DES MOINES, Iowa— Fifth-year senior
Merga Gemeda crushed his own South Dakota program record in the 5,000 meters at the 113th Drake Relays distance carnival on Thursday night inside Drake Stadium.
Gemeda clocked a career best time of 14:00.86 to finish eighth in the competitive Drake Relays field. The time is 11 seconds faster than the school record time he set two weeks ago at the Bryan Clay Invitational in California. He also owns USD's school record in the 10,000 meters.
Fourth-year junior
Charlie Babcock crossed the finish line a personal best of 30:50.31 in the 10,000-meter race, finishing in 11th place. He owns the 10th-fastest time in USD program history with the mark.
On the women's side, sixth-year senior
Abby Ripperda finished third in the unseeded 5,000 meters with a season-best clocking of 17:11.93.
Making a return to her hometown, fourth-year student-athlete
Helen Gould took 15th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. She posted a season-best time of 10:45.44, which leads the Summit League this season.
Fourth-year junior
Ella Byers notched a season-best clocking of 4:31.56 in the 1,500 meters for 18th in the field.
A trio of Coyotes –
Abbie Schmidt,
Renee Thompson and
Haley Miller – also raced the 5,000 meters on Thursday at the nearby Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa. Schmidt led the group with a time of 17:56.60.
South Dakota track and field picks back up on Friday with athletes in action at the Drake Relays and the Kip Janvrin Open.