SPEARFISH, S.D. – The 2024-25 indoor track & field season gets underway on Saturday, December 7, for the Black Hills State University men's and women's teams as they travel to Chadron State for the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open. Highlighted by four returning All-RMAC athletes among both teams, the Yellow Jackets will look to set the tone for the year in the lone meet of the month as the field events begin at 9 a.m. while the running events start at 12 p.m. at the Nelson Physical Activity Center in Chadron, Nebraska.
 
RACE DETAILS
Date & Times: Saturday, December 7 – field events begin at 9 a.m. while running events start at 12 p.m.
Location: Chadron, Neb. – Nelson Physical Activity Center
 
BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

• Black Hills State earned a seventh place finish in last year's RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as they tallied 30.66 team points. In the BHSU hosted conference championships in the spring of 2024, the Yellow Jackets took home three all-conference honors and an individual title for Brett Glaser in the heptathlon.
• Braden Anderson is the lone returning Yellow Jacket that earned First Team All-RMAC honors at the 2024 indoor championships, as he took home a third place finish in the 800m run with a time of 1:54.35. He holds a career-best 800m time of 1:52.04 that occurred at the 2024 Bryan Clay Invitational.
• In last year's RMAC Indoor Championships, Shane Karajanis tied for an eighth place finish in the pole vault as he jumped 4.31m, a career-best mark for both indoor and outdoor competition. He holds three career top-3 finishes in the pole vault.
• Dawson Lindeen also tied for eighth place in the pole vault at last season's RMAC Indoor Championship, posting a 4.31m jump. He holds a career-best vault of 4.45m that occurred during last year's indoor season at the SDSU Indoor Classic. In his Yellow Jacket career, he has clear at least 4.00m ten times as an indoor and outdoor track & field athlete.
• Mason Sartain notched a seventh place finish in the 60m dash at the 2024 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as he clocked a time of 10.70 in the finals. In the prelims of the event as he recorded a career-best time of 6.92. The sprinter has clocked six sub-seven second 60m dash times over the course of his career.
• A distance medley relay team that earned a fourth place finish at last year's conference championship with a time of 10:25.14 will see three athletes return this year, including Addison Red Fox, Flynn Johnston, and Caden Strasser.
• Alex Kemp enters his first season as the head coach of the Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams.

BLACK HILLS STATE WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

• Black Hills State earned a ninth place finish in last year's RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as they tallied 17 team points. In the BHSU hosted conference championships in the spring of 2024, the Yellow Jackets took home three all-conference honors.
• Ceegan Atkins returns as one of three Second Team All-RMAC honorees for last year's BHSU women's team at the indoor conference championships as she posted a sixth place finish in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.99. She recorded a pair of top-2 finishes in the 60m hurdles during her freshman campaign, including earning a win in the Dave Little Alumni Mile meet where she turned in a time of 9.43.
• Brekkan Lockhart returns following a seventh place finish in the pole vault of last year's RMAC Indoor Championships as she recorded a jump of 3.23m. She holds a career-best mark of 3.30m in the event which occurred at the 2024 SDSU Indoor Classic. She began her collegiate career last season with three consecutive top-5 finishes.
• Hanah Sullivan is one of three returning Second Team All-RMAC honorees that are back this season as she notched a fifth place finish in the shot put at last year's indoor conference championships. She holds a career-best mark in the event of 13.74m, which gave her the victory in the Dave Little Alumni Mile meet inside the Young Center last year. She has surpassed the 13.00m mark on three occasions in her collegiate career.
• The remaining returning Second Team All-RMAC honoree at last season's RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships is Erin Weibel who recorded a fifth place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 3.38m. She holds a career-best vault of 3.40m that was good for fifth place at the 2024 Mule Relays. Over the course of her career, she has surpassed 3.30m in the event nine times.
• Alex Kemp enters his first season as the head coach of the Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams.