyotes is the NCAA Midwest Regional held Nov. 10 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.