The South Dakota State men's cross country was tabbed as the favorites entering the season, while the women were runner-up. They tallied 36 preseason points with six of the seven first-place votes. This was the ninth time since 2010 that the men's team was nominated as the favorite in The Summit League. They have won five championships in the past eight years, four as preseason favorites and one as preseason runner-ups. The Jackrabbits return everyone who competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional except one (Sowada). This is the first time that both junior Chase Cayo and senior Kyle Burdick have been nominated for the league's athlete to watch list.Â
For the full season preview click here.
2018's First Meet - Bison Open (Aug. 31) - Full Recap The men came away with a victory (26 points) in Fargo, their first second one in three years and sixth overall as sophomore Micah Mather was the first Jackrabbit to cross the finish line as runner-up (18:55.2). It is best 4k-mark of his career, beating his 2016 runner-up finish by 26.8 seconds. The time of 18:55.2 is the fastest active-Jackrabbit PR, beating junior Lukas Nelson's 2017 mark of 19:21.9. Sophomore Gabe Peters finished behind Mather at third overall (19:03.5), his first career 6k-mark as a Jackrabbit. The 2017 Summit League XC Newcomer of the Championship has the second-fastest mark of active SDSU runners in the 4k. The freshmen trio of Thomas Breuckman (fifth, 19:13.4), Ben Olson (seventh, 19:21.8) and Joseph Minor-Williams (ninth, 19:24.7) rounded out the top-10 place-finisher on Friday with their first career runs as South Dakota State student-athletes. Other runners recording personal-best marks on Friday was sophomore Evan Fick, who placed 13th overall (19:41.3) and beat his 2017 PR by 43.2 second; and sophomore Jacob Wilts, who posted 23rd overall (20:30.7) and beat his 2017 PR by 25.4 seconds. Redshirt freshman Michael Schwinghamer recorded his first career 4k-mark, placing 17th (19:58.0). Men Notables:
The men's team has a chance to win their third consecutive Summit League Championships. First team to do that in the active league and first time since Southern Utah did it in 2006-08.
The men's team has won all of their championships in back-to-back seasons (2009-10, 2012-13, 2016-17) and is one of two active Summit League schools that have won Summit League titles (Western Illinois won a title in 1991). The men's team has finished in the top two every year since 2012, claiming four titles.Â
The men swept the Championship MVP, Newcomer of the Championship, and Coach of the Year Award. It is the second time SDSU has swept those awards.
Seven Jackrabbit Freshmen Cross Country Men Here are the seven freshmen newcomers on the cross country team this season. Each of them filled out a few interesting facts about themselves to share. Click on each Jackrabbits name in the bulleted list below to see what they had to say. If you want to know more athletic information about each student-athlete, you can click on their name above their fun facts and it will go to their athletic bio.
Test Your Freshmen Knowledge
Remember, once you have read through their interesting facts, you can click here to take a quiz and test your knowledge on the Jackrabbit newcomers.
The women's cross country freshmen fun facts can be found here.
Up Next
The cross country teams will return to action on Sept. 15 at the Woody Greeno Invitational in Lincoln, Neb, hosted by Nebraska. The meet is expected to start at 10 a.m. at the 2018 Big Ten Cross Country Championship site, the Mahoney Golf Course.
Social Media
For more information on the South Dakota State cross country teams, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksTFXC) and Instagram (@GoJacksTFXC), and like us on Facebook (/GoJacksTFXC).
Freshmen Quick Facts
Where is He From? Bauer is from Bancroft, Iowa and went to North Union High School
A Few Fun Facts About Bauer
Named Iowa's state cross country champion twice (2016, 2017), all-conference runner of the year in cross country once (2017).
Two-time all-conference runner of the year for track and field (2017, 2018).
Two-time Iowa state champion in the mile (2016, 2017) and once in the 800m (2018).
He has to drink at least one glass of chocolate milk a day.
He believes he is the best Fortnite player in the world.
