The South Dakota State track and field team kicks off their 2017-18 indoor season at home, in the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, on Friday, December 1.
The men's heptathlon will begin at 12:30 p.m. while the women's pentathlon will begin at 12:45 p.m. Running events will start at 4:15 in the afternoon while the throwing events begin at 4:30 p.m. The last scheduled event, the 4x400m relay, is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on Friday evening.
The men's heptathlon will finish three events (60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m) on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m.
There will be a representation of 15 schools at the meet, including Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Live results will be available online at DakotaTiming.com. Results will also be posted on the SDSU track and field social media outlets and on the website at the end of the meet each day.
Summit League Preseason Poll The league pre-season poll is scheduled to come out on Friday with the key athletes to watch from each school during the indoor campaign.
Men's Track and Field Preview Sprints/Hurdles: The sprinters and hurdlers team expects to contribute points towards the overall team score this year. Even with losing four key runners out of the group, the team has the ability to step into those spots and grow.
Sophomores Sam Zenner and Landon Larson highlight the sprinters for the 2017-18 capaign. Larson competed in two events at The Summit League Outdoor Championship, in which he placed fifth in the 100m and third in the 200m, helping him earn Outdoor All-Summit League honors. He also competed in the indoor league championships placing sixth in the 200m. Larson was a part of the 4x400m relay which placed third at both the indoor and outdoor league championships. Not to mention a fifth-place finish in the 4x100m relay, also at the outdoor league championships.
Zenner will look to build upon his 2017 Outdoor All-Summit League campaign. In his first year, Zenner broke the school record in the indoor 60m. Zenner also placed top 10 in the 100m (8th) and 200m (5th) at The Summit League Outdoor Championships, while also helping the 4x100m relay team record fifth.
Lieberg, an All-Summit League honoree during the outdoor season, competed in three events at The Summit League Outdoor Championships. He placed third in the 110m hurdles, fifth in the 400m hurdles, and triple jumped to fourth-place finish. Lieberg placed fifth in the 60m hurdles at the indoor league championships, while also triple jumping (finished fifth) and long jumping (finished seventh).
Distance: The distance crew is coming off of a Summit League cross country championship and a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Regionals. Junior Kyle Burdick will look to defend his Summit League Outdoor Athlete while adding the indoor athlete of the year. Burdick will be the highlighted runner on the distance squad this year. The NCAA second-team All-American will look to get back to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships where he finished 13th in the 1,500m prelims.
Senior Cal Lawton, an All-Summit League honoree in both indoor and outdoor, looks to redeem his second-place finish in the 800m at the league championships this year. He has the top returning time from last year in the indoor 800m and second-fastest time in the outdoor 800m.
Jumps/Multi's: The jumpers for the Jackrabbits are mixed between young and experienced athletes. The squad is led by a sophomore, in Bryant Courter, who made a splash in the Summit League Championships his first year. There are also some veterans on the squad who have provided leadership and mentality to win. Junior Josh Dotson and Senior JJ Hejna have made the league championships, with Dotson jumping in the NCAA West Preliminaries. As for the heptathlon/decathlon competitors, sophomore Evan Heiber and junior Peter Bates both did well in last year's league championships.
Throws: The throwing squad brings back almost everyone from last year including senior Colton Bender who made it to the NCAA West Preliminary Round at the end of the outdoor season. Junior Logan Ammons looks to improve off his 11th place finish at The Summit League Indoor Championships. Ammons also placed fourth at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in the weight throw. Ammons has improved each year he's been with the Jacks.
Women's Track and Field Preview Sprints/Hurdles: The sprinters and hurdlers look to fill some big shoes this year with numerous seniors graduating last year. Sophomore Jaymie O'Connor looks to build upon her strong freshman campaign where she was runner-up in both the indoor 60m hurdles and the outdoor 100m hurdles. The Chateauguay, Quebec native, had the top performances of the team in both of those events, including a performance in the 60m hurdles that broke the school record.
Sophomore Miatta Flemister-Smith becomes the top returner in the 60m, 100m, and 200m as Carly Carper graduated last year. While junior Savannah Dolezal looks to be the top-returner in the 400m and looks to improve times in the 200m and 800m.
Distance: The distance group is entering the indoor season with a runner-up finish in the league cross country championships. The crew is returning to the track with the most returners out of any group. In the group, a lot of school records have already been broken. Highlighting the recording-breaking team of returners is Rachel King who has hopes of defending her indoor track athlete of the year award and adding the outdoor accolade. Emily Donnay is set out to run her first race of the 2017-18 year, after redshirting her cross country season.
Covey is coming off of a stellar freshman year where she earned All-Summit League honors in both the indoor and outdoor league championships. During the indoor campaign, she placed second in the league championships for the 800m, breaking the 800m indoor school record, and raced with the 4x400m relay team that was runner-up, also breaking the indoor and outdoor relay record. In the outdoor season, the Ankeny, Iowa native, earned a spot in the NCAA West Preliminaries for the 800m where she placed 29th in the preliminary round.
Jumps/Multi's: Senior Vanessa Lane is looking to earn the All-Summit League honors in both indoor and outdoor as she did during the 2017 campaign. The Jackrabbit pentathlon/heptathlon athlete can do a little bit of everything as she placed third in the indoor pentathlon championships and in the outdoor heptathlon championships, scoring a school-best 5,300 points. Highlighting those performances, was an indoor victory in the shot put and outdoor victories in the 800m, shot put, and javelin throw.
Freshman Michelle Johnson comes into the 2017-18 season as a freshman looking to make a splash. The Rapid City, S.D. native, placed third in the high jump at the South Dakota State AA Track and Field meet. She also long jumped a personal-best 16-03.50 in high school.
Throws: The school record holder in the outdoor discus returns for her junior year after a magnificent sophomore campaign. Kasie Vollmer recorded the new distance at the NCAA West Preliminaries where she placed 27th. In the Summit League Championships, she earned All-Summit League honors after a runner-up throw in the discus and a 16th-place finish in the shot put. During the indoor season, Vollmer competed solely in the shot put and placed 12th during the championships.
Up Next
The track and field team will return to action in January, at the Bison Classic in Fargo, N.D. The meet is schedule for Jan. 19.
Social Media
For more information on the South Dakota State cross country and track and field teams, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksTFXC) and Instagram (@GoJacksTFXC) like us Facebook (/GoJacksTFXC).
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