Yellow Jackets Open Season with 13 Event Wins at Birds and the Bees Holiday Open

CHADRON, Neb. – In a dual meet to open the year against Chadron State, the Black Hills State University track & field program began the season with a first place women's team finish as they accumulated 186.5 points, while the men's team was second place with 178 points. It was a young Yellow Jacket squad that competed and showed their strengths in the season-opener, as nine of the 13 event wins for BHSU on the day came from freshmen.

HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Both Landon Scalise and Jude Guevara advanced to the finals of the 60m dash, clocking times of 7.05 for second place and 7.27 for sixth place respectively. In the prelims of the event Scalise notched a time of 7.12 while Guevara had a career-best time of 7.21.
Scalise was also the highest finishing Yellow Jacket in the 200m dash, finish fifth place with a time of 23.34. Also competing in the event was Guevara who recorded a sixth place finish with a time of 24.28, Javin Walker was seventh with a career-best time of 24.49, and Isaac Job was eighth with a time of 25.15.
Black Hills State went 1-2-3 in the 600m run as Braden Anderson, Flynn Johnston, and Aiden O'Leary swept the top three spots with times of 1:23.22, 1:24.92, and 1:29.53 respectively. Johnston's time in the event was a new career-best.
Drew Lehman began his collegiate career with a win in the 1,000m run, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:40.48.
The pair of Jayden Curtis and Conor McGraw posted third and fourth place finishes in the finals of the 60m hurdles, recording times of 8.69 and 8.71 respectively. In the prelims of the event McGraw notched a time of 8.75 while Curtis clocked an 8.84.
The 4x400 relay team of Walker, Lehman, Johnston, and Anderson, ran to a time of 3:29.17 for a second place finish. The time in the event was just 1.04 seconds off last year's season-best time at the SDSU Indoor Classic.
Another BHSU freshman to start their career with an event win was Trennan Pearson, who cleared 1.92m (6' 3.5") in the high jump.
Black Hills State swept the top-4 placings in the pole vault, led by freshman Chase Maher who notched his first career win in his collegiate debut as he cleared 4.56m (14' 11.5"). Also competing in the event was Johns McKalester who was second with a mark of 4.56m (14' 11.5"), Shane Karajanis who was third with a career-best mark of 4.41m (14' 5.5"), and Dawson Lindeen who was fourth with a mark of 4.41m (14' 5.5").
The long jump competition also saw the Yellow Jackets dominate and sweep the top-4 placings, led by another freshman making their collegiate debut, it was Curtis who earned the win with a jump of 6.81m (22' 4.25"). Rounding out the top-4 was Seth Wilson who was second with a mark of 6.67m (21' 10.75"), Lindeen who was third with a mark of 6.14m (20' 1.75"), and Walker who was fourth with a career-best mark of 6.14m (20' 1.75").
Casen Wilson led a trio of BHSU athletes in the triple jump as he collected a third place finish with a career-best mark of 12.79m (41' 11.5"). He was joined in the event by Seth Wilson and Guevara who were fourth and fifth with jumps of 11.94m (39' 2.25") and 11.66m (38' 3.25") respectively.
Matthew LoFaso notched a fourth place finish in the shot put, recording a career-best mark of 13.63m (44' 8.75").
LoFaso and Ryan Baker led the way for Black Hills State in the weight throw as the pair tallied fourth and fifth place finishes with career-best marks of 14.44m (47' 4.5") and 14.16m (46' 5.5") respectively.

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points
1. Chadron State	232
2. Black Hills State	178
3. Unattached	18

HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Saraya Afrank earned a win for Black Hills State in her collegiate debut in the 200m dash, posting a time of 27.01. Rounding out the top-3 in the event was another Yellow Jacket freshman, Alessandra Broussard who clocked a time of 27.43.
BHSU went 1-2-3 in the 600m run, led by Kendall Tietjen who won the event as she crossed the finish line in a career-best time of 1:40.53. She was joined in the top-3 by Carlie DeBoer and Brooks Brooklyn who were second and third with times of 1:43.04 and 1:46.77 respectively.
Jillian Brennan notched a victory in the 1,000m run as she posted a career-best time of 3:19.46.
In the 60m hurdles, Alivia Weathers recorded a second place finish for the Yellow Jackets as she ran to a time of 9.82.
Gracie Wilts collected a win in her collegiate debut in the high jump, clearing 1.55m (5' 1"). Additionally, Broussard earned third place in the event with a mark of 1.50m (4' 11").
The Yellow Jackets went 1-2-3 in the pole vault, led by Erin Weibel who won the event as she cleared a career-best mark of 3.45m (11' 3.75"). Rounding out the top-3 was Brekkan Lockhart and Gretchen Adamski who were second and third as they cleared 3.15m (10' 4") and 3.00m (9' 10") respectively.
BHSU took the first two places in the long jump as freshman Sophie Louderback won the event with a mark of 5.28m (17' 4"), while Saraya Afrank was second with a mark 5.16m (16' 11.25").
Louderback also collected a third place finish in the triple jump as she recorded a mark of 10.65m (34' 11.25").
Another event that saw Black Hills State take the top-2 placings was the shot put as Isabell Higgins joined the group of freshmen to collect victories, recording a mark of 12.03m (39' 5.75"). Second in the event was Christianna Wall who posted a career-best mark of 11.34m (37' 2.5").
The pair of Higgins and Wall also went 1-2 in the weight throw, notching marks of 14.19m (46' 6.75") and 13.64m (44' 9") respectively.

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points
1. Black Hills State	186.5
2. Chadron State	164.5
3. Unattached	7

UP NEXT
Black Hills State will be off for more than a month until their next meet when they are set to host their first of two meets this indoor season with the Dave Little Alumni Mile Meet on Saturday, January 18, in the Donald E. Young Center Fieldhouse.

Print Friendly Version