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He won (16:27.5) the 2017 Top of Iowa Conference Meet. Later that month, at the Iowa Class 1A state cross country championships, Bauer ran a season-best (16:14.2) to win the 2017 title. His personal-best mark (15:54.2) in the 5k was recorded when he was a junior (2016). He was a second-team all-conference selection in baseball in 2016.
Who's Been the Most Inspirational Person So Far in Your Running Career? Usain Bolt has been Bauer's biggest inspiration in his running career.
Where is He From? He is from Andover, Minn. and went to Andover High School.
A Few Fun Facts About Breuckman
He joined in sixth grade and was running with the high school team by the eighth grade.
Three-time conference event-winner during the 2017-18 school year - cross country, 1,600m, 3,200m, and two-time 7AA Minnesota sectional event-winner - cross country, 1,600m.
Posted his personal-best marks at the 2017-18 cross country/track and field state meets: 5k (15:41.30), 1,600m (4:17.06), 3,200m (9:15.48).Â
He was all-state in Nordic Skiing, placing 19th at the state meet during his senior year (2018).
He was an Eagle Scout and, in general, he's afraid of needles.
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He placed fourth at the 2017 Minnesota state cross country meet after being named conference and section 7AA champion. During the track season, he finished fourth in the 1,600m and sixth in the 3,200m at the 2018 state track meet after being named champion at conference in those event, and sectional champion in the 1,600m. He was all-state in Nordic Skiing, placing 19th at the state meet during his senior year (2018). He was a four-time all-conference selection in cross country and Nordic skiing, and a three-time all-conference selection in track.Â
Who's Been The Most Inspirational Person in Your Running Career? "I wouldn't say I have just one person that inspires me," Brueckman said. "But perhaps a group of teammates, friends, and family, who have encouraged and motivated me throughout the years - helping make me who I am today."
Where is He From? Gruber is from Alexandria, Minn. and went to Alexandria Area High School.
A Few Fun Facts About Gruber
His high school cross country team were state qualifiers in 2014 and 2018, while Gruber individually was a state qualifier 2015-18 in cross country and a state qualifier in 2018 for track and field.
He was named all-conference from 2015-18 and all-state in 2018.
Five member's of his family attended South Dakota State: both of his parents and three of his sisters.
He has to listen to Africa by Toto eleven times before every race.
If he could permanently be an age he would be 79 because he'll be retired plus it's a very nice prime number.Â
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He ran for the Alexandria Cardinals and won (16:56.4) the Minnesota Section 8AA Championships. At the Minnesota state championships, he placed 16th (15:58.4) - about 36 seconds from the first-place runner, while his team placed 11th. At the NXR Heartland Regional Championships, he ran a personal best (15:43.7) and placed 59th out of 285 runners.Â
Who Has Been the Most Inspirational Person in Your Running Career? "All the teammates I've ever had since high school," Gruber said.Â
Where is He From? Minor-Williams is from Minneapolis, Minn. and went to Washburn High School.
A Few Fun Facts About Minor-Willams
Helped his team finish runner-up at the Minnesota state cross country championships in 2015 - the best team-finish while Minor-Williams was there.
He placed eighth at the cross country state meet in 2016 and 12th at the 2017.
He is a computer science major and loves to learn new things.Â
He has a comic book collection back at home.Â
If he had to be one age permanently, he would be 25 so he could rent a car.Â
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He helped his team place runner-up in the Minnesota state cross country championships in 2015. During his senior year (2017-18), he finished eighth in the state cross country championships and third at the state track and field championships in the 3,200m. He added a personal-best 5k (15:21.9) at the NXR Heartland Regional Championships last November and won both the Twin Cities Championships (16:17.4) and the Minneapolis City Conference Championships (16:16.2).Â
Who Has Been The Most Inspirational Person in Your Running Career? "There is a lot of people that I would name but I will just keep it to runners, Micah Mathers, Hamza Ali," Minor-Williams said. "During my sophomore year (of high school), Micah finished second at state and made it to nationals. Mather was a city kid just like me and that was somewhat unheard of in our state for a city kid to do something like that."
"As for Ali Hamza, he is someone that can never be replaced. Without him, I would never have made it as far as I have. Hamza would help me out in workouts and races. When he left high school, he would always come back to help me and give me advice."
