The South Dakota State men's and women's track and field teams will compete for the first time in 2015 at the NDSU Invite in Fargo, N.D. Saturday, Jan. 17. Field events begin at 11 a.m. and track events kick off at 2 p.m. The Jackrabbits will face off against Summit League schools for the first time this season at this meet.
The Last Time Out
South Dakota State competed at the SDSU Open Dec. 6. In total, seven Jackrabbits claimed their first victories: Jeremiah Ary (long jump), Jazzelena Black (long jump), Carly Carper (60 meters, 200 meters), Justin Carson (300-meter hurdles), Gina Fritz (300 meters), Dylan Slaba (mile) and Mary Wirth (high jump). The 4x400 relay team of Marc Husman, Sam Johnson, Adam Halverson and Austin Johnsen also scored a first-place finish.
Records Quick To Fall
Wirth became the first Jackrabbit to clear 6-0 in the women's high jump, topping her old indoor record by two inches en route to her 21st career win. For her efforts, the senior was named the Summit League Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career.
After posting a time .01 of a second shy of the school record in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash, Carper topped the record in the finals, claiming her first win of the season with a time of 7.59. In the triple jump, Black bested a record set in 1997 by 1/2 of an inch by posting a mark of 39-7 to claim second place.
Wirth, Carper and Black aren't the only school record holders on the 2015 roster. The record-setting distance medley team of Brooke Peterson, Jacleen Patterson, Bobbie McLaury and Lindsey Strait remains intact. The quartet toppled the old record by almost 18 seconds with a time of 11:27.82 at the 2013-14 Summit League Indoor Championships.
Anticipated Returns
The Jackrabbits welcome back a pair of key contributors in Trent Lusignan and Ashley Odegaard this season. The duo redshirted during the 2013-14 campaign.
In 2013, Lusignan won the 5,000 meters at both the indoor (14:33.69) and outdoor (14:29.42) Summit League championship meets. He also claimed the 10,000-meter outdoor title with a time of 30:10.47 and was named the Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Odegaard owns 11 career wins. She posted the fifth-fastest 60-meter time (7.73) in school history and was also a member of the fourth-fastest 4x400 relay team (3:52.58).
Distance Team Ready To Go
South Dakota State's distance runners did not compete at the SDSU Open, meaning the NDSU Invite will be their first meet of the season. Those who are also on the cross country squad have momentum going into the meet from the NCAA Midwest Regional, where seven men and six women set new personal-best times in the 10k and 6k respectively.
All-Summit League honorees Brendan Sage (1st), Jessica Eibs (1st), Cheyanne Bowers (2nd), Drew Kraft (2nd), Connor Branick (2nd), Laura Lawton (2nd) and Trevor Capra (2nd) will look to parlay their cross country success onto the track.
A Look Ahead
The Jackrabbits host the Jim Emmerich/Alumni Invitational Saturday, Jan. 24. The meet will serve as the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex's grand-opening competition.