Ariy-El Boynton

While the rest of the SDSU athletics were cancelled due to inclement weather, the men’s and women’s track and field teams set relay records in the last day of competition at the Drake Relays on April 26 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The team made up of Brandon Priebe, Andrew Duitsman, Nick Schanaman and Zach Wirth erased a 36-year-old record in the 4×110-meter shuttle hurdle relay. The runners placed third in the University Division with a time of 59.16 seconds, a mere .04 seconds better than the previous South Dakota State men’s record set in 1972.

While SDSU men’s 1,600-meter sprint medley team of Corey Beffert, Duitsman, Dan Winders and D.J. Thompson turned in a 15th-place performance, 3 minutes, 36.13 seconds in the University Division.

Not to be out done, the Jackrabbit women set their own record in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay, composed of Kristin Barrios, Brittany Garner, Heather Wollman and Ashley Storm. The 1,600 team finished in 10th place with a time of 4:04.16. They beat an older record by more than two seconds as the previous record was clocked at 4:06.74 in 1992.

Also posting a 15th-place perfomance was the 4×1,600-meter relay. Caitlin Berry, Storm, Nicole Davis and Claire Steinke made up the team which finished with a time of 21:06.90.

Berry started the Janvrin Open by winning the 5,000-meter title, while Stacy Huss added a third-place mark at the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.32 in Indianola, Iowa.

Berry, who is from Watertown and is married to current Jackrabbit quarterback Ryan Berry, secured a top time with a finish of 17 minutes, 29.32 seconds in the 5,000 meters. Storm finished second out of 45 competitors in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.70.

Huss added a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.32. Nicole Davis added a fourth-place time of 11:25.83 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

In the field events, Tamiko Kopfmann was the highest Jackrabbit finisher, tying for sixth in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 0.25 inches. Ashley Lange added a ninth-place mark of 35’4″ in the triple jump.

Elsewhere, Jackrabbit throwers competed at the University of Califorina-San Diego Triton Invitational in San Diego. Sara Ackman finished 17th in a field of 50 ultra competive competitors in the discus with a throw of 163 feet. Jennifer Mack added a 13th-place finish in the hammer, adding to a school record in the event with a toss of 177-10.