SIOUX FALLS— The University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field (IDTF) teams will be in action on Friday and Saturday, where they make the hour-trip up I-29 to Brookings, S.D. The start of the IDTF season for USF will be at the SDSU Holiday Invitational and Multi, hosted by NCAA Division I South Dakota State.
Men's IDTF -
With plenty of momentum, the USF Men's IDTF Team will look to move up the standings at the NSIC Championships later this winter. A year ago, the Cougars earned a third place finish with 109.50 points at the NSIC Championships. The Cougars finished third for the second straight team as they had nine student-athletes earn All-NSIC honors. It was the fifth time as a member of the NSIC in which USF placed in the top three. USF, which led the competition after the first day, won the Distance Medley Relay title and qualified for nationals. The conference winning team of Jase Kraft, Logan Hansen, Billy Beseman and Mason Phillips cruised to an NSIC Championship record of 10:06.50 and returning from team is Beseman and Hanson. A year ago, Beseman was third in the 1000-meter run whileUSF Men's Indoor Track Athlete to Watch Zach Lundberg was third in the one-mile run.
USF Men's Indoor Field Athlete to Watch Tristan Zawadzki won the pole vault (16-8 1/4) in the NSIC Championship meet. Zawadzki earned a trip to nationals as did Lundberg in the 3K run while the DMR squad of Lundberg, Furgeson, Beseman, Phillips and alternate Jase Kraft qualified in the distance medley relay. The DMR squad set a school mark (9:48.74) by earning fourth and first team All-American honors at nationals. The DMR squad returns Lundberg, Beseman and Hanson. In the throws, outdoor All-NSIC standout Chandler Nelson returns.
The Cougars had an astounding 26 personal records (PRs) place in the top 10 in individual or team events in USF's all-time program history in the 2018-19 season. Of those 26, only eight of the placers or member of a placing squad will not return in Kraft, Trey Furgeson, Joe Kirkebak, Connor DeJong, and Christian Gruschin.
Women's IDTF -
With a team that will have strong depth and the return of both Taryn Ceglowski and Emma Hertz, the USF Women's IDTF Team will also look to make a move up the league standings. A year ago, USF finished a program-best sixth place at the NSIC Indoor Championships. USF, which had 43.50 points, had two student-athletes earn All-NSIC honors. USF Women's Indoor Track Athlete to Watch Taryn Ceglowski earned All-NSIC recognition by finishing third in both the mile run and the 1,000-meter run. USF Women's Indoor Field Athlete to Watch Emma Hertz qualified for nationals in the shot put, where she usurped her own school record with a throw of 15.17 meters for second-team All-American honors.
The Women's IDTF Team had a plethora of success altering the all-time program records, setting 21 PRs in the Top 10 of 12 different events in the 2018-19 IDTF season. Of the most notable accomplishments was now-senior Sarah Troescher who set two school records in the 60M Dash (7.70) and 200M Dash (25.65).
IDTF Additions-
The Cougars, under the direction of second-year Director of Track & Field Doug Petersen, have a great group or returners, as well as a talented group of freshmen, with the new-to-campus recruitment class being 33 athletes strong.
About Director Doug Petersen-
Doug Petersen is in his third season (sixth overall at USF) as Director of the University of Sioux Falls Track and Field/Cross Country Program. Peterson was named to the post on May 22, 2017 by former USF Director of Athletics Josh Snyder following the resignation of Reid Ehrisman.
Peterson brings a strong pedigree to the director's position as he has had success with the USF Men's and Women's Cross Country Team over the past three years, serving as head coach of the cross country program beginning in February of 2016 and assisting with the distance student-athletes in track and field since 2014-15. Before coming to USF, he had a Hall of Fame coaching career with Adrian High School in Minnesota.
Beginning May 22, Petersen took over a track and field/cross country program that has had significant success in its five-year period in NCAA DII. Most recently, the USF Men's Track and Field team recorded program-best second place finishes at the NSIC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2017. The men's team had a program-best ninth place finish at the 2017 NCAA DII Championships. In NCAA DII, USF Track and Field/Cross Country has had four national individual champions, including three since 2015, at the NCAA DII level along with 36 All-Americans, 33 NSIC individual champions, three Elite 90 Award recipients, more than 100 All-NSIC honorees, and 239 Academic All-NSIC selections.
