SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University track & field programs return to action this weekend as a majority of the team will make their third trip of the indoor season to South Dakota State for the SDSU Indoor Classic, while the distance trio of Braden Anderson, Gavin Kuhlenbeck, and Sylvia Brown will make an east coast trip to compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University. Both meets will take place Friday, February 14, and Saturday, February 15, as the indoor season closes in on just one month remaining.
 
SDSU INDOOR CLASSIC DETAILS
Date & Times: Friday, February 14 & Saturday, February 15 – Friday's track and field events will both start at 3 p.m. MST (4 p.m. CST) while Saturday's track events start at 10:30 a.m. MST (11:30 a.m. CST) and the field events begin at 11 a.m. MST (12 p.m. CST)
Location: Brookings, S.D. – Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex
 
DAVID HEMERY VALENTINE INVITATIONAL DETAILS
Date & Times: Friday, February 14 & Saturday, February 15 – Friday's men's track events start at 7 a.m. MST (9 a.m. EST) while Saturday's women's track events start at 7 a.m. MST (9 a.m. EST)
Location: Boston, Mass. – Boston University Track & Tennis Center
 
BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

• 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 career-best time of 6.89 in the Dave Little Alumni Mile Open in January, 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 Johnson moved into fourth all-time with a time of 22.54 in the SDSU D2/NAIA Open a few weeks ago, and McGraw is tenth-best in program history with a time of 22.78.
• Aiden O'Leary broke into the top-10 all-time in the 400m dash as he clocked a time of 50.19 in his freshman debut in the event for the Yellow Jackets at the Colorado Invitational, ranking fourth-best in the record books.
• Braden 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 the 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 season-best 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 is making his mark in his first season is Spearfish is Chase Maher, who has won a pair of pole vault competitions at the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open and most recently the SDSU D2/NAIA Open where he recorded a jump of 4.70m (15' 5") to rank sixth all-time on the Yellow Jacket performance list. Additionally, McKalester Johns jump of 4.56m (14' 11.5") for second place at the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open moved him into tenth place in the school record books.
• With another career-best throw of 15.74m (51' 7.75") for eighth place in the weight throw at the SDSU D2/NAIA Open, Ryan Baker remains 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, as he remains fourth on the program's all-time performance list after tallying a career-best 4,611 points at the SDSU D2/NAIA Open as he finished fourth in the event.
• The 4x400 relay team of O'Leary, Drew Lehman, Flynn Johnston, and Anderson, clocked the second-best time in school history at the Colorado Invitational as they ran to a time of 3:20.13 for fifth place, besting seven NCAA Division I relay teams in the process.
• 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

• Saraya Afrank moved into the top-10 all-time in the 60m dash record books last month, 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 year. A few weeks ago, at the Colorado Invitational, she clocked a career-best 800m run time of 2:16.09 as she moved herself into fifth 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, posted three consecutive event wins to begin the year, and most recently notched a career-best mark of 3.60m (11' 9.75") to finish third at the SDSU D2/NAIA Open.
• 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.