Where is He From? Olson is from Coon Rapids, Minn. and went to school at Blaine High School
A Few Fun Facts About Olson
His mother ran cross country at UW-La Crosse, a Division III program in La Crosse, Wis.Â
The school's Nordic skiing captain in 2018, being named all-state once (2018), all-conference four times (2015-18), and led his team to state for the first time in over 40 years (2018).
Named all-state in cross country twice (2016, 2017) and track and field once (2018) while gathering 12 all-conference accolades between his cross country and track and field career.
Holds his school's record in the 1,600m (4:19, Sr. - 2018) and was a Minnesota Section 5AA champion in the 3,200m (2018).
He has to eat oatmeal on race days and if he was the only human on earth, he would salvage all the Skippy peanut butter, his favorite.
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? The captain of the captain of cross country all four years and captain for 2018 Nordic skiing and track and field teams. Also honored as a three-sport, six-time academic all-state honoree (2016-2018: cross country, Nordic skiing, and track and field).He to Brookings, S.D. for the Beef and Eggs 5k last summer and met up with the cross country team in the fall - loving the team atmosphere. He ran a personal-best mark (15:58.8) at the Early Bird Meet at the end of August 2017.
Who Has Been the Most Inspirational Person So Far in Your Running Career? "My parents have been with me every step of the way and are always my biggest supporters," Olson said. "I've had some rough patches throughout my high-school racing career, but they always came to me with a positive outlook and kept it light hearted - I owe a lot to them."
Where is He From? Pierson is from Butterfield, Minn. and went to Butterfield-Odin High School.Â
A Few Fun Facts About Pierson
In elementary school he compete in several local half-mile road races in his community. He was also known as "THE fastest kid in PE Class," growing up.Â
Two-time state qualifier in cross country and a 2018 all-state honoree in track and field.
Named conference champion in the 1,600m, 3,200m and in cross country during the 2017-18 season.
Along with running, a huge passion and part of his life is working with dairy cows - his intended major is dairy science. If he didn't have to sleep he would eat, run and spend more time with his cows.
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He was the captain of the runner-up Minnesota Class A team for cross country in 2017. He was a conference and a section champ while in high school. He placed second (16:38.3) at the Milaca Mega Meet in September 2017. He won the Minnesota cross country sectional (16:31.1) and placed 16th (16:33.1) at the state cross country championships the following week, his last high school cross country meet.Â
Who's Been the Most Inspirational Person So Far in Your Running Career? "Dick Beardsley, he was also a dairy farmer and is probably one of the best marathoners to ever come from Minnesota," Pierson said. "He was also an alum of SDSU and overcame tons of obstacles in both his running career and personal life." Beardsley was a member of the 1978 NCAA DII runner-up teams for SDSU, finishing fourth on the team, 55th overall (32:49) in the 10k.
Where is He From? Rush is from Custer, S.D. and went to Custer High School.
A Few Fun Facts About Rush
He was named to South Dakota's all-state team twice for cross country (2016, 2017).
He finished top-10 in all of his meets he competed in during his senior year of cross country (2017).
He lettered in both wresting and cross country (2015-17).
He was the team's captain in cross country for two seasons (2016, 2017).Â
His freshman English teacher convinced him to run cross country during the summer before the start of sophomore year.Â
He doesn't call himself "superstitious" but "kind-a-stitious" and eats the same meal before every race.
Where Have You Heard of Him Before? He finished third at the 2016 South Dakota Class A state cross country meet. Added five wins during the 2017 high school campaign: at the Douglas Early Bird (16:37.6), Huron Invitational (16:10.3), Black Hills Conference (16:30.9), and at the South Dakota Region 5A meet (16:43.8) in 2017. He finished his senior season with a fifth-place run (16:11.8) at the 2017 South Dakota Class A state cross country meet.He ran a personal-best mark (15:33.7) and placed 34th at the NXR Heartland Regional Championships last November.
Who's Been the Most Inspirational Person So Far in Your Running Career?
"My high school coach has been my biggest motivator in my running career," Rush said.Â