The University of Sioux Falls had a great showing at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Devaney Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The women had their best finish in over a decade, taking third place with 113 points, and improving on their sixth place finish a year ago. Concordia University won the 2010 GPAC title with 151 points and Doane College tallied 136 points to finish second.
The Cougar men finished fourth with 75 points, edging Hastings College by only a point. Doane College won the 2010 GPAC title with 190.5 points, with Concordia University second at 117.5 points and Nebraska third with 93.5 points.
Ashley Unruh (Freeman, S.D.) was the first Cougar to compete on the day and got USF off on a positive note. The sophomore earned all-conference honors with a sixth place finish in the 5,000 meter race (3.1 miles), crossing the line at 18 minutes, 49.18 seconds, more than 10 seconds better than her seed time.
USF picked up major points in the 60 meter hurdles, taking four of the eight scoring positions. Freshman Brigitte Gross (Alexandria, S.D.) led the way with a runner-up time of 8.99 seconds, with freshman Sarah Sannerud (Granite Falls, MN) not far behind fourth place at 9.42 seconds. Freshman Jordan Johnson ( Arlington, Neb.) took sixth at 9.6 seconds and sophomore Becca Bedard (Rapid City, S.D.) finishing eighth with a time of 9.70. Gross came back in the 200 meter dash to finish seventh in a time of 26.43.
The 400 meter sprint was also a strong event for the Cougars, with freshman speedster Kendra Knight (Mitchell, S.D.) winning the event with a personal-best time of 58.07 seconds and junior Lindsay Reinhardt (Vancouver, Wash.) taking third in 58.88. Freshman Leah Wensmann (Abderdeen, S.D.) garnered the fifth spot, in a time of 1 minute, .04 seconds.
Knight and Reinhardt teamed together again in the 800 meter race to finish second and third in the race. Knight, who was only running the event for the second time in her career, finished runner-up in a time of 2 minutes, 18.87 seconds, with Reinhardt recording a time of 2:20.63 to finish third. Freshman Dani Moyer (Fremont, Neb.) earned a point in the 60 meter dash with an eighth place finish of 8.15 seconds.
USF concluded the day's track events with a first place showing in the 4x400 meter race. The Cougar's hold the fourth best time in the country in the event and Wensmann, Knight, Bedard and Reinhardt teamed for a time of 3 minutes, 57. 56 seconds.
The Cougars matched strong running on the track with excellent field performances. The USF women pole vaulters dominated the competition, scoring three Cougars and taking 23 of 39 points available in the event. Sophomore Kayla Friesen (Alliance, Neb.) won her third GPAC crown of her young career with a victory over freshman teammate Brigitte Gross, who finished runner-up with a personal best. Both Friesen and Gross hit 12 feet, 2 inches, but Friesen earned the victory by making the mark in fewer attempts. Freshman teammate Kristin Killough (Holdrege, Neb.) finished fourth in the vault at 11 feet, 9 inches.
Sophomore Sarah Gilbert (Papillion, Neb.) scored twice for the Cougars. Gilbert entered the triple jump with the third best mark in the conference, but won the event today with a seasonal-best and near-school record mark of 37 feet, 3.25 inches. Gilbert also finished runner-up in the high jump by going 5 foot, 4 inches. Junior shot-put specalist Maci Cottier (Gillette, Wyo.)improved on her seed of ninth, to finish 8th with a mark of 39'8.50"and score a point. Lindsay Reinhardt also finished sixth in the long jump, making a mark of 16 feet, 4.25 inches.
On the men's side, the 4x800 meter race scored the first points of the day. The team comprised of junior Gary Kashale (Sioux Falls, S.D.), freshman Jason Haddix (Beatrice, Neb.), freshman Tyler Voss (Chaska, MN) and sophomore Brandon Tullock (Omaha, Neb.) set a seasonal best time of 7 minutes, 57.49 seconds to finish third.
Junior Alex Anderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) finished third in the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.32 seconds and qualified for the national meet. Sophomore Brady Velgersdyk and Gary Kashale finished 3rd (1 minute, 20.51 seconds) and 8th (1 minute, 25.05 seconds) in the 600 meter run, respectively.
The 4x400 team with freshman Kyle Tibke (Dell Rapids, S.D.), freshman Tommy Torok (Sioux Falls, S.D.), freshman Ethan Johnson (Watertown, S.D.) and Velgersdyk, had one of the most exciting races of the day. Velgersdyk anchored and outleaned Dordt College by .0041 seconds to finish second in the event with a time of 3 minutes, 21.12 seconds. Doane College won the event by two seconds.
