The Meet
South Dakota qualified 21 entries to the NCAA West Preliminary held this weekend at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 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 two relays account for USD's 21 entries. This marks the seventh-straight year USD has qualified 19 or more entries to the NCAA West Preliminary.
The Coyotes lead the Summit League in entries to the preliminary round.
The Schedule
All times listed as Central.
Wednesday, May 22
6 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles –
Mikael Grace
6 p.m. Men's Long Jump –
Bennett Schwenn
6:30 p.m. Men's Pole Vault –
Marshall Faurot,
Eerik Haamer,
Tre Young,
Spencer Buley
7 p.m. Men's 100m –
Jaden Guthmiller
Thursday, May 23 (Adjusted times as of 5/22)
3 p.m. Women's 100m Hurdles –
Averi Schmeichel
3:30 p.m. Women's Pole Vault –
Gen Hirata,
Jaidyn Garrett
4 p.m. Women's 100m –
Erin Kinney
4:25 p.m. Women's 400m –
Sara Reifenrath
5:20 p.m. Women's 400m Hurdles –
Jacy Pulse,
Averi Schmeichel
5:30 p.m. Women's Shot Put –
Meredith Clark
5:45 p.m. Women's 200m –
Erin Kinney
Friday, May 24 (Adjusted times as of 5/23)
11:30 a.m. Men's High Jump –
Joe Lynch
3 p.m. Men's Triple Jump –
Carsen Staehr
3:15 p.m. Men's 110m Hurdles – Mikael Grace*
3:35 p.m. Men's 100m – Jaden Guthmiller*
Saturday, May 25
2 p.m. Women's High Jump –
Danii Anglin
5 p.m. Women's 4x100m Relay –
Erin Kinney,
Jacy Pulse,
Averi Schmeichel,
Sara Reifenrath
6:15 p.m. Women's 100m Hurdles – Averi Schmeichel*
6:35 p.m. Women's 100m –
Erin Kinney*
6:50 p.m. Women's 400m –
Sara Reifenrath*
7:25 p.m. Women's 400m Hurdles –
Jacy Pulse,
Averi Schmeichel*
7:50 p.m. Women's 200m – Erin Kinney*
8:45 p.m. Women's 4x400m Relay –
Anna Robinson,
Sara Reifenrath,
Madison Jochum,
Jacy Pulse
*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 5-8 in Eugene, Oregon. 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, relays 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.
