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University of South Dakota Athletics

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Track and Field

2024-25 Track and Field Roster

Bailey Zubke, USD Athletics
Bailey Zubke, USD Athletics
Gen Hirata
Aaron Mercado
Molly Sheppard
Aaron Mercado
Molly Sheppard
Molly Sheppard

Lydia Knapp

  • Class Graduate Student
  • Hometown Linden, Iowa
  • Highschool Panorama HS
  • Major Interdisciplinary Studies

Biography

Career Honors & Awards 
  • Honorable Mention All-American Outdoor (2023) 
  • Outdoor School Record Holder in discus (2025: 180-0)
  • Outdoor School Record Holder in hammer throw (2025: 215-4)
  • Summit League Champion Indoor (2023: weight throw)
  • Summit League Champion Outdoor (2023: hammer throw, discus; 2025: discus)
  • All-Summit League Indoor (2022: weight throw; 2025: weight throw)
  • All-Summit League Outdoor (2022: hammer throw, discus; 2025: hammer throw)
  • Summit League Field Athlete of the Week (2/21/23, 5/2/23)
  • Academic All Summit League Team (2022-23, 2021-22)
  • USTFCCCA All-Academic (2024-25, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2020-21)
  • Summit League Honor Roll (2024-25, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2020-21, 2019-20)
  • Summit League Commissioner's List (2024-25, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2020-21)
 
Career Bests

2024-25
Indoor Track & Field
All-Summit League in the weight throw with a third place finish at 64-10 ¾ (19.78m)… also placed 10th in the shot put at a season’s best 44-10 ¾ at the conference meet… won the weight throw at both the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational and the Mark Colligan Memorial with identical 65-5 ½ marks… placed runner-up in the weight throw at 64-9 ¾ at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational… placed inside the top three in each of her weight throw competitions during the season… placed inside the top 10 in all of her competitions during the season.
 
Outdoor Track & Field
Summit League Champion in the discus at 170-1… Summit League runner-up in the hammer throw at 214-11… also competed in the shot put at the championships… NCAA West First Round qualifier in the discus and hammer throw… placed 13th at the West First Round in the hammer (205-2) and 36th in the discus (165-7)… Reset her discus school record twice in California, first at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at 179-7 and then again at the Beach Invite at 180-0, placing third at both meets… broke the hammer throw school record during the South Dakota Challenge with a throw of 214-1 to win the event… reset the hammer record at 215-4 at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate the following week… took home seven event titles during the season… totaled an additional seven top three performances and placed inside the top 10 in each competition until the NCAA West.

2023-24
Indoor Track & Field
Competed at the USD Alumni Meet unattached, winning the weight throw with a mark of 63-11 ¾  (19.5m).

Outdoor Track & Field
Competed at home meets unattached...won four out of the five events she competed in over the season...had a season's best 166-8 (50.79m) in the discus at the USD Challenge, and a best of 202-9 (61.81m) in the hammer throw at the USD Invite.

2022-23
Indoor Track & Field
Summit League champion in the weight throw with a throw of 67-2 ¾ (20.49m) … member of the Coyotes’ Summit League Championship title-winning team … captured the weight throw at the USD Alumni Meet with a personal best mark of 67-8 ¾ (20.64) … moved to second in South Dakota program history in the weight throw with the mark … launched the weight throw 66-1 ½ (20.15m) for second at the Nebraska Tune-Up … named Summit League Field Athlete of the Week on February 21 following the meet … won the discus at the SDSU Holiday Tune-Up … threw the weight 67-3 ½ (20.51m) at the Tyson Invitational … notched 14 top-10 finishes during the season … voted to the Academic All-Summit League team … named USTFCCCA All-Academic.
 
Outdoor Track & Field
Honorable mention All-America in the hammer throw … Summit League champion in the hammer throw (195-0) and discus (170-10) … also placed eighth in the javelin (127-5) at the Summit League Championships … launched the hammer a personal best 207-10 (63.35m) at the NCAA West Preliminary to advance to the NCAA Championships … placed 20th in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 201-6 (61.42m) … qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in both the hammer throw and discus … moved to second in South Dakota program history in the hammer throw (207-10) … finished as the top collegian in the discus (156-0) and hammer (206-4) at The Monday Meet … added a pair of top-10 finishes in the discus and the hammer throw at the Drake Relays … named Summit League Field Athlete of the Week on May 2 following the performances at the Monday Meet and the Drake Relays … launched the hammer 198-8 (60.56m) to finish as the top collegian at the USD Tune-Up … tallied 14 top-10 finishes during the spring … voted to the Academic All-Summit League team … named USTFCCCA All-Academic … made the Summit League honor roll … named to the Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.

