EUGENE, Ore. ­— South Dakota track and field freshman Caelan Harland took advantage of his first trip to an NCAA Championship meet, placing in a tie for 10^th in the men's pole vault competition Wednesday evening at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Harland cleared the opening bar of 17-0 ¾ (5.20m) on his first attempt to get the day started. After clearing the second height of 17-6 ½ (5.35m) on his second attempt, a first jump make at 18-0 ½ (5.50m) put him inside the top seven.

He bowed out of the competition at 18-4 ½ (5.60m), which would've been a personal best for Harland. Nine athletes cleared that bar, but Harland's sequence tied him for 10^th overall.
 
Harland becomes the first Coyote men's athlete to earn an all-American honor in his freshman season since Eerik Haamer placed fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2021. Fellow Coyotes Marleen Mülla and Anna Willis, who compete Thursday at the NCAA Championships, also earned all-American honors as freshman.
 
Mülla and Willis are set to compete at 5:35 p.m. Pacific Time, 7:35 p.m. Central, Thursday in the women's pole vault. Mülla is going for her seventh all-American honor in the pole vault while Willis is looking for her third. Both are looking to become a National Champion, and would become just the third USD athlete to win a National Championship at the Division I level.

   
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