SDSU Track and Field most recently competed at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, hosted by the University of Nebraska and the ISU Classic. Strong performances in the Men’s triple jump and Women’s 800 meter helped contribute to the Jacks success.
HUSKER INVITATIONAL
For the triple jump, freshman Ty Nelson led the way with his 14.99 meter jump. He placed second in the event, just behind Adam Dugger by half a meter. Fellow freshman Kincade Lehman placed fourth in the event, his 14.81 meter jump falling just 0.03 meters short of taking third. Brett Fraker was ninth in the event with a jump of 14.13 meters. Wyatt Melcher placed one spot out of the top ten, trailing Northern State’s Jayden Munroe’s jump of 14.02 by just 0.02 meters.
“Our freshman jumpers were really consistent again,” said head coach Rod DeHaven. “Ty Nelson, top collegiate finisher over 49 feet, Kincade Lehman, getting close to 49 feet, freshman from Custer, jumped well in the long jump as well so again, thought it was a productive, you know weekend for our group.”
Grayson Ring in the Men’s high jump also had a top five performance, he punched in a jump of 2.01 meters to get fourth place. The women’s high jump included a top 10 ranking with Hadley Carlson’s jump of 1.63 meters.
In the 800 meter, SDSU’s Joe Dustin and Sean Murphy also placed in the top 10. Sophomore Dustin ran a 1:54.08 while junior Murphy had a 1:55.07.
ISU CLASSIC
Multiple first place finishes occurred during the ISU Classic and the 800 meter a new Jackrabbit record was set. Claiming fifth place with a time of 1:49.80, Brandon Kempson beat a record held since 2012. Edging it out by 0.02 seconds, Kempson beat the previous record held by Jake Schneller of 1:49.82. Both men’s and women’s teams won the mile race. For the men, it was Cody Larson leading the charge, he won the race with a time of 4:01.58, which is also the third best time in SDSU history.
Meghan Ford won the mile for the women’s team, running a time of 4:50.56. Trailing behind her was Emma Gonzalez, she took second place with a time of 4:53.92. Ford’s time was the fifth best in SDSU’s history while Gonzalez’ was eighth.
Another win came from the Women’s 400 meter team, Jenna Johnson took home gold with a run of 55.53.
Jaylyn Sheppard and Lydia Hill placed in the top five and top 10 respectively in the weight throw. Sheppard threw a mark of 18.23 and Hill had a throw of 17.23.
Next up, SDSU will host the SDSU Indoor Classic this Friday and Saturday.
“We do look forward to this meet, you know for our student-athletes you know you get that kinda, those numbers of bodies,” said DeHaven. “There’s a lot of energy that comes with it because at this point of the season, athletes are in shape and they start doing things they didn’t think they were capable of.”
The Jackrabbits won’t have to leave Brookings for their final regular season meet as the team joins the SDSU Last Chance next Friday. After that, the Jackrabbits will head up north to Grand Forks for the Summit League Indoor Championship on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. To watch the Summit League Indoor Championship, viewers can tune into the Midco Sports Plus.
