YANKTON, S.D. – The South Dakota Track and Field program started a week full of competition at the Mount Marty Twilight Wednesday night in Yankton.
 
The Coyotes swept the podium the women's 400-meter hurdles to highlight competition Wednesday. Bre Dunn (1:03.27), Brandy Pulse (1:04.45), and Hadley Cheatum (1:04.88) completed a sweep of the top three places, but teammates Katelyn Langford (1:06.04) and Anna Hoffman (1:06.20) made it five Coyotes in the top five of the event.
 
The men's 110-meter hurdles was also a strong race for the Coyotes as Aidan Hedderman (14.82) took the top spot and Xander Provance (15.02) placed third. In the men's 5,000-meters, Piercze Marshall, running unattached, took first at 15:22.5 with Trevor Thomsen taking second at 15:25.98.
 
Melanie Pankow earned South Dakota's first gold on the track Wednesday, winning the 1,500-meters in 4:44.82. Sophie Amin added a title in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.14. In the 1,500-meters, Alyssa Gerth took the top spot in 18:19.23 with Reese Young-Oestmann finishing third at 18:25.84 and Moriah Knapp fourth at 18:58.24.
 
Claudia Werner took third in two events, the 400- (59.72) and 200-meters (25.64). Calli Davis, back in Yankton after competing for the host school, Mount Marty, previous to joining South Dakota this year, took fourth in both the 200 (25.73) and the 400 (59.89).
 
Wrapping up the Coyotes' day on the track, Davis, Werner, Cheatum, and Pulse ran 4:06.4 to win the 4x400 relay.
 
In field events, the first win the day for USD was by Delaney Smith, who took the women's hammer title at 176-5 (53.77m). In the men's hammer, Quincy Warren took third at 190-1 (57.94m). Continuing the success in the throws, Tristan Gray threw 54-1 ¼ (16.49m) in the men's shot put to take second.
 
Eliza Aitken took second in the women's pole vault with a height of 11-11 ¾ (3.65m).