University of South Dakota Athletics

Kiah Pieters

Track and Field 03.27.2024 Britni Smith, USD Assistant Director of Communications

Coyotes open outdoor slate in Texas

The Meet

South Dakota track & field will open the outdoor season at a pair of meets in Texas this weekend, March 28-30. The Coyotes are scheduled to compete at the 96th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, as well as the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas.

Live coverage of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays will be available on the Longhorn Network throughout the weekend.

The Coyotes

South Dakota was picked second for both men and women in the Summit League Outdoor Track & Field preseason poll. The Coyotes are more than a month removed from the Summit League Indoor Championships, the last time a full squad dressed for competition.

The Coyote men are coming off their second-straight Summit League indoor crown. The Coytoes snuck away with a win on the Bison's home turf by 1.5 points in the team title race. Fifth-year senior Dylan Kautz led the Coyotes with 18 points and sophomore Bennett Schwenn added 13. The Newcomer of the Championship, freshman Carsen Staehr, added 12 points at the meet. Fifth-year senior Marshall Faurot won the men's pole vault with a personal best of 18-1 ¼ (5.52m), a mark that earned him the Summit League Most Outstanding Performer of the Championships and qualified him for the NCAA Championships. He garnered second-team All-America accolades and was named the Summit League Field Athlete of the Year.

The Coyote women finished runner-up indoors by a margin of 11 points to NDSU. Fourth-year junior Erin Kinney led USD with 20.5 points, while classmates Sara Reifenrath and Jacy Pulse added 16.5 and 15 points, respectively. Junior Marleen Mülla also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the women's pole vault.

The Competition

South Dakota will face elite competition at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. For example, the Coyote women's 4x400 relay qualified for the Sanya Richards-Ross 4x400 Invitational with a field that includes Texas, Arkansas, Houston, UCLA and Clemson.