SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Sioux Falls opened their indoor postseason with impressive performances at the conference championships, and now they send 10 athletes to Birmingham, Ala. to compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 13 and 14. The Cougars tallied six individual titles at the NSIC Indoor Championships on March 26 and 27 and the four athletes who earned each of those victories will represent USF in the final indoor meet of the season.
Spanning two days, USF will compete in two events each day. The women's pole vault crew will open the NCAA Championships for the Cougars, competing at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, March 13, and the men's distance medley relay team closes day one at 7:50. Katlyn Sawtelle will kick off day two, beginning the pentathlon at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, and USF's final event, the men's pole vault, is set to begin at 3:30 later that day.
Pole vault power: USF a stalwart program in DII
USF's pole vault contingent, which consists of three women and two men, boasts the top men's pole vaulter, three in the top three of their gender, and all five are seeded 11th or better. University of Sioux Falls sends the second-most athletes to compete in the pole vault competitions -- their five athletes are second to only Grand Valley State's six. With two men competing in Saturday's pole vault, USF is the only school with multiple men in competition. Sioux Falls' women's trio is one of two women's programs with multiple vaulters competing. Grand Valley State has five women in competition with an average seed of 9.6 while USF's three women are all in the top 11 and their average seed is 11.0.
Kimberly Peterson and Scott Greenman swept the women's and men's pole vault competitions at the NSIC Championships, with Greenman setting a new meet record, and will be the third-seeded vaulters in their respective competition. Jagger Gran enters the men's pole vault with a target on his back, coming in as the top-seeded vaulter, whose mark at the SDSU Indoor Classic on Feb. 13 also broke the USF record. Courtney Crandall and Sophie Harano both reached personal bests at the NSIC Championships and enter with tied for seventh and 11th, respectively, in the 16-athlete field.
At last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, Bridgette Gross brought the Cougars their first national title since transitioning to Division II in 2011, establishing themselves as a force in the pole vault. In their two years of Division II competition, the Cougars have claimed 11 All-Americans, including Gross' national title. With Gran Greenman, and Crandall all have Division II national championship meet experience -- Gran and Greenman are making their fifth straight appearance and Crandall her third -- USF isn't short on national meet experience in 2015 and have a pedigree of strong performances out of the qualifiers. The Cougars have placed at least five vaulters into championship meets in all five NCAA Division II championship meets and have crowned at least two All-Americans each time with four at the 2013 outdoor championships and three most recently at the 2014 outdoor championships.
Meet the vaulters
Jagger Gran - Junior, Shoreview, Minn. - No. 1 seed - season best: 5.23m , 17 feet-1.75 inches
Making his fifth NCAA Championship appearance, Gran enters Saturday's competition as the No. 1 seed. With his personal-best 5.23-meter vault on Feb. 13 at the SDSU Indoor Classic, Gran set a new USF record and moved to the top of the NCAA Division II leaderboard this season. Gran has earned two All-American honors, with a best finish of fourth-place at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships. He placed second at the NSIC championships two weeks ago, only losing to his teammate -- he had won three of the previous four NSIC men's pole vault competitions. Gran was named the NSIC Field Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments this winter.
Scott Greenman - Junior, Clovis, Calif. - No. 3 Seed - season best: 5.20m, 17 feet - 0.75 inches
Coming off a record-setting NSIC championship performance, Greenman is experiencing one of the best seasons of his career. Greenman went 3-for-3 on jumps at the NSIC championships, clearing 4.90, 5.10, and 5.20 meters on each of his first attempts at the heights to set a new NSIC record and collect his second NSIC men's pole vault title. He is also making his fifth appearance and has earned All-American honors at each of the past two NCAA Championships, including a third-place finish at the 2014 Indoor Championships.
Kimberly Peterson - Freshman, Elizabeth, Colo. - No. 3 seed - season best: 3.95m, 12 feet-11.5 inches
In her first collegiate season, Peterson has certainly wasted no time making a name for herself, winning the NSIC women's pole vault championship and leading NCAA Division II for a large portion of the season -- her mark now ranks third entering the NCAA Championships. In her eight competitions, Peterson has hit the provisional standard each time and fell just five centimeters short of this season's automatic qualifying standard. This is her first NCAA
Courtney Crandall - Junior, Rapid City, S.D. - No. 7 seed - season best: 3.90m, 12 feet, 9.5 inches
An All-NSIC performer this season, Crandall is making her third NCAA Championship appearance and seeks her first All-American finish on Friday. Clearing 3.90 meters twice this season, Crandall set her PR first at the SDSU Indoor Classic on Feb. 14 and cleared it again at the NSIC Championships to reaffirm her place as one of the top female pole vaulters in Division II. Crandall has placed top three in all eight competitions this season, winning in consecutive weekends on Feb. 7 and 14.
