SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- After a dominating performance at the Minnesota State Open and Multi last weekend, the University of Sioux Falls Track and Field Teams are heading to three different meets over the span of three days. On Wednesday (April 13) and Thursday (April 14), the Cougars will compete at the Red Raider Open in Orange City, Iowa. On Thursday (April 14) and Friday (April 15), the Cougars will be at the UW-Platteville Invitational in Platteville, Wisc. From there, the Cougars will wrap up the week at the Loper Invitational on Friday (April 15) in Kearney, Neb.
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Quick Season Breakdown
The Cougars kicked off their outdoor campaign at the Wildcat Outdoor Classic in Wayne, Neb. While there, USF tallied eight first-place finishes for the women and two first-place finishes for the men.
Tyler Hiatt had an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put, while
Emma Hertz had NCAA DII provisional marks in both the discus and hammer throw. In total, USF had 10 titles, 29 top-five finishes, and several top-10 marks at the first outdoor meet of the season.
On Friday, April 2, the Cougars competed at the USD Early Bird Meet in Vermillion, S.D. USF finished the day with seven top-ten finishes on the women's side and five top-ten finishes on the men's side.
Tyler Hiatt had an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put and set USF 's outdoor mark in the shot put, while
Emma Hertz had NCAA DII provisional marks in both the discus and hammer throw.
On April 8-9, USF competed at the Minnesota State Open & Multi, where they racked up multiple PR's, school top-10 bests, and new school records. The Cougars finished with 25 top-ten finishes on the women's side and 18 top-ten finishes on the men's side. As a result, USF Women's Team finished fourth in the team standings with 87.5 points while the Men's Team was also fourth in the team race with 72 points.
Before the outdoor season began, the Cougars were projected to finish seventh (women) and ninth (men), respectively, in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll released Friday, March 18.
USF Women's Season Recap --
Whipps named NSIC Outdoor Athlete of the Week for the first time
Wildcat Outdoor Classic - For the first time in her career, junior
Kayleigh Whipps was 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.
Senior
Emma Hertz had NCAA DII provisional marks in both the discus and the hammer throw at the Wildcat Classic. She won the discus with a throw of 48.40 m (158-09), which would rank second all-time at USF outdoors but her mark of 175-10.25 a year ago is the school record. Hertz also took second place in shot put, with a throw of 13.98 m (45-10.50), and sixth in the hammer throw, with a toss of 53.82 m (176-07), which is an NCAA DII provisional mark.
Sophomore
Cassidy O'Meara brought home two first-place finishes for the Cougars, including a 2:23.98 clocking in the 800 meter run and a 4:16.11 time as a member of the winning 4x400 meter relay team. Other team members included Anika Aho (soph.),
Gracie Bucher (fresh.), and
Khot Juac (soph.). In the 1500 meter run, Juac took first place with a clocking of 4:54.67 which ranks 10th all-time and is her second best of her career. Sophomore
Karlee Simmons won the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:18.69. In the field events, sophomore
Kenna Comstock won the pole vault with a height of 3.30 m (10-10.00).
USD Early Bird Meet - Senior
Emma Hertz had two more NCAA DII provisional marks in both the discus and the hammer throw. She placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 47.10 m (154-06 1/2), which would rank third all-time at USF outdoors but her mark of 175-10.25 a year ago is the school record. Hertz also took sixth place in the hammer throw, with a throw of 55.79m (183-00 1/2), which is an NCAA DII provisional mark and the second-best throw at USF, just short of her own school record.
On the track,
KaNya Henderson brought home a second place finish for the Cougars in the 100 M dash, running a 12.19 -- not a personal best for Henderson but it is fifth all-time at USF. In the 1500 M run, freshman
Morgan Gehl took 10th place for USF, running a 4:47.08 which is seventh all-time at USF. In the 100 M hurdles, Swanson ran a 15.28 for 20th place and seventh all-time at USF.
Tianna Voigt ran a 12:12.12 to place 14th in the 3000 m steeplechase, which is ninth all-time at USF.
Emma Hertz ranks 1st in NCAA DII in the discus & receives NSIC Field Athlete of the Week honors for the fifth time
MN State Open & Multi -
Emma Hertz, who won two titles, set two school record and had three NCAA DII provisional marks at the Minnesota State Open and Multi on April 8-9 in Mankato, Minn., has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Field Athlete of the Week. Hertz has earned the NSIC Field Athlete of the Week award five times in her career.
A five-time All-American, Hertz had a big meet for the Cougars on Friday and Saturday. With a throw of 54.52 meters – 178-10 in the discus on Friday, April 8, Hertz recorded the best throw in NCAA DII in the discus throw. Her throw, which set meet and facility records, is nearly two feet better than Zada Swoopes of West Texas A&M at 176-11 (March 19).
