2006 team got better with every meet

A bit of motivation as well as the ‘chip on our shoulder’ mentality helped propel the 2006 men’s track and field team to tremendous success.

After coming away disappointed following the indoor North Central Conference championships, the team progressed to have an outstanding NCC outdoor track and field championships.

Winning the NCC outdoor track and field championships with 274 points along with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division II national meet are just two of the reasons the 2006 men’s track and field team will be inducted into the Henry Heider Coyote Sports Hall of Fame on Friday evening.

The 53-member 2006 men’s track and field team becomes the second men’s team under the direction of head coach Dave Gottsleben to be inducted. The 2000 team was the first.

“We had won the indoor title in 2005 by a solid margin so the runner-up finish in Mankato in 2006 was disappointing,” said Mark Liebl, one of five to earn All-America honors during the 2006 outdoor season. “It seemed like we were a bit slower getting going that year and was still starting to jell as a team.

“Throughout the outdoor season, we started to set a lot of personal records and personal bests. That momentum carried into the NCC championships. The first day was so-so, but we blew the doors open on day two.”

South Dakota captured its fourth NCC outdoor crown with 274 points. Runner-up Mankato, who had won the indoor title, was second with 217 points. Third place was North Dakota with 107 points.

“We thought we were a pretty decent team, but we got beat indoors,” Gottsleben said. “That kind of spurred us to stay a little bit more focused. We were going into probably the last conference meet (ever) in Sioux Falls at Howard Wood.

“Being in Sioux Falls was definitely a plus. A lot of the family members of our athletes were able to attend. A lot of our kids were pretty local, so that made it pretty special.”

The USD men finished with 10 individual league titles and a relay title while totaling the most points in school history – fourth-most in NCC history.

Two Coyotes won multiple individual titles. Sprinter Dominic Artis swept the 100- and 200-meter dashes while distance star Tony Turgeon claimed the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs. 

All-Americans Sam Pribyl, Dan Tolsma, Terry Liggins and Liebl all claimed NCC titles in their specialty events while Matt Dewald, Tyler Wetering and the Coyotes’ 4x100 relay team also won league titles that outdoor season.

“Disappointment on the first day of the meet motivated the kids to be especially focused Saturday where things just kind of went our way,” said Gottsleben.

Pribyl, a pole vaulter, claimed his fourth NCC outdoor title in the event with a record leap of 17-6 (5.33m) while Liggins, a hurdler, also became a four-time NCC outdoor champ when he crossed first in the 110 hurdles in a school record 14.11.

Liebl began the run of points on Saturday with a victory in the javelin, where his 214-1 effort was a school record. He joined fellow thrower Tolsma, who earned his hammer throw league title during Friday’s first day of competition, as individual league champs.

Dewald claimed the 3,000-meter steeplechase and added a fifth-place finish in the 5,000, while Wetering was the 1,500-meter champ and was second in the 5,000.

The team also benefitted from several two-sport athletes as several members of the track and field team were also on the football team.

Artis, Hall of Famer Stefan Logan and Rico Hatter were among them. The trio were joined by David Coley on the Coyotes’ victorious 4x100-meter relay, which posted a winning time of 41.59 seconds.

“Several of the men on the team were football players, or were there for reasons other than financial,” said Gottsleben. “I am most proud of this group because they were there for the academic structure of the University of South Dakota rather than being there for track first and academics second.

“Without the football players, we would not have been able to do what we did. I thank Coach (Ed) Meierkort for allowing members of the football team to participate in our program.”

The overall depth of the team also showed throughout the NCC meet as the Coyotes were able to place multiple people in multiple events to rack up the points. The team took four of the top six places in the triple jump behind runner-up Colte Haines, the indoor conference champion in the event.

South Dakota had four of the top seven spots in the 800-meter run led by third-place finisher Scott Hargens. The Coyotes also had three of the top eight in the 400 hurdles as Liggins was third, Hatter fourth and Chad Erling eighth.

Several Coyotes racked up additional points behind Artis’ sweep of the 100 and 200. 4x100 teammates Logan and Coley took second and third, respectively, in the open 100 meters. Vermillion native Ben Oberle, another two-sport athlete at USD, was fifth in the 200.

The Coyotes capped the meet with a runner-up finish in the 4x400-meter relay as Oberle, Liggins, Hatter and Hargens clocked 3:20.26.

“I’m really proud of the group for overcoming a lot of obstacles that were presented to them,” said Gottsleben. “To end up conference champs is pretty special.”

Pribyl would claim the NCAA DII national title in the outdoor pole vault in Emporia, Kansas, claiming the first men’s outdoor national title in school history. He eclipsed his own school and state record from the NCC Championships with a winning effort of 17 feet, 8 ½ inches. 

Pribyl, inducted into the Henry Heider Coyote Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, won the national meet with a clean scorecard. His gold paired nicely with the bronze medal he earned at the indoor national championships.

Tolsma, a Vermillion native, finished second at the national meet in the hammer throw with a then-school record toss of 200 feet even. Liebl earned his national runner-up performance in the javelin, increasing his school and state of South Dakota record to 221-1.

“We got better with every meet that season,” said Liebl. “My best throw going into conference was 202, then during the NCC meet everything was clicking and I threw 214, then go to nationals and threw 221.”

Liggins placed second in the 110 hurdles at outdoor nationals after a third-place effort indoors in the 60-meter hurdles. Hatter added an eighth-place finish in the 110 hurdles as the Coyotes scored 35 team points to claim the fourth-place team trophy, the second most points in school history. The fourth-place finish at the national meet was the second highest in program history.

Liggins, Pribyl, Tolsma and Haines won NCC indoor league titles while Liggins, Pribyl and Nick Hagemann – eighth in the weight throw – were indoor All-Americans that season.

Gottsleben, who led the program for 33 seasons, retired from coaching following the 2017 season. He was inducted into this Hall of Fame a year ago. A 60-second video captured shortly after the team’s NCC title in included below.