Helder sets regional standard at Beach Invite

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

The SDSU men’s track team competed in three different meets on April 17. Some members went to the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif., the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., and the Sioux City Relays in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Jacks also competed at the Beach Invitational on April 19 in Norwalk, Calif.

Beach Invitational

The highlight of all the meets was Camden Helder setting a regional standard in the high jump at the Beach Invitational. Helder jumped a height of 6 feet 10.75 inches, tying teammate Ben Jasinski’s record for second all-time at SDSU.

“For him, he has been frustrated a bit. He kept thinking he should be going higher, and finally, he has been working hard and using physical height and actual height to get over the bar in the right position,” SDSU head coach Rod DeHaven said. “If he continues to thrive and build that confidence for the rest of the season, he might have a chance to break the school record that’s almost 30 years old.”

Mt. Sac Relays

In Walnut, Calif., Jasinski earned an eighth-place finish in the triple jump when he jumped for 48 feet, 2.50 inches.

Jake Schneller set a Summit League outdoor season best with his time of 1 minute, 51.79 seconds, placing 14th in the 800-meter run. His time was good for fifth all-time at SDSU.

In the 3000-meter steeplechase, Greg Vollmer was able to lead the Jacks after only three days rest with an 11th-place finish in a time of 9:22.67.

Bryan Clay Invitational

SDSU was led by Jared Vlastuin, as he tied for third in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 06.75 inches.

Tyler Schiferl earned a fourth place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 15-07.00.

The Jackrabbit team of Cole Tucker, Nick Schanaman, Dustin Gibbons and Luke Leischner placed fifth with a time of 42.55 in the 400-meter relay.

Sioux City Relays

Corey Beffert paced the Jacks with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 11.29. Beffert also scored a second-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 20-08.50

Dominic Thielen earned a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.14.

“The meet had many personal bests, which is something we can build off of as the season progresses,” DeHaven said.

The Jacks return to action when they host SDSU Twilight on April 22 at Brookings High School.