Sophie Harano - Junior, Lincoln, Neb. - No. 11 seed - season best: 3.80m, 12 feet, 5.5 inches
A personal-best mark at the NSIC Championships two weeks ago moved Harano up the NCAA Division II qualifying list and earned her a trip to her first NCAA Championships. Harano cleared 3.80 meters on her second attempt at the league championships to earn sixth place and move her just outside of the top national Division II top-10 list. Harano has cleared the provisional standard nine times this season, proving she has the consistency to make a run at an All-American finish on Friday.
DMR looks to break through
Placing a distance medley relay squad in the 12-team field for a the second straight year, Sioux Falls hopes to break through with a top-eight finish and earn All-American honors for the first time in Division II. Last year the Cougars finished in ninth place by a half second, missing out on All-American honors by one spot. Equating to a 4,000-meter race, the DMR is broken into four legs, separating to 1,200-, 400-, 800-, and 1,600-meter distances. The quartet of Cougars is seeded 11th in the 12-team field, but are primed for success with two of their runners coming off huge performances at the NSIC Championships two weeks ago.
Opening the race for USF is 2014 NSIC Men's Cross Country athlete of the year Bobby Brockmueller in the 1,200-meter leg and he is scheduled to hand the baton to freshman Trey Ferguson, who was runner-up in the men's 600-meter run at the NSIC Championships. In the final two legs are Jase Kraft and Billy Brockmueller, who completed a four-event sweep of the distance races at the conference championships. Kraft will run the 800-meter leg and hand the baton to Brockmueller, who will close the race with the final 1,600-meters.
Kraft and Billy Brockmueller are both brimming with confidence after both won a pair of individual championships at the conference championships. Kraft completed an outstanding double at the NSIC meet, winning the mile run and 1,000-meter run in less than two hours apart. Brockmueller was equally dominant at the NSIC Championships, breaking away from the field in both 3,000- and 5,000-meter races on consecutive nights and cruising to two victories. Below are the athletes and the season- and career-bests for each of the four athlete's respective distances (*the 1,200- and 800-meter legs are converted from 1,000-meter times).
1,200* - Bobby Brockmueller - season best: 3:08.87 - career best: 3:05.04
400 - Trey Ferguson - season best: 50.85 - career best: 50.85
800* - Jase Kraft - season best: 1:55.85 - career best: 1:55.85
1,600 - Billy Brockmueller - season best: 4:19.77 - career best: 4:12.97
Combined season best total time: 10:15.34
Combined career best total time: 10:04.71
Sawtelle looks to end indoor career on a high note
School record holder and NSIC runner-up, Katlyn Sawtelle is set to open day two of the NCAA Championships for the Cougars in the women's pentathlon. The Luverne, Minn. native opened the season with a school record-breaking performance in the women's pentathlon, scoring 3,733 points, a provisional mark. She then finished second at the NSIC Multi-Event Championship with a 3,726 point total that converted to 3,748 for events run on a flat track and is the No. 11 seed entering Saturday's events.
Sawtelle is a two-time national qualifier, making her second appearance in the pentathlon competition this weekend. At the 2013 NCAA Championships, she finished 12th with a 3,352 score. She enters the meet with a successful senior campaign under her belt, setting four PRs in pentathlon events this season. In order of the events for the pentathlon, Sawtelle's season bests and career bests are listed below.
60-meter hurdles - season best: 8.82 seconds; career best: 8.82 seconds
High jump - season best: 1.64m, 5 feet-4.5 inches; career best: 1.64m, 5 feet-4.5 inches
Long Jump - season best: 5.44m, 17 feet-10.25 inches; career best: 5.52m, 18 feet-1.5 inches
Shot Put - season best: 11.39m, 37 feet-4.75 inches; career best: 37 feet-4.75 inches
800-meter run - season best: 2:21.00; career best: 2:21.00