2021-22
Indoor Track & Field
Earned all-Summit League honors in the weight throw … placed second in the weight throw with a mark of 64-5 at the Summit League Championships … moved to third on the Coyote Top 10 in the weight throw with a season-best mark of 65-4 ¼ at the USD Alumni Meet, finishing as the top collegian and third overall at the meet … won the weight throw at the Ichabod Mid-Week Challenge in 64-10 ½ … also took first in the weight throw at the SDSU Holiday Open … finished runner-up in the weight throw at the Hawkeye Invitational in 64-8 … posted a season-best of 44-7 ½ in the shot put at the Nebraska Adidas Classic … named USTFCCCA All-Academic.
 
Outdoor Track & Field
Earned all-Summit League honors in the hammer throw and discus … qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the hammer throw and discus … placed second in the discus, second in the hammer throw and fifth in the javelin at the Summit League Championships … broke the South Dakota school record in the discus with a mark of 175-2 from the South Dakota Challenge … the mark is also a state of South Dakota collegiate record in the discus … posted a season-best hammer throw of 205-9 at the Summit meet to move to second on the Coyote Top 10 in the event … moved to eighth on the Coyote Top 10 in the javelin with a mark of 140-6 from the conference meet as well … captured the hammer throw at the Wichita State KT Woodman Classic in 203-3 … won the hammer throw at the USD Early Bird and the discus throw at the USD Twilight … was the top collegian in the hammer throw at the USD Twilight with a distance of 204-1 … voted to the Academic All-Summit League team … named USTFCCCA All-Academic … made the Summit League honor roll … named to the Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.

2020-21
Indoor Track & Field
Placed eighth in the weight throw at the Summit League Championships … launched the weight throw a personal best 60-5 ¼ (18.42m) at the league meet … the mark ranks fourth in USD program history for the hammer throw … also took 13th in the shot put with a throw of 42-5 ½ (12.94m) at the league meet … finished runner-up in the weight throw at the USD Invitational and the SDSU Holiday Invitational … placed third in the weight throw at the Division I Challenge with a throw of 58-10 ¾ (17.95m) … launched the shot put a season-best 43-3 ¾ (13.20m) at the USD Invitational for sixth place … tallied 10 top-10 finishes during the season … named USTFCCCA All-Academic.
 
Outdoor Track & Field
Placed fourth in the hammer throw, fifth in the javelin and eighth in the discus at the Summit League Championships … sent the hammer 196-10 (59.99m), launched the javelin 135-3 (41.22m) and threw the discus 150-9 (45.96m) at the league meet … qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the hammer throw … posted a personal best hammer throw of 197-10 (60.30m) at the South Dakota Tune-Up and placed fourth … moved to second in USD program history for the hammer throw with the mark … threw the javelin a personal best 137-1 (41.79m) at the Drake Relays for the ninth-best mark in USD program history … launched the discus a personal best distance of 153-8 at the USD Twilight … the mark ranks 10th in USD program history … finished runner-up in the javelin at the USD Early Bird with a throw of 136-3 (41.52m) … took seventh in the hammer throw at the Drake Relays with a mark of 195-0 (59.43m) … tallied 16 top-10 finishes during the season … named USTFCCCA All-Academic … made the Summit League honor roll … named to the Summit League Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.

2019-20
Indoor Track & Field
Finished third in the indoor discus throw at the SDSU Holiday Invitational with a mark of 143-9 … recorded a personal best weight throw mark of 52- 11 for 10th place at the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet … launched the weight 51-7 ¼ at the Jim Emmerich Invitational … tallied a pair of top-10 finishes during the season … made the Summit League honor roll.
 
Outdoor Track & Field
Season cancelled by NCAA and The Summit League due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Prep
A four-time participant at the Iowa Track and Field Championships and three-time state medalist ... also qualified for the 2018 and 2019 Drake Relays in the discus ... a three-time all-West Central Conference softball player for the Panthers as well ... qualified for the Iowa State Cross Country Championships ... also played basketball for the Panthers.

Personal
Daughter of Mark and Lisa Knapp ... graduated in May of 2023 with degree in medical biology ... working towards master's degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Historical Player Information

  • 2019-20Freshman

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  • 2020-21Sophomore

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  • 2021-22Sophomore

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  • 2022-23Junior

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  • 2023-24Senior

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  • 2024-25Graduate Student

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