SPEARFISH, S.D. – The late season blizzard gave way to the sounds of Head Coach Seth Mischke's shovel as he and his staff set to clearing the competition areas for this weekend's Yellow Jacket Spring Open. Hosted at the Lyle Hare Stadium, the decathlon is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Friday, while the Heptathlon will begin at 1:30 p.m. The hammer throw will also be contested on Friday and is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. Conditions of the throws arena may push the start time back an hour.

On Saturday, action will resume with the conclusion of the decathlon and heptathlon starting at 9 a.m. All other field events will begin at noon, and running events and the javelin will begin at 2 p.m. Being one of the few schools in the regions to experience the Spring Thaw, BHSU is anticipating a larger than usual field with over 10 teams scheduled to compete. Conference foes Chadron State and SDSMT are among those.

"We are fortunate to be able to compete this early in the season," said Mischke. "After the Indoor season we identified some areas to improve in and I am ready to see those gains translate to the track." 

Heading into the outdoor season, the Green and Gold have several athletes to keep an eye on. Seniors Jonah Theisen and Levi Fried along with juniors Jordan Theisen and Tristan Hepp are coming off a sixth place finish in the DMR at the National Championships. Jonah Theisen heads into his final season with his eyes on some unfinished business in the steeplechase at the national level.

Hepp, who took second in the high jump at the RMAC Championships in 2018, is eying the conference title this year. He also was a member of the 4x400m relay that took second a year ago. Brian Kjerstad, Garrett Snook, and Taylor Hepp all return from that team.

In the women's pole vault, sophomore Jordyn Huneke is also coming off a sixth place finish at the indoor National Meet and looks to return to the Outdoor National meet. Sophomore Whitney Scott, who didn't quite clear a bar good enough for the National Championships, heads into the season looking to defend her 2018 RMAC title and return to the National Championships were she also competed at in the 2018 season.

The Indoor Season wrapped up with 42 total movements on the Top Lists, with the outdoor season rapidly approaching, you can still sign up for the Ten for Ten fundraiser online: https://bhsuathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=1009 While there, check out the current school records that will likely be broken this season!