The field events proved fruitful for the men as well. Leading the way was the pole vaulters with sophomore Brian Schenavar (Thompson Falls, Mont.) winning event with a mark of 15'11". Senior Chad Aurich (Mayer, Mont.) was runner-up, junior Caleb Coffee (Milaca, MN) was fourth and freshman Jake Kunkle (Papillion, Neb.) was eighth.
Freshman Jordan Mueller (Yankton, S.D.) had a great first GPAC Championship meet in the high jump, placing fourth with a jump of 6 feet, 4 inches. In his first year of competing for USF, senior Trevor Holleman (New Holland, S.D.) finished fourth in the long jump, making a leap of 22 feet, 1.5 inches.
Up next for the men and women is the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, March 4 in Johnson City, Tenn.
GPAC Scorers (Top 8 Finishers)
Men
1st: Brian Schenavar, pole vault, 15'11"
2nd: 4x400 relay team, 3:21.12, Kyle Tibke, Tommy Torok, Ethan Johnson, Brady Nelgersdyk
Chad Aurich, pole vault, 15'5"
3rd: 4x800 relay team, Gary Kashale, Jason Haddix, Tyler Voss, Brandon Tullock, 7:57.49
Alex Anderson, 60 meter hurdles, 8.32
Brady Velgersdyk, 600 meters, 1:20.51
4th: Trevor Holleman, long jump (22'1")
Jordan Mueller, high jump (6'4")
Caleb Coffee, pole vault, 14'11"
6th:Alex Zuke, heptathlon, 4093
Austin King, long jump, 21'9.50"
7th:Kaleb Stevens, heptathlon, 4042
Ethan Johnson, long jump, 21'9"
8th: Gary Kashale, 600 meters, 1:25.05
Jake Kunkle, pole vault, 14'05"
Matt Zilverberg, heptathlon, 3848
Jon Ryan, long jump, 21'8.75"
Women
1st: Kayla Friesen, pole vault, 12'02"
Sarah Gilbert, triple jump, 37'3.25"
Kendra Knight, 400 meters, 58.07
4x400, 3:57.56 (Kendra Knight, Leah Wensmann, Lindsay Reinhardt, Becca Bedard)
2nd: Sarah Gilbert, high jump, 5'4
Brigitte Gross, pole vault, 12'02"
Brigitte Gross, 60 meter hurdles, 8.99
3rd: Lindsay Reinhardt, 400 meters, 58.88
4th: Kristin Killough, pole vault, 11'9"
Sarah Sannerud, 60 meter hurdles, 9.42
5th: Leah Wensmann, 400 meters, 1:00.04
6th: Lindsay Reinhardt, long jump, 16'4"
Ashley Unruh, 5,000 meters, 18:49.18
Jordan Johnson, 60 meter hurdles, 9.60
7th: Brigitte Gross, 200 meter, 26.43
Lindsey Wacholz, triple jump, 35'3.75"
8th: Macie Cottier, shot put, 39'8.50"
Becca Bedard, 60 meter hurdles, 9.70
Dani Moyer, 60 meter dash, 8.15
2010 Indoor Track and Field National Qualifiers (updated 2/20/2010)
Men
Alex Anderson-60m hurdles 8.32 (automatic)
Brady Velgersdyk- 600m 1:20.51 (automatic)
Andrew Ellsworth- pole vault 15'7 (automatic)
Brian Schenavar- pole vault 16' (automatic)
Chad Aurich- pole vault 15'5" (automatic)
4 x 400m- 3:21.12 (automatic)
Caleb Coffee- pole vault 15'1" (provisional)
Jon Ryan- long jump 22'11.75 (provisional) and triple jump 45'9 (provisional)
Trevor Holleman- long jump 22'7.75"
Ethan Johnson- long jump 22'7.25 (provisional)
Nathan Bridgman- triple jump 45'8 (provisional)
Colin Koth- 400m 49.73 (provisional)
4 x 800m- 7:57.49 (provisional)
Women
Kendra Knight- 600m 1:34.71 (automatic) and 400m 58.07 (automatic) and 800m 2:17.72 (automatic)
Lindsay Reinhardt- 600m 1:34.19 (automatic) and 400m 58.58 (automatic)
Sarah Gilbert- Long jump 17'9.75" (provisional), high jump 5'7" (automatic), triple jump 37'3.25" (automatic)
Kayla Friesen- pole vault 12'7.50" (automatic)
Kristin Killough- pole vault 12' (automatic)
Brigitte Gross- pole vault 12'2.75" (automatic) and 60m hurdles 8.99 (automatic)
Shelly Jacobs- pole vault 11'6" (automatic)
4 x 400m- 3:55.68 (automatic)
Sarah Sannerud- 60m hurdles 9.33 (provisional)
Macie Cottier- Shot put 41'3.75" (provisional)
Krissy Aesoph- 60m 7.93 (provisional)
