Yellow Jackets Venture on to Golden for RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

SPEARFISH, S.D. – Following a busy final week of tune-ups in California and Rapid City last week, the Black Hills State University men's and women's track & field teams now look to the RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Stermole Track & Field Complex in Golden, Colorado. Currently five Yellow Jackets have recorded NCAA Provisional times and marks, while eight individuals and one relay team will enter the championships top-5 in the league.

DAY 1 DETAILS
Date & Time: Friday, April 25 – field events begin at 9 a.m. while track events start at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Golden, Colo. – Stermole Track & Field Complex

DAY 2 DETAILS
Date & Time: Saturday, April 26 – field events begin at 10 a.m. while track events start at 4 p.m.
Location: Golden, Colo. – Stermole Track & Field Complex

DAY 3 DETAILS
Date & Time: Sunday, April 27 – field events begin at 9 a.m. while track events start at 12 p.m.
Location: Golden, Colo. – Stermole Track & Field Complex

TICKETS
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has partnered with Hudl Tickets to manage ticketing for all championship events during the 2024-25 season. Fans can purchase tickets via the links provided and will receive them via email with a QR code. When you arrive at the gates, scan the QR code on your phone for a frictionless entry.

LIVE STREAM
All RMAC Championship events, including the outdoor track and field championships, will be broadcast pay-per-view on the RMAC Network. Purchase options are available at RMACSports.org/buyRMACtv.

BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

After posting his first sub-11 second 100m dash time in four seasons, Mason Sartain has now clocked four of those times within the last three weekends. He has highlighted this outdoor season by breaking the school record in the event with a career-best time of 10.76 for a victory at the Bauer Open this past Friday. He currently ranks 17^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List entering the conference championships.
After breaking both the 60m (6.89) and 200m (22.32) dash school records during the indoor season, Jace Johnson has continued his move up the all-time top-10 of events during the outdoor season. At the Bauer Open last weekend, he clocked a career-best time of 10.82 in the 100m dash for a second place finish and 21.94 in the 200m dash for a victory in the event as he now ranks third and fifth respectively on the All-Time Yellow Jacket Performance List. He currently ranks 20^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List in the 100m dash.
Last in action in March, Aiden O'Leary collected a career-best time in the 400m hurdles and moved his way up the school's all-time top-10 by posting a winning time of 53.20 at the Chuck Hearing Invitational. The time ranks fourth all-time in school history, while the converted time of 53.31 currently ranks fourth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and is just 0.16 seconds off being an NCAA Provisional time.
Flynn Johnston has also climbed his way up the top-10 in program history in the 400m hurdles this season, which included a jump from eighth to sixth this past weekend as he clocked a career-best and winning time of 54.39 at the Bauer Open. He currently ranks eighth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance list entering the conference championships.
Braden Anderson has become the top 800m runner in school history as he now holds both the indoor (1:50.93) and outdoor school records, becoming the first Yellow Jacket to ever clock a sub-1:50 time in the event as he crossed the finish line in 1:49.96 at the Chuck Hearing Invitational last month. The time of 1:49.96 gave Anderson an NCAA provisional time as he currently ranks sixth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and is 15^th in all of NCAA Division II. During the Green & Gold's west coast trip this past weekend, he ran times of 1:50.69 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, besting 44 NCAA Division I runners, and 1:50.87 at the Mt. SAC Relays, besting a pair of DI runners and finishing within the top-20. Both of his times in The Golden State would rank ahead of second on the BHSU All-Time Performance List.
During the Yellow Jacket's trip to the west coast last weekend, Jaxon Straus cracked the school's all-time top-10 in the 5,000m run at the ULV Leopard Invitational as he posted a career-best time of 14:47.14. He crossed the finish line 15^th and ahead of ten NCAA Division I runners as he recorded the tenth-fastest time in program history.
Currently ranking fifth on the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List in the decathlon is Conor McGraw, who holds a career-best point total in the decathlon of 6,272 points at the 2022 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships to claim the conference title. He's competed in the decathlon once this year at the Bryan Clay Multis, totaling 5,671 points against 12 NCAA Division I athletes where he posted six top-10 finishes (100m dash, shot put, 400m dash, 110m hurdles, discus throw, and javelin throw) on the weekend.
Chase Maher quickly moved into the top-10 all-time in program history in the outdoor pole vault, as the freshman from Rapid City cleared 4.85m (15' 11") for second place in his outdoor debut at the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Invitational to rank third in school history. The NCAA provisional mark of 4.85m is third on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and is 34^th in all of NCAA Division II. He won the pole vault event in back-to-back meets at the Jack Christiansen Invitational (4.57m (15' 0")) and the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi (4.70m (15' 5")) before finishing third at the Jim Duncan Invitational (4.55m (14' 11")).
Cracking the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List in the hammer throw two weeks ago was Ryan Baker at the Jack Christiansen Invitational as he secured a top-10 finish at the Colorado State University hosted meet. He notched a career-best mark of 47.43m (155' 7") for ninth place in the event and is now ninth in the Yellow Jacket record books. Additionally, he currently ranks 34^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List.
The 4x100 relay team has had two different teams secure spots on the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List this season as Landon Scalise, Jace Johnson, Jude Guevara, and Mason Sartain had another strong performance at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi, as they ran to a season-best time of 41.73 for second place at Lyle Hare Stadium. The time bests their previous top time of the year by 0.12 seconds as they remain ranked fourth in program history and are seventh on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List. Additionally, the relay team of Johnson, Ashley Williams, Guevara, and Sartain, clocked the seventh-fastest 4x100 relay time in school history as they ran to a time of 42.29 for second place at the Bauer Open.
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

Clocking a career-best time of 25.61 to win the event and tie for the tenth-fastest time in program history as just a freshman was Saraya Afrank at the Bauer Open.
Securing an NCAA provisional time that currently ranks third on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and 29^th in all of NCAA Division II, Kendall Tietjen ran to the win in the 400m hurdles with a career-best time of 1:01.37 at the Chuck Hearing Invitational in March. Additionally, the time moved her up one spot on the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List to second in program history. As a part of the Green & Gold's trip out west last weekend, she posted a time of 1:01.59 at the Mt. SAC Relays to come within just 0.22 seconds of her career-best time for a 20^th place finish and best ten NCAA Division I runners in the process.
Joining Tietjen in the top-10 all-time in the 400m hurdles in school history is Carlie DeBoer, who ran to the win in the event at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi with a career-best time of 1:04.27 a few weekends ago. She now ranks fifth in program history and is ninth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List.
During last week's trip to The Golden State, Katelyn Krieger notched a career-best and the eighth-fastest 1,500m run time in school history as she crossed the finish line with a time of 4:41.17 for a sixth place finish as she bested eight NCAA Division I runners.
Evie Boyd has found herself a spot on a pair of Yellow Jacket All-Time Top-10 Lists these last couple of weeks, starting at Lