BURNSVILLE, MINN. – For the first time in her career, junior Kayleigh Whipps of the University of Sioux Falls Track and Field Team has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Week.

 

At the Wildcat Outdoor Invite in Wayne, Neb., Whipps, a junior from Eau Claire, Wisc., had an impressive day for USF, including winning the 3000 meter steeplechase with a clocking of 12:07.59. The mark by Whipps ranks seventh-best outdoors in USF school history and is her first-career outdoor title at USF. In addition to the title and top-10 mark, she ran to a second-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles (1:24.60) in her first attempt at that event.

 "Kayleigh (Whipps) ran an exceptional race in winning the 3K steeplechase with a collegiate PR by more than a minute," said USF Director of Track and Field/ross Country Doug Petersen. "It is pretty exciting that she earned this award. I am really happy for her and the way she competed on Saturday," he said.

Whipps now has two individual titles in her career and five top-six placings while at USF. She also won the 5,000-meters at 18:33.32 at the Ted Nelson Classic on Feb. 5, 2022 at the Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.

Whipps and her USF teammates will compete on Saturday, April 2 at the University of South Dakota Early Bird Meet in Vermillion, SD.