BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Coyotes opened their 2024-25 season with a bang, bringing home 11 event titles Friday at the SDSU Holiday Invite.
 
The Coyotes performed well in the jumps to highlight the day. Both the Coyote men and women earned the top three spots in the triple jump competitions. Individually, Bennett Schwenn and Matayah Yellowmule placed inside the top three in both the long jump and triple jump competitions.
 
The Coyote women led the day with 155 points, outpacing South Dakota State (97.5) and North Dakota State (96) for the top spot. On the men's side, South Dakota trailed only South Dakota State in the team standings. The Jackrabbits totaled 148 points to the Coyotes 129.
 
Yellowmule won the triple jump with a mark of 37-1 ¼ and placed second in the long jump at 17-11 ¾. She also placed sixth in the high jump at 5-2 ¼. On the men's side, Schwenn placed third in both the long jump (23-0) and triple jump (45-3 ¾). The winner of the men's triple jump, Jayden Green, jumped 45-11 ¾.
 
The Coyotes also took the top two spots in the men's high jump. Landon Olson's 7-0 ½ won the event over teammate Joe Lynch, who cleared 6-10 ¾. Olson's mark ties him with two Coyotes for fourth and is the 11^th Coyote to clear seven feet indoors.
 
The pole vault competitions saw Coyotes past and present fill up the scoring. On the men's side, Chris Nilsen '20 took the top spot at 18-0 ½, but current Coyotes filled spots 2-6. Spencer Buley, Eerik Haamer, Tre Young, and Wyatt Stewart each cleared 16-10 ¾ to fill in the top five in that order. Freshman Beau Karst cleared 15-11 to place sixth.
 
On the women's side, freshman Anna Willis won her first competition as a Coyote and entered the Coyote Top 10 in the process. Willis cleared 13-11 ¼, matching Madison Mills '17 for seventh on the Top 10 list. Emily Grove '17 took second, followed by Marleen Mülla (competing unattached), Cassidy Mooneyhan, and Gen Hirata (competing unattached) to round out the top five. Mülla and Mooneyhan cleared 13-5 ¼ and Hirata and Kailee Swart cleared 12-11 ½.
 
On the track, the Coyote women captured six titles. Individually, Erin Kinney won the 60-meters (7.28), Sara Reifenrath the 300-meters (37.52), Anna Robinson the 400-meters (57.93), Berkeley Engelland the 600-meters (1:36.16), and Geneva Timmerman the 5,000-meters (18:19.25). The 4x400 relay 'B' squad of Calli Davis, Robinson, Ellie Thomas, and Reifenrath won their race in 3:50.53.
 
The Coyote men won one title on the track as Mason Sindelar took home the 800-meter title in 1:51.25, good for fifth in USD history in the event. The Coyotes did manage two hurdlers in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles. Freshman Jaden Damiano took fourth with a time of 7.96 and Mikael Grace placed fifth in 8.02.
 
A handful of Coyotes found themselves entering the Coyote Top 10 lists in the first competition of the year. Alongside Olson, Sindelar, and Willis, two other Coyotes found themselves joining the USD Top 10 lists.
 
Damiano's 7.92 seconds in the 60 hurdles prelims is the fourth best time in USD history. Amin, also a freshman, jumps to third in USD history with a prelims time of 8.52 seconds.
 
Grace's 8.02 in the 60 hurdles is one-tenth faster than his previous personal best, and he sits sixth in USD history in the event. Brandon Vander Sluis improved upon his personal best in the shot put, recording a mark of 55-4 ¼ to place fourth and remain in 10^th in USD history.
 
Three Coyotes are set to compete Saturday. Aubrey O'Hare, Bre Dunn, and Katelyn Langford compete in the pentathlon starting with the 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m.
 
NOTABLES
• A total of 13 Coyotes combined to win 11 titles Friday.
• Robinson and Reifenrath each won two events, winning the 400 and 300 respectively and combining with Davis and Thomas to win the 4x400.
• The other nine USD champions from Friday are: Berkeley Engelland, Jayden Green, Erin Kinney, Landon Olson, Sara Reifenrath, Mason Sindelar, Geneva Timmerman, Anna Willis, and Matayah Yellowmule.
• Five Coyotes, including three freshman set new program Top 10 marks: Sophie Amin, Jaden Damiano, Landon Olson, Mason Sindelar, and Anna Willis.
• The fastest woman in USD history, Erin Kinney, picked up where she left off, running the fastest prelim (7.30) and final (7.28) times to win the women's 60-meters.
• Jaden Guthmiller missed out on the finals of the 60-meters by .009 seconds, running 6.91 for ninth.
• it was a busy, yet productive day for Averi Schmeichel, qualifying for the finals in both the 60-meters and the 60-hurdles.
• Schmeichel placed fourth in the prelims of the 60-hurdles with an 8.64 second time, improving her time to 8.55 to place third in the finals. After winning her heat of the 60-meters in 7.82 seconds, she didn't run in the finals.
• Yellowmule placed in scoring position in three events for the Coyotes.
• Lydia Knapp (63-11 ½) and Delaney Smith (61-9 ¾) placed third and fourth in the championship division of the weight throw.
• Knapp also placed third in the shot put at 41-6 ½.
• Maddie Olson and Danii Anglin shared second place in the high jump at a mark of 5-6.