SIOUX FALLS – With a strong start to the spring outdoor season, the University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Teams will compete at the University of Sioux Dakota Invitational on Saturday, April 6 for the second weekend of their outdoor season.

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Last time out – Wildcat Classic
In their first competition of the season, the USF Women's Track and Field Team had a solid effort, led by a talented relay squad. The USF women's 4X100 relay team claimed first place after posting a 48.67 clocking at the Wayne State College Wildcat Classic on March 23. The team of Kanya Henderson, Sara Troescher, Mercy Oyadare and Chloe Peterson edged Jamestown (51.18) by almost three seconds. Also at the meet, Peterson also won the women's long jump with a final jump of 5.44 meters (17-10.25). Junior Emma Hertz won a title in the women's discus with a 47.74 meter (156-07) showing where she beat Wayne State thrower Kenzie Sullivan (43.65 meters, 143-02) by over 13 feet. Jaimie McNamee posted a third-place finish of 42.53 meters (139-06) and Kayla Andersen rounded out the top-10 with a 38.83 meter (127-05) throw.

Highlighting the men's squad at the Wildcat Classic was Senior Connor DeJong and junior Tristan Zawadzki, who tied for first place in the men's pole vault at 4.70 meters (15-05.00). Patrick Hagan posted a trio of top-10 results including placing fifth in the javelin throw (44.52 meter, 146-01), eighth in the hammer throw (49.15 meter, 161-03) and ninth in the shot put (14.15 meters, 46-05.25). Junior Christian Gruschin took fourth in the men's discus with a throw of 47.54 meters (156-00). Gruschin just beat out teammate Chandler Nelson, who was fifth of 47.47 meters (155-09).

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".

USF men's team presents strength in distance and throws
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.

Lundberg, a junior from Omaha, Neb., 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.

Phillips missed the 2018 outdoor season, but was the NSIC Indoor Most Valuable Performer a year ago when he set five indoor track records (800, 1,000, mile, 3K, DMR) and won both mile and 3K at the NSIC Championships. Phillips, who has earned four combined All-American honors in cross country and track and field, has a combined eight NSIC Weekly Athlete of the Week honors in track and field and cross country.  In 2018, he earned All-American honors in the mile and as a member of the Distance Medley Relay.  He set five indoor track records (800, 1,000, mile, 3K, DMR). In his career at USF, he has 16 titles with 15 coming by individual performance in track and field or cross-country.

Gruschin will look to continue a good start in the throws this spring. 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.

USF women's team highlights jumps and throws
With one meet under their belt, USF throws will look to have a strong outing at the Wildcat Open. 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. She's also the USF indoor record holder in the shot put (44' 5.25"), and was sixth in the hammer throw last season. Hertz was USF's first NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship qualifier in the women's discus throw and was USF's first women's thrower to qualify for the NCAA Championships a year ago.

Jaime McNamee holds the USF record in the women's hammer throw (164' 2") and will look to build off her impressive 2018 outdoor campaign.
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 outdoor meet, 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.

Ceglowski and Goertzen anchor distance events
For the first time this year, USF's outdoor women's distance contingent will be in action They will be led by senior Rebecca Goertzen and sophomore Taryn Ceglowski. 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.

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.