The Meet

South Dakota sends 22 entries to the NCAA West Preliminary for the second-straight season. The meet is hosted by Sacramento State at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. The meet will take place Wednesday through Saturday with men and women competing on alternating days.
 

The Coyotes

To reach the first round of the national championships, the NCAA West and East Preliminaries, athletes had to post a mark in the top-48 of their region for their event. A total of 17 individuals and one relay account for USD's 22 entries. Among the Coyote athletes, there are 13 making a return trip to guide the way.
 
South Dakota's top-ranked women's pole vault squad advanced five to the preliminary round, which ties Arkansas for the most qualifiers.
 
The Coyotes have five athletes ranked in the top-12 of the region entering the meet. Sophomore Danii Anglin has the third-best mark in the women's high jump (6-1 ¼, 1.86m). Sophomore Marleen Mülla and fourth-year sophomore Gen Hirata are third and fourth in the women's high jump. Mülla has a mark of 14-8 ¾ (4.49m) and Hirata cleared a personal best 14-7 ¼ (4.45m). Fourth-year junior Marshall Faurot has the 11th-best mark in the men's pole vault at 18-0 ½ (5.50m). Junior Jacy Pulse rounds out the group with the 11th-best time in the 400-meter hurdles (56.79 seconds).
 
A pair of Coyotes are making their fourth career appearance at the NCAA West Preliminary – fifth-year senior Deidra Marrison in the pole vault and fifth-year senior Jack Durst in the high jump.

South Dakota is ranked No. 29 in the women's team rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 

The Schedule

All times listed as Central.
 
Wednesday, May 24
8 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles – Hugo Morvan
8:30 p.m. Men's Pole Vault – Marshall Faurot, Eerik Haamer
11:10 p.m. Men's 10,000m – Merga Gemeda
 
Thursday, May 25
Noon Women's Hammer – Lydia Knapp, Meredith Clark
8 p.m. Women's Shot Put – Meredith Clark
8:30 p.m. Women's Pole Vault – Marleen Mülla, Gen Hirata, Cassidy Mooneyhan, Jaidyn Garrett, Deidra Marrison
9 p.m. Women's 100m – Erin Kinney
10:20 p.m. Women's 400m Hurdles – Jacy Pulse
10:45 p.m. Women's 200m – Erin Kinney
 
Friday, May 26
4:30 p.m. Men's High Jump – Jack Durst, Landon Olson, Joe Lynch
8:15 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles – Hugo Morvan*
 
Saturday, May 27
3 p.m. Women's Discus – Lydia Knapp, Meredith Clark
4:30 p.m. Women's High Jump – Danii Anglin
7 p.m. Women's 4x100m Relay – Sammy Neil, Jacy Pulse, Anna Robinson, Erin Kinney
8:35 p.m. Women's 100m – Erin Kinney*
9:25 p.m. Women's 400m Hurdles – Jacy Pulse*
9:50 p.m. Women's 200m – Erin Kinney*
 
*Must advance from first round
 

The Competition

At the NCAA preliminary round, the nation is split in half between the NCAA West and NCAA East regions. With a few exceptions – namely Wisconsin, Illinois, and Louisiana – the regions are split by the Mississippi river. The Coyotes will compete in the NCAA West region with schools from a variety of conferences across the Midwest, West Coast and South.
 

Up Next

The goal of the weekend is to advance to the final round of the NCAA Championships held June 7-10 in Austin, Texas. To punch their ticket, athletes must finish in the top-12 of their event. Each event is unique this weekend as the meet is contested as a preliminary with the winner not being crowned until June. Distance races and field events are contested as semifinals, while sprints will have a preliminary and a semifinal to narrow it down to 12. In the throwing events or horizontal jumps, each athlete will be held to three attempts. In the vertical jumps, the bar will continue to be raised until 12 or fewer remain alive in the competition.