The University of Sioux Falls track & field team completed day one in the NSIC Conference Championships with several great performances Friday.
The No. 21 rated women's track & field team currently sits atop the leaderboard with 50 points. They will head into Saturday with a two-point lead over second place Augustana College.
The men currently sit in third place with 37 points trailing second place Augustana College by .5 points.
In the men's pole vault, USF placed four in the top eight of the field. USF freshman, Scott Greenman, earned honors as conference champion in the event with his school-record vault of 16-8.75 (5.10m). He was followed by teammate Jager Gran who finished third overall with his vault of 16-4.75 (5.00m). Also scoring for the Cougars were Brandon Rogers and Andrew Ellsworth who finished in fifth and eighth place respectively. Greenman, Gran, and Rogers all hit NCAA provisional qualifying standards.
In the women's pole vault USF took the top three spots and had five athletes score. Kayla Coffee was named conference champion with her vault of 13-02.25 (4.02m). She was followed by teammates Kristin Majerus and Brigitte Gross who finished tied for second with their vaults of 12-10.25 (3.92m). Also scoring for the Cougars were Samantha Koch and Sophie Harano who finished in fifth and sixth place respectively. Coffee's vault was a NCAA automatic qualifying mark while Majerus, Gross, Koch, and Harano all hit the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.
When asked about the contributions that the pole-vaulters made, Director of Track & Field Reid Ehrisman said, “Our vaulters really came to compete today. We had some great weather and these athletes definitely took advantage of it. For us to be able to have the conference champion for men and women in this event is quite a feat and I am so proud of the effort they gave today.”
Jazzelena Black continued her successful freshman campaign by winning the women's Long Jump. Black's leap of 19-06.75 (5.96m) is a NCAA provisional qualifying mark and ties her farthest jump this season.
USF's Katlyn Sawtelle broke the school record in the 100m Hurdles with her time of 14.45. Sawtelle broke the record that was set in the previous heat by Kristen Townley who ran a 14.56. Sawtelle's time gives her the fifth fastest preliminary time entering tomorrow's finals.
“You always want to see school records fall, and for us to have it happen in the same event in back-to-back heats is really impressive. Both Katlyn and Kristen have worked hard all season, and it showed today in their times.”
In the women's 10000m Run, USF sophomore, Becca Steadman, crushed the previous school record by over two minutes. Steadman's time of 38:33.16 placed her eighth in the conference.
In the men's 1500m Run preliminaries, Bobby Brockmueller qualified for the finals with his time of 4:05.66. Brockmueller holds the second fastest 1500m time in the NSIC this season.
In the women's 400m Dash USF had Kendra Knight and Leah Wensmann both qualify for the finals. Knight's time of 56.95 was the third fastest qualifying time in the field.
In the men's 400m Dash, USF senior, Colin Koth, was the fastest qualifier with his time of 48.38. Koth enters the final with the third fastest 400m time in the NSIC this season. Koth also qualified for the 200m Dash finals with his time of 21.41.
In the women's 200m Dash, the Cougars had three athletes qualify for the finals. Katlyn Sawtelle led the way with her time of 25.20, which was the second fastest qualifying time. Also qualifying for USF was Leah Wensmann (25.39) and Kendra Knight (25.52).
Kaleb Stevens earned third place in the Long Jump with his effort of 22-7.75 (6.90m). Stevens also qualified for the finals in the men's 100m Dash with a time of 10.65.
In the men's Hammer Throw, Jordan Bents took sixth place with his throw of 161-06 (49.22m).
Blake Stevenson relied on his finishing kick in the preliminaries to get into the 800m finals with his time of 1:55.63.
Ryan Maloney ran the fourth fastest qualifying time in the 110m Hurdles with his time of 14.99.
Competition on Saturday will begin at 11:00am with the women's Shot Put and Triple Jump and the men's Discus. The first track event will begin at 1:00pm with the 400m Relay. All events are taking place at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.
