Zach Anderson

The SDSU women’s track team defeated the University of Mary 85-61 but lost to host North Dakota State 117-46 in the Bison Open on Jan. 30. In the weight throw, Sara Ackman led the Jacks with a first-place finish, throwing for a distance of 17.19 meters.

SDSU’s Christa Landmark scored a third place finish in the weight throw with a throw of 16.03 meters, and Ashley Larson placed fourth with a distance of 12.63m.

Ackman also placed first for the Jacks in the shot put with a throw of 48 feet 10.75 inches, breaking the school record set by Londa Vander Wal in 1997 when she threw for 48 feet 9.50 inches.

“Sara Ackman is having a great season so far, and I continue to expect to see her improve,” head coach Rod DeHaven said. “She has had some throws over the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the shot put (around 50 feet) in practice, and I think that she can throw over 60 feet in the 20-pound weight throw. Sara is a quiet, unassuming athlete, but she is a terrific competitor.”

SDSU runners were able to place third, fourth, sixth and 11th in the mile run. Nicole Davis completed the mile in 5 minutes, 16.6 seconds, Kelsey Aune in 5:18.35, Hannah Stordahl in 5:38.90, and Jessica Ludvick in 6:04.13.

In the 800-meter run, Ashley Storm earned a second-place finish and a personal best with a time of 2:19.33.

SDSU’s Christi Rosenbrook placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:01.61, followed by teammate Megan Lauseng who earned fifth in 1:03.07.

Rachael Hakk placed sixth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9:40.7.

NDSU’s Whitney Carlson won the 60-meter dash in 7.78 seconds, SDSU’s Andrea Cota placed eighth in 8.33.

In the 3000-meter run, SDSU’s Emily Smith placed second in 11:01.60. Brooke Wyffels placed fifth in 11:29.13 for the Jackrabbits.

The Jacks team of Jill Fritz, Jessica Becker, Lauseng and Kim Markham placed third in the 1600 meter relay with a time of 4:14.90.

Hakk earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a height of 1.60m.

In the pole vault competition, Brittany Garner placed fourth with a vault distance of 3.45m.

SDSU’s Tamiko Kopfmann earned a third-place finish in the long jump with a jump of 5.64m.

For the Jackrabbits, Ashley Lange, Kopfmann and Lora Shearer placed third, fourth, and fifth respectively in the triple jump with distances of 11.82m, 11.39m, and 11.16m.

“We were coming off a big meet at Iowa State the previous week, and most of our athletes were fairly tired from that competition,” DeHaven said. “We sat out quite a few folks and placed others in off events with the hope that we will be stronger as the indoor season progresses.”

The Jackrabbit women will compete next at both the Bill Hillenbrand Invitational in Vermillion and the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Feb. 6 and 7.