FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ­— For the Coyotes who had a chance to compete Wednesday afternoon in Fayetteville, it was a successful day with one Coyote advancing to the quarterfinals and one Coyote placing inside the top 20 in the region.
 
Only three of the originally scheduled eight South Dakota men's track and field athletes were able to compete on Wednesday afternoon as afternoon into early evening storms created schedule changes and delays.
 
While Jaden Damiano and Mikael Grace were able to get their 110-meter hurdle races in and Brandon Vander Sluis was able to compete in the men's shot put, the five men's pole vaulters who were scheduled for an 8 p.m. start were not able to compete due to the weather. The men's pole vault competition is now scheduled to begin at 2:40 p.m. Thursday before the women's pole vault competition. Caelan Harland, Beau Karst, Wyatt Stewart, Dylan Curtis, and Dutch Neuweiler will all look to punch a ticket to Eugene in that men's pole vault.
 
On the track, Damiano was able to punch his ticket into the 110-meter hurdle quarterfinals in the West Region for a second consecutive season. He was one of the three automatic qualifiers from the first heat with a personal best time of 13.59. He is now tied with sprint and hurdle coach Teivaskie Lewin for third in the event in school history. Grace ran a strong race in heat two, placing fourth in the heat with a time of 13.94, but was not able to be in the top 24 to advance to Friday's next round, placing 30^th.
 
Damiano missed out on advancing to the NCAA Championships last season by placing 17^th in the quarterfinals with the top 12 going to Eugene. His first round time was good enough for 13^th overall on Wednesday, .02 seconds behind the 12^th best time. He will look to crack the top 12 and punch his ticket to the National Championships at 6:15 p.m. Friday in the 110-meter hurdle quarterfinals.
 
The lone field competitor for the Yotes on Wednesday was Vander Sluis in the shot put. Competing at his first NCAA West Regional, Vander Sluis came up one inch short of advancing to Eugene, placing 14^th with a mark of 61-3 (18.67m). the final qualifying throw was marked at 61-4 (18.69m). In his first full collegiate throwing season since 2022-23, Vander Sluis earned a Summit League title and a trip to the NCAA West Regional. He was the top Summit League finisher in the shot put field Wednesday.
 
Looking ahead to Thursday, three Coyote women will join the men's pole vault crew in attempting to claim their spots in Eugene. In the women's hammer throw Thursday morning, Delaney Smith hoping to take a ticket to the NCAA Championships. In the women's pole vault, Anna Willis and Marleen Mülla are favorites to advance to the NCAA Championships as they both rank inside the top five in the West Region in the event.
 
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