Yellow Jackets Send Split Groups to SDSU D2/NAIA Open and the Colorado Invitational

SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University track & field programs will send groups to a pair of different locations this weekend with athletes competing at the SDSU D2/NAIA Open on Friday (January 31) and Saturday (February 1) as well as the Colorado Invitational on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets have had a wealth of success early this season, having tallied three consecutive women's team titles and two consecutive men's team titles.

SDSU D2/NAIA OPEN DETAILS
Date & Times: Friday, January 31 – pentathlon begins at 2 p.m., heptathlon begins at 2:10 p.m., field events begin at 3 p.m., and track events begin at 4:30 p.m. (all times MST)
Saturday, February 1 – heptathlon begins at 8:30 a.m., field events begin at 11 a.m., and track events begin at 11 a.m. (all times MST)
Location: Brookings, S.D. – Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex

COLORADO INVITATIONAL DETAILS
Date & Times: Saturday, February 1 – running events start at 11 a.m.
Location: Boulder, Colo. – Indoor Practice Facility

BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

The Black Hills State men's track & field team earned their second consecutive at home this past weekend, earning the team victory in the Myrle Hanson Open as they tallied 105.5 points. The lone event win of the afternoon for the Yellow Jackets in the Donald E. Young Center Fieldhouse was Jayden Curtis in the 60m dash.
This season's Black Hills State men's track & field team features four of the top-7 all-time performance leaders in the 60m dash, led by school-record holder Jace Johnson who posted a time of 6.89 in the Dave Little Alumni Mile Open a few weeks ago, Mason Sartain who holds the third-best time of 6.92, Landon Scalise holds the sixth-best time of 7.05, and Conor McGraw holds the seventh-best time of 7.11.
Sartain holds the all-time best performance mark in Yellow Jacket history in the 200m dash with a career-best time of 22.36, while McGraw is ninth-best in program history with a time of 22.78.
Anderson is fifth-best in BHSU history on the performance list for the 600m run as he holds a career-best time of 1:22.77 in the event. He also holds the programs top all-time mark in the 800m run as he's clocked a career-best time of 1:52.24. At last week's Jim Emmerich Alumni Meet in Brookings, Anderson came within 0.03 seconds of the NCAA Division II provisional time and 0.1 seconds off matching his own school record as he notched a time of 1:52.34 in the 800m run.
The pair of McGraw and Curtis are each among the top-10 times all-time on the Yellow Jacket performance list in the 60m hurdles as McGraw ranks third with a time of 8.51 while Curtis is tenth with a time of 8.69.
In his collegiate debut, Curtis notched the eighth-best long jump mark among the Black Hills State indoor performance list, posting a mark of 6.81m (22' 4.25") to win the event at the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open in December.
Another freshman who made his mark in his collegiate debut was Chase Maher, who won the pole vault at the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open in a dual meet against Chadron State, recording a mark of 4.56m (14' 11.5").
With a career-best throw of 15.52m (50' 11") for sixth place in the weight throw in last weekend's Myrle Hanson Open, Ryan Baker moved into tenth place all-time on the Yellow Jacket performance list in the event.
McGraw has been one of the top heptathlon athletes in Yellow Jacket history, ranking fourth on the program's all-time performance list with a career-best 4,470 points in the 2022 RMAC Championships.
Alex Kemp is in 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

The Black Hills State women's track & field team earned their third consecutive team win to begin the season, earning the team victory in the Myrle Hanson Open as they tallied 115.5 points. Collecting four event wins on the day for the Yellow Jackets were Saraya Afrank in the 200m dash, Erin Weibel in the pole vault, and Sophie Louderback in the long jump and triple jump.
Saraya Afrank moved into the top-10 all-time in the 60m dash record books a few weeks ago, posting a time of 8.08 in the Dave Little Alumi Mile Open.
Kendall Tietjen currently ranks eighth all-time on the Black Hills State performance list in the 400m dash, having posted a career-best time of 59.29. Last weekend at the Jim Emmerich Alumni Meet in Brookings, she clocked a career-best 800m run time of 2:18.83 as she moved herself into ninth place all-time in school history in the event.
Sylvia Brown is among the top-5 of a pair of events all-time in Yellow Jacket history, holding the top time in program history in the 5,000m run with a time of 17:14.57 and is then fifth all-time in the 3,000m run with a time of 10:11.65.
Sophie Louderback posted one of the top marks in program history in her collegiate debut in the long jump, recording a mark of 5.28m (17' 4") to win the event at the season opening Birds and the Bees Holiday Open in December to rank eighth all-time.
Weibel remains one of the best pole vaulters in BHSU history, as she ranks seventh all-time and has posted three consecutive event wins and career-best marks to begin the season, including most recently a career-best mark of 3.55m (11' 7.75") to win the Myrle Hanson Open last week.
In the shot put, Hanah Sullivan ranks seventh all-time on the Black Hills State performance list as she holds a career-best mark of 13.74m (45' 1").
Alex Kemp is in his first season as the head coach of the Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams.