Michael Pecha

The South Dakota State track and field team brought a successful indoor season to a close this weekend at the North Central Conference meet in Mankato. The men’s team finished third, while the women placed fourth.

“The old adage, it’s not how you start, but how you finish is especially true in track and field,” head coach Paul Danger said. “I knew we had two good teams when we started the season, but we are young, so you hope your athletes can have the composure to handle the competition at the end of the season.”

The men finished third in conference last year, but the women improved over last year’s sixth-place finish.

“Our third place finish with the men, and fourth place with the women shows how far our program has really gone in the past few years,” Danger said. “We have developed a consistency in track and cross country, and the rest of the conference knows about this program now.”

One runner who has played a big part in the Jackrabbit’s success, is Kevin Doe. Doe won the 5,000 meter run in a provisional qualifying time of 14:49. Greg Darbyshire was close behind Doe in second place, at 14:54.

Freshman Brad Lowery also helped the Jacks out, scoring in two events. Lowery won the mile in 4:12.49, a provisional qualifying time, then came back and placed third in the 3,000 meter run in 8:42.

Matt Pearson also scored points in the mile and 3,000. Pearson was second in the mile at 4:13, and seventh in the 3,000 at 8:51.

Ben Johnson placed sixth in the 60 meter hurdles, while David Hegland placed second.

“We needed them to step forward, and they rose to the occasion,” Danger said. “I really like what our hurdlers are doing now. Coach Scheid is doing a good job with them.”

Other Jackrabbits scoring points include: Steven Schrieber in the high jump, Lucas Fischer in the triple jump, and Cody Vining in the pole vault.

“Our women’s team had a good competition, and provided us with some exciting races,” Danger said.

Jen Stovall and Cori Vining led the Jackrabbits with a second and third place finish, respectively, in the 60 meter hurdles. Stovall’s time of 8.42 seconds was an automatic qualifying time, while Vining’s 8.65 was a provisional time.

Freshman Josey Meuer finished fifth in the 200 meter dash inn 26.07.

Heather Hall and Anne Jorgenson finished third and fifth, respectively, in the 400 meter dash. Hall ran a provisional time of 57.71, while Jorgenson finished in 57.96.

Erin Woolley scored points in multiple events for the Jacks, placing second in both the mile and the 3,000.

Janel Johnson improved on her own school record with a pole vault of 11-4 1/4.

The Jackrabbits also got points from triple jumper Jamie Keck, throwers Jessie Webb and Holly Hagena, and the 1600 meter relay team of Stovall, Meuer, Hall and Jorgenson.

Danger is excited about State’s performance and is looking forward to the outdoor season and future conference championship meets.