Eric Monson

With the recent end of the indoor season, attention immediately turns to the upcoming outdoor season for Head Coach Rod DeHaven and the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

The outdoor season begins March 24 and 25 with the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C.

Reviewing the women’s performances this past indoor season, DeHaven said, “We’re a young team and everybody improved with every meet. The indoor season really set us up for what I think is going to be a really exciting outdoor season for the women.”

Young, but talented, the women’s indoor team ran for three school records.

Becka Mansheim and Cameryn Christion added their names to the SDSU record books. Mansheim, a junior from Brookings, broke the school record in the mile, a record previously held by Jodi Smith. She ran a breathlessly fast time of 4 minutes, 51.57 seconds at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ill. Sprinter Cameryn Christion, a sophomore from Parker, broke her own record in the 200 meters, clocking in at 25.16 seconds at the Iowa State Classic. She accomplished this just weeks after setting a new school mark in the 400 meters, running a time of 57.01 seconds.

On the men’s side, “Losing a few guys to graduation and having a couple injuries, I think we’re really in a rebuilding year, but the indoor season gave our young guys a chance to gain some good experience coming into the this spring,” said Coach DeHaven

“Going Division I, these younger guys coming into these larger meets can sometimes be intimidated by the name on the front of the jersey, that’s something that will change with experience.”

Nick Schanaman’s performance in the hurdles has been a bright spot for the Jackrabbits.

Coach DeHaven said, “I think the hurdles are definitely one of our strengths and Nick is becoming one of the better hurdlers around.”

With the return of throwers Carson Aune, a junior from Oaks, N.D., and Sean Donahoe, a senior from Chatfield, Minn., the throwing events should be a strong point for the Jackrabbits men’s team.

Bad weather, scheduling conflicts and lack of decent track facilities make preparing for the upcoming outdoor season difficult for the Jackrabbits. However, DeHaven remains optimistic and is looking forward to both the men’s and women’s spring season.

“College track is a yearlong sport and that’s something different for these younger kids to learn to deal with, both mentally and physically, but as long as we keep competing it’s going to be an exciting spring,” DeHaven said.