SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University track & field programs will compete in their final meets prior to the RMAC Championships this weekend as the majority of the team will visit Chadron State for the "Golden Eagle" Last Chance on Saturday, February 22, while Braden Anderson will be the lone Yellow Jacket to compete at the UND Tune-Up as he is set to participate in the 800m run on Friday, February 21.
 
UND TUNE-UP DETAILS
Date & Times: Friday, February 21 – track events begin at 1 p.m. MST (2 p.m. CST)
Location: Grand Forks, N.D. – Frederick "Fritz" D. Pollard Jr. Athletic Center
 
"GOLDEN EAGLE" LAST CHANCE DETAILS
Date & Times: Saturday, February 22 – field events begin at 10 a.m. while the track events start at 1 p.m.
Location: Chadron, Neb. – Nelson Physical Activity 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.
• Johnson broke his second school record of the year last weekend at the SDSU Indoor Classic as he ran to a time of 22.32 in the 200m dash, passing teammate Sartain who is now second on the all-time performance list with a time of 22.26. McGraw rounds out the top-10 all-time 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. Additionally, this past weekend at the SDSU Indoor Classic, Flynn Johnston tied the ninth-fastest time in program history as he ran to a time of 50.50.
• 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. This past weekend he ran at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University, where he was once again less than 0.2 seconds off his school record as he ran to a time of 1:52.37 for a 66^th place finish in a field of 232 athletes, including besting 46 NCAA Division I runners.
• Jaxon Straus entered the top-10 performance list in school history for the 5,000m run last weekend in Brookings, posting a time of 15:07.38, which ranks ninth in the BHSU record books.
• 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 Jayden 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. He matched his career-best mark and finished second overall at the SDSU Indoor Classic this past weekend. 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, 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 last month, posting a time of 8.08 in the Dave Little Alumni Mile Open to rank eighth in program history.
• Kendall Tietjen currently ranks fifth in both the 400m dash and the 800m run on the Black Hills State all-time performance list, having posted a career-best time of 58.66 in the 400m dash at the SDSU Indoor Classic and a career-best 800m run time of 2:16.09 at the Colorado Invitational.
• With a career-best time of 5:08.70 at the SDSU Indoor Classic, Katelyn Krieger moved into ninth place all-time on the Yellow Jacket performance list in the mile.
• This past weekend at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University, Sylvia Brown broke her own school record in the 5,000m run as she clocked a time of 17:05.25 for 118^th in the field of 167 athletes, besting 29 NCAA Division I athletes in the process. Additionally, she ranks fifth in program history in the 3,000m run with a time of 10:11.65.
• Evie Boyd and Emma Hofmeister also added additional movement to the top-10 of the 5,000m run in the school record books this past weekend in Brookings as they posted times of 17:56.62 and 18:15.22 to rank seventh and tenth respectively in program history.
• 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 matched a career-best mark of 3.60m (11' 9.75") in back-to-back meets at the SDSU D2/NAIA Open and the SDSU Indoor Classic.
• 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") that occurred last season.
• The 4x400 relay team of Afrank, Carlie DeBoer, Jillian Brennan, and Tietjen ran to the fifth-fastest time in program history as they clocked a 4:02.01 at the SDSU Indoor Classic last weekend.
• Alex Kemp is in his first season as the head coach of the Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams.