SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A trio of women's pole vaulters and a hammer thrower punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships for the Coyotes on Thursday at the NCAA West Preliminary inside Hornet Stadium.
 
The trio of sophomore Marleen Mülla, fourth-year sophomore Gen Hirata and junior Cassidy Mooneyhan advanced through the rigmarole of the NCAA West Preliminary pole vault competition to advance to the NCAA finals. All three qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships back in March with Mülla and Hirata garnering first-team All-America status. Mülla was one of nine athletes to clear the final height of 13-10 (4.22m), tying for first in the preliminary competition. Mooneyhan and Hirata finished 10th and 11th, respectively, advancing onto the final with the help of first-attempt makes at 13-6 ¼ (4.12m).
 
Fourth-year junior Lydia Knapp became the first Coyote to advance to the NCAA finals with a 10th-place finish in the women's hammer throw. She launched the hammer a personal best of 207-10 (63.35m) on her third and final throw of the competition. Knapp becomes the second women's hammer thrower at USD to reach the NCAA Championship meet, following in the footsteps of Lara Boman (2018, 2019). This will be South Dakota's fifth time sending a women's thrower to the outdoor national meet.
 
South Dakota's four qualifiers on the women's side has already tied the most the Coyote women have sent in a single year to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Four women, in addition to the 4x100-meter relay, are set to compete on Saturday. The Coyotes previously advanced four women to the outdoor national meet in 2013.
 
Junior Jacy Pulse broke her own South Dakota school record en route to advancing through to Saturday's quarterfinal in the 400-meter hurdles. Pulse clocked 56.76 seconds, the fourth-best time tonight and three hundredths of a second faster than her previous personal record. The field was narrowed from 48 to 24 athletes with the final 12 being determined at 9:25 p.m. Central on Saturday.
 
The first Coyote in program history to qualify for three individual events at the NCAA West Preliminary is fourth-year junior Meredith Clark. She took on two of her three events on Thursday. Clark placed 33rd in the shot put with a throw of 50-4 ¾ (15.36m). It marks her third time throwing past 50 feet this outdoor season. She also took 46th in the hammer throw with a mark of 162-11 (46.67m).
 
Junior Erin Kinney placed 33rd in the 100 meters in 11.58 seconds and 38th in the 200 meters in 23.91 seconds. This marked her first NCAA West Preliminary competing as an individual, after previously qualifying as a member of the 4x100 relay. Kinney will anchor USD's 4x100 this year at 7 p.m. Central on Saturday.
 
South Dakota totaled five women's pole vaulters in action at the NCAA West Preliminary, tying Arkansas for the most in the nation at the preliminary round. Fifth-year senior Deidra Marrison took 36th in her fourth career appearance and junior Jaidyn Garrett rounded out the group of five.
 
The Coyotes will have three men's high jumpers in action at the NCAA West Preliminary tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. Central.