SIOUX FALLS - The University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Teams will look to build off last strong performances at USD Challenge as both squads will compete in the Sioux City Relays on Saturday (April 13) in Sioux City Iowa.
Field events at the Sioux City Relays begin at 11 a.m., with the women's high jump. Track events start at 10 p.m., with the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. A full schedule of events for the Sioux City Relays is available here.
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Men's team picked third in NSIC preseason poll
After a fifth place finish at the NSIC Outdoor Championships last season, the USF Men's Track & Field team was picked to finish third out of 11 programs. Minnesota State was tabbed the unanimous favorite with an even 100 points from 10 first-place votes while the Cougars received 82 vote points. Junior distance runner Zach Lundberg and senior thrower Christian Gruschin were named USF's preseason men's "Athletes to Watch".
Zawadzki shines - Earns NSIC Field Athlete of the Week honor
A redshirt junior exercise science major from San Diego, Calif., Tristan Zawadzki highlighted the day for USF at the USD Challenge on Saturday with a fourth place finish and an NCAA provisional height of 5.16 meters (16' 11") in the men's pole vault. Zawadzki ranks fourth in the NCAA DII after his performance and is ranked number one in the NSIC. At the Wildcat Classic on March 23, Zawadzki tied with senior Connor DeJong for first place in the men's pole vault at 4.70 meters (15-05.00). DeJong is tied for 31st in NCAA DII and third in the NSIC following his jump.
USF presents strength in distance events
USF's talented distance contingent will race for the first time this spring. The group will be led by junior Mason Phillips of Bailey, Colo., who along with Steven Brown and Zach Lundberg were members of the Men's Cross Country Team which led USF to a program-best fifth place finish at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships (Dec. 1). The group was also part of the Men's Distance Medley Relay that earned All-American honors with a program-best fourth place finish at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships I'm March.
At the USD Challenge, the USF distance contingent of Phillips, Lundberg, and Jase Kraft produced a solid outing in the men's 1,500-meter run. Phillips ran to a second place time of 3:54.53, while Lundberg claimed third (3:54.80) and Kraft took fourth (3:56.52). The USF trio was only surpassed by USD runner Eldon Warner who ran a 3:53.23 clip. Shodo Mahamed took first in the men's 5,000-meter run with a 16:08.48 clocking, while the USF 4X400 'A' relay squad of Logan Hansen, Billy Beseman, Lundberg and Phillips placed fifth with a 3:25.58 clocking.
Lundberg is a two-time All-NSIC finisher at NSIC Outdoor championships. Lundberg ranked third in the NSIC 1,500-meter run and second in the men's 5,000-meter run and is the USF men's 1,500-meter record-holder after breaking record twice in 2018 season. Lundberg earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the 1,500-meter run as one of the top-five runners in the Central Region and was also named NSIC Men's Newcomer of the Year in 2017 and All-NSIC second team honors cross country as a freshman.
Chandler Nelson ranks top-25 in men's discus
Following his sixth place finish with an NCAA DII provisional throw of 49.80-meters (163' 4.75") in the men's discus at the USD Challenge, Nelson ranks 25th in the country and second in the NSIC in the event. Also at the USF Challenge, he took seventh in the shot put with a throw of 15.14-meters (49' 8.25").
Teammate Christian Gruschin will look to continue a good start in the throws. Named an NSIC Athlete to watch, Gruschin took second in the men's discus, 20th in the hammer throw, and 23rd in the shot put at the NSIC Outdoor Championships a year ago. Gruschin also holds the USF record in the men's hammer throw with a distance of 177' 11".
Women's team picked sixth in NSIC preseason poll
The USF Women's Track & Field team was selected to finish sixth out of the 15 league programs and earned 125 points in the poll. The University of Mary was picked to win the NSIC as they garnered 14 first place votes and 196 points. The Marauders edged out MSU, who won the NSIC Indoor Championships earlier this year, by 16 points as the Mavericks polled 180 points.
Hertz and McNamee throw provisional marks
In her last time out at the USF Challenge, junior Emma Hertz produced two NCAA DII throws in both the women's discus and the women's shot put. Hertz finished second in the discus by tossing the oval 49.34-meters (161' 10"), which put her 12th in the country and second in the NSIC. Hertz also ranks first in the NSIC and 12th in the country in the shot put after she claimed second with a throw of 14.73- meters (48' 4"). A year ago, Emma Hertz earned All-NSIC honors with a second-place finish in the women's discus throw at the NSIC Outdoor Championships as well as USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the discus throw run as one of the top five performers this season in the Central Region. Hertz holds the USF discus throw record (158' 11"), and was ranked second in the outdoor shot put during the 2018 season.
Also at the USD Challenge, Jaimie McNamee claimed fourth with an NCAA DII provisional distance of 45.81-meters (150' 3"). With that performance, McNamee is tied for 31st in the country and fourth in the NSIC. At the USD Challenge, McNamee also was eighth in the hammer throw at 49.86-meters (163' 7"), which ranks her in a tie for 43rd in NCAA DII. McNamee holds the USF record in the women's hammer throw (164' 2"). Teammate Amber Cook recorded a personal record distance in the hammer throw at the USD Challenge with a distance of 49.99-meters (164' 0").
Jumps and distance runs highlight the women's team
USF sophomore Taryn Ceglowski and senior Rebecca Goertzen lead the USF distance events as they look to continue off of their impressive 2018 campaign. A year ago, Ceglowski was All-NSIC in women's 800-meter run after third-place finish at the NSIC Outdoor Championships. Ceglowski broke the USF 800-meter and 1,500-meter run records during the 2018 outdoor season and now owns six USF records including indoor 800-meter, 1,000-meter, mile and women's DMR records. She earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the 800-meter run as one of the top five runners in the Central Region and was named NSIC Women's Newcomer of the Year in 2018. At the USD Challenge, Ceglowski finished ninth in the women's 1,500-meter run with a 4:45.53 showing. The only DII runner ahead of Ceglowski was Bree Erickson from U-Mary, who recorded a 4:38.16 clocking.
Leading the USF field events contingent will be sophomore Chloe Peterson, who had solid performances at both the 2019 NSIC Indoor and 2018 Outdoor Meets. At last year's NSIC Outdoor Championships, Peterson finished fourth in the long jump. Also in the jumps, USF will also look contributions from junior Clara Paul as well as multi-event performers redshirt freshman Bryn Bower and sophomore Emily Olson. Along with Peterson, junior Sarah Troescher will give USF a solid 1-2 combo as they look to make an impact in the short sprints.
Leading the Pride
Doug Petersen is in his second season (fifth overall at USF) as Director of the University of Sioux Falls Track and Field/Cross Country Program. 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 assisted 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. This fall, he became the first USF Men's cross country head coach to be named the NSIC Men's Coach of the Year.
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.
