The South Dakota State track team competed in two events last weekend, one in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the John McDonnell Invitational meet and another in Mankato, Minnesota for the Minnesota Open and Multi meet.

The Jackrabbits had an impressive showing in the two events, placing 32 total top five finishers over the weekend.

John McDonnell Invitational Meet:

Reid Pierzinski took first place in the 400-meter hurdles and beat his previous outdoor record with a time of 51.18 seconds.

Also competing in Arkansas was the SDSU men’s 4×100-meter relay team, which placed second with a time of 41.59 seconds.

Trent Francom took fourth place in the pole vault, clearing the height of 16-04.75. Also competing in a field event for the Jacks was Tristin Hanna who took fifth place in the triple jump with a distance of 45-05.75.

For the women’s events, Rich-Ann Archer grabbed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.11 seconds.

Throwing a 151-07.00 in the discus event was Faith Leiseth, who ended up taking fourth place.

The South Dakota State team for the women’s 4×100-meter relay took third with a stunning time of 47.13 seconds.

“Despite the conditions in Arkansas, I think we competed real well,” Track and Field Director Rod DeHaven said. “In a big-time environment, SEC school, I think we competed well down there.”

Minnesota State Open and Multi:

Not only coming off an injury, but also taking the gold in the women’s 400-meter dash was State’s Lauren Van Dyke, who ran a respected 57.74 second-quarter mile.

Two Jackrabbits were placed in the top five for the women’s 100-meter dash. Finishing second was Ashtyn Bertram in 12.22 seconds and placing fifth was Ciara Benson at 12.60 seconds. Both runners beat their personal records.

Katelyn Darnell, who competed in two events, placed fourth with a time of 15.20 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and also won the 200-meter dash with a winning time of 26.01 seconds. Placing in the same event was Paige Kuchel who finished at 27.66 which earned her the fifth-place spot.

Freshman Laura Bogue was fourth place in the 400-meter hirdles and beat her personal best with a time of 1:06.66 seconds.

Placing in the 800-meter run were Tori Glazier and Grace Waage. Glazier took first with a meet record of 2:13.51 and Waage followed behind in fifth place in 2:18.23 seconds.

The second-place finisher in the 3,000-meter steeplechase was Kayla Christopherson who ran an 11:06.03 and set a personal best. Also hitting her personal best in the same event was Bailey Dergan, who took fifth place.

Four Jackrabbits took the top 10 spots in the 5,000-meter run. Bridget Henne finished in fifth place with 18:33.98. In eighth was Michaela Kelley who finished at 19:14.59, followed by Abbey Stadler in ninth and Hannah Neusch in tenth. 

The women’s team won first in the 4×400-meter relay, which consisted of runners Emily Rystrom, Van Dyke and Waage. The team finished with a time of 3:59.30.

Kylee Edmonds won the pole vault event at 11-02.50.

Getting a personal best and a third-place finish was Evan Henderson who ran the 100-meter dash in 10.99 seconds.

Tegan Bock took fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with his new personal best of 56.36 seconds.

Also placing fourth was Gabe Peters. Peters ran the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.36 and beat his previous record.

Peters also placed first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:54.04. Three other Jacks joined him in the top ten as well. Finishing fourth was Carter Knaus at 3:55.04, followed by Noah Stewart at 3:56.39 for sixth and Ben Anteau at tenth with a 4:01.67 finish.

Winning the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:59.13 was Alex Auch.

Taking second in the high jump was Conner Powers who cleared 6-07.50 which, was enough to beat his previous record. Jaden Peters finished as the runner-up in the pole vault at 15-02.25 for a personal best. Placing fifth in the triple jump was Tyler Goehring who jumped a distance of 34-09.25.

The men’s 4×400 relay team placed first with a time of 3:21.18. Making up this team was Reggie Slaba, Max Ceplecha, Kudra Nzibariza and Andrew Moeller.

“I think we got a lot accomplished there (in Minnesota),” DeHaven said. “Largely a very productive day and very proud how our student-athletes approached that situation out there.”

The Jacks will head to Orange City, Iowa for the Red Raider Open April 12 and 13 and the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California April 13 and 14.