Also on the field for the Cougars,
Kamry Lindsey finished in fourth in the discus with a throw of 44.86m (147-02), which is fifth all-time but not her PR. MacKenzie Bengston placed fifth (44.12m, 144-09) for seventh all-time.
Kenna Comstock took second in the pole vault at 3.27m - 10-8.75, while
Emily Swanson took fourth place in the high jump at 1.64m - 5-04.5, which ranks third all-time outdoors and her outdoor PR.
On the track, the Cougars had a great group of performances, including a first place finish in the 4x100 m relay, with a team of
KaNya Henderson,
Emma Kenkel,
Myah Roggenbuck, and
Natalie Meyers (48.52). The team's time is also seventh best in USF history.
Khot Juac finished 8th in the 800 M run (2:20.20) and 9th in the 1500 M Run (4:42.34 - 5th all-time at USF).
Morgan Gehl finished in 10th place with a sixth all-time best time at USF of 4:43.47. In the 4x400 M relay, the Cougars had a third place finish with a group of
Emily Swanson,
Holly Mayers,
Tianna Voigt, and
Emma Kenkel (4:05.30). In the 3000 m steeplechase,
Kayleigh Whipps ran a personal-best 11:48.87 for seventh place (bettered her previous mark by nearly 20 seconds) and fourth all-time at USF.
Karlee Simmons' eighth place finish of 11:57.00 is fifth all-time at USF, while
Tianna Voigt placed ninth with a sixth all-time best time at USF of 11:57.77.
USF Men's Season Recap --
Wildcat Outdoor Classic - In his first outdoor competition at USF, sophomore
Tyler Hiatt had a big day for the Cougars. He placed second with an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put (16.75 m 54-11.50). The throw of 54-11.50 ranks second all-time at USF outdoors. He also took fifth-place finish in the discus (48.64 m 159-07). The discus throw by Hiatt ranks tied for fifth all-time outdoors at USF.
Junior
David Ecker had a successful day for the Cougars, including a first-place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase (9:40.24) and a third-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles (9:40.24). In the 5000 meter run, USF took places 3-5, with
Micade Shumway in third (15:30.58),
Christian Lietz in fourth (16:29.13), and Justin Steffensmeier in fifth (16:35.68).
In the field events, senior
Jake Person brought home a first-place finish for the Cougars in the pole vault with a height of 4.37 meters - 14-04. Freshman
Samuel Olson came in second behind Person, with a height of 3.80 m (12-05.50), and freshman
Nicholas Cole came in third at 3.20 m (10-06.00).
USD Early Bird Meet - Sophomore
Tyler Hiatt had a strong day for the Cougars. He placed third with an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put, with a throw of 16.95 m (55-07.50), which is a new outdoor school record at USF. A sophomore from Sioux Falls, SD, Hiatt continued his strong start to the outdoor season by breaking the eight-year old record of Jordon Bents of 55-04.25.
On the track, junior
David Ecker finished third in the 3000 m steeplechase, with a third all-time at USF time of 9:20.32 although short of his own school record.
Aaron Voigt finished in fifth with a time of 9:34.79, which is sixth all-time at USF and just off his best all-time.
Ben Mandel finished eighth in the 110 m hurdles, with a time of 14.90, which is sixth all-time at USF and Mandel's PR.
MN State Open & Multi - For the second straight week,
Tyler Hiatt set a school record, with a first-place discus throw of 51.05m of 167-06. The throw broke the mark of Evan Colfack in 2013 (166-08) and was a NCAA DII provisional mark. Hiatt also broke the school record in the shot put, with a throw of 17.40m- 57-1, which was also a meet record.
Also on the field for the Cougars,
Jaymeson Wolkow threw 49.64m (162-10) for a fifth place finish in the hammer throw. Wolkow also finished 14th in the shot put (13.22m, 43-04.50) and sixth in the discus (45.21m, 148-04).
Samuel Olson finished in seventh place in the pole vault (3.88m, 12-08.75), while
Denver Decker placed eighth in the javelin with a throw of 41.39m.
On the track, the Cougars had an outstanding handful of performances, including a second place finish in the 10,000 m run from
Micade Shumway (31:33.57 - 5th all-time at USF) and a third place finish from
Christian Lietz (33:29.24). In the 3000 m steeplechase,
Aaron Voigt brought home a third place finish for the Coo with a time of 9:27.78 (3rd all-time at USF).
Joseph Donahue took second in the 100 m dash (10.92 - 5th all-time at USF) and seventh in the 200 m dash (23.24).
Looking Ahead
The Cougars' outdoor season continues after this busy week, with USF heading back to Vermillion, S.D. for the South Dakota Challenge April 22-23. From there the Cougars will head to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa April 27-30, before competing at a few more meets leading up to the NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Aberdeen, S.D. May 12-14.
