BROOKINGS, S.D. – Senior Jonah Theisen provisionally qualified for the National Championships in the mile after running 4:09.9 to take fifth, leading Black Hills State University at the SDSU Indoor Classic this weekend. With over 1400 athletes from over 36 schools, BHSU used the competition to its advantage to etch a magnitude of new times and marks on the indoor record boards. The Green and Gold also snagged five top-three performances.

"I'm happy with all the season bests and PRs this weekend. There was a lot of good things and we identified some areas that need more work," said head track and field coach Seth Mischke. "We now have a week and half to gear up and focus on the areas that need some fine tuning before the RMAC Championships."

Theisen, whose mile time is now currently 23rd in the nation and just .4 second shy of the second fastest ever mile at BHSU, also improved his national standing in the 3000m. Battling his way from behind to just miss the victory by fractions of a second, he ran 8:19.33, currently good for 18th in the nation. That time is the second fastest ever 3000 meter run at BHSU, passing Cody Bordewyk.
In a neck-and-neck sprint down the homestretch, junior Abbie Fredrick narrowly missed winning the 1000m, taking second in 3:02.18. That time moved her to sixth all time, surpassing Jamie Hahn. In the men's 1000m, junior Jordan Theisen and senior Levi Fried ran to third and fifth place, respectively. Fried's performance surpassed Gregg Star for the fourth fastest time ever run at BHSU.
Jordan's 1000-meter time moved up to second all-time, surpassing Alec Baldwin. He also ran the mile in 4:12.7, just outside of a provisionally qualifying time. That performance was good for ninth on the day, and the fifth fastest ever at BHSU, as Cody Bordewyk saw another one of his marks bested.

Senior Cailey Roth had a solid outing, running to 12th in the 600m on Friday night in 1:37.51, good for fifth all-time. Roth came back Saturday afternoon to run 2:15.89 in the 800m. That time passed Erin Curran for the second fastest ever 800m run at BHSU. Freshman Ericka Dykstra also competed in the 600m, winning her heat in 1:37.95, just behind Roth for sixth all-time in that event.
In the women's mile, junior Abbie Fredrick pushed herself to a 5:04.99 mile. The time was good for eighth place and is the fifth fastest mile ever run at BHSU.

The BHSU distance squad put on a spectacular show Friday evening in the 3000m. Junior Kelsey Van Den Hemel started the night off with a 37-second personal best to win her heat in 10:48.54. Behind Jonah Theisen, junior Jake Iverson gritted his way to an impressive 8:31.19, shaving 12 seconds off his best time to move him ahead of James Hansen for seventh all-time. Sophomore Keith Oswoski had a season breakout to run 8:39.19 to win his heat and a personal best of 13 seconds.

"The distance squad racked up 24 personal bests. We competed really well," said head cross country coach Scott Walkinshaw. "It was nice to get down in elevation on a bigger track and validate the conversions the team has been seeing."

Saturday morning got off to an early, and fast, start with the 5000m races. Senior Tori Moore put it all on the line to take 10th in 17:45.58. That time is the third fastest 5000m at BHSU, and only 6 seconds shy of the school record held by Leigh Anne Whiteside. Senior Savannah Davis moved up a spot to sixth all time after running 18:18.56. Not to be outdone, sophomore Matt Parker dropped close to a minute from his best ever 5k to run to eighth place in 14:53.78. That performance skyrocketed him to fifth all-time.
In the field events, freshman Kyla Savwell won day one of the shot put. In the high jump, sophomore Allen McDonell tied for second, clearing 6' – 8.00".

The pole vault crew put on an aerobatic show with three top ten performances. Sophomore Jordyn Huneke took fifth, while her teammate, freshman Hannah Hendrick, cleared 11' 07.00" good for eighth place, and fourth all-time. She narrowly missed out on a provisionally qualifying mark. In the men's vault, sophomore Joe Melia tied for fourth, clearing 14' 09.00". The height ties him for ninth all time.

The Yellow Jackets return home next weekend for the Stinger Open, a two day meet. Friday night will feature a DMR race with a host of NSIC and RMAC schools vying to hit a time to qualify for the National Championships. There will also be a possible 5000m if there is enough interest. Saturday will be the last regular competition of the indoor season before the RMAC championships in two weeks.