SIOUX FALLS – Members of the University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Teams will compete in five different meets this week as they look to continue and impressive showing this spring.   

USF will compete in the USD Twilight Meet on Tuesday (April 23) before head to the Drake Relays (April 24-27), Simpson College Kip Janvrin Invite (Friday, April 26) and the Gustavus Adolphus Drake Alternative on Saturday, April 27. USF's multi-event athletes will compete April 28-29 at the NSIC Multi-Event Championship in Aberdeen, S.D.

Keeping up with the Cougars
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Lundberg and Phillips highlight strength in distance events
In the past week, USF has had a number of top notch performances on the track and in field events. At the Bryan Clay Invite (April 19), junior Zach Lundberg took 53rd in the men's 1,500-meter dash with a NCAA DII provisional time of 3:46.64, which ranks him 10th in the country and first in the NSIC. Teammate Mason Phillips ran a 3:49.04 clocking in the event, which also is a NCAA DII provisional time and ranks him 20th in the country and second in the NSIC.

Phillips of Bailey, Colo., who along with Steven Brown and 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 Sioux City Relays (April 13), USF took the top three spots in the men's 1,500-meter run as Lundberg finished first in the event with a clocking of 3:59.87. Phillips crossed the line just after Lundberg with a 3:59.91 showing, and teammate Jase Kraft was third with a 4:01.39 clocking. Senior Billy Beseman recorded a top-10 time of 4:04.42 as he finished ninth in the event. USF also controlled the men's 800-meter dash by placing three in the top-eight as Lundberg was second in 1:54.03; Beseman, fourth (1:54.97); and Kraft, eighth (1:56.13).

At the USD Challenge (April 6), 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). 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, 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.

Zawadzki and DeJong post strong start to the outdoor season
After recording an NCAA DII provisional mark during the USD Challenge (5.16-meters, 16' 11") on April 6, Tristan Zawadzki hit another provisional height of J5.01-meters (16' 5.25") in the men's pole vault during  the Sioux City Relays (April 13).  Zawadzki was awarded the NSIC Field Athlete of the Week honor after the USD Challenge where he hit an NCAA provisional height of 5.16 meters (16' 11") in the men's pole vault. Zawadzki ranks eighth in the NCAA DII after his performance and is ranked number one in the NSIC.

Senior Connor DeJong is ranked 42nd in the country and fourth in the NSIC in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.71-meters (15' 5.5"), which he hit at the Sioux City Relays last weekend (April 13).

Gruschin and Nelson hold provisional marks in throws
At the Red Raider Open, Christian Gruschin also placed second in the discus after tossing the oval a NCAA DII provisional mark of 50.57-meters (165' 11"), which ranks him 25^th in the country and second in the NSIC. Teammate Chandler Nelson claimed fifth in the event at 48.75-meters (159' 11"). At the Sioux City Relays, Nelson took third in the men's discus with a NCAA DII provisional mark of 49.80-meters (163' 5"), which tied his mark that he previously set at the USD Challenge. Nelson ranks 35th in NCAA DII and third in the NSIC.

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".

Women's Season Review –
Hertz and Cook break records to highlight strength in throws
Junior Emma Hertz set a stadium record in the women's shot put and senior Amber Cook broke the school record in the women's hammer throw to highlight the performances at the Red Raider Open on Saturday (April 20). USF was highlighted by a strong day from the field events which was led by Hertz who took first in the shot put (15.22-meters, 49' 11.25"), second in the discus (48.77-meters, 160' 00") and fifth in the hammer throw (49.46-meters, 162' 03"). Hertz's shot put mark was a NCAA DII provisional distance that ranks her 11^th in the country and first in the NSIC. Cook broke the USF program record in the hammer throw after posting a second place finish with a toss of 51.80-meters (169' 11"). Teammate Jaimie McNamee took third in the event at 49.85-meters (163' 06") while Kayla Anderson was sixth after a 47.81-meter (156' 10") toss.

At the USD Challenge, 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 is 12th in the country and second in the NSIC. Hertz also ranks first in the NSIC and 14th 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 new record in the USF discus throw, and held the old record (158' 11") during last season as she was ranked second in the outdoor shot put during the 2018 campaign.

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 34th 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").

Women's team shows strength in distance and jumps
At the Sioux City Relays, USF sophomore Taryn Ceglowski finished first in the women's 1,500-meter run by clocking a 4:45.99. Ceglowski ran a preliminary run of 4:32.49, which is an NCAA DII provisional mark. Ceglowski also took third in the \ 800-meter dash with a 2:16.77 clocking.  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.

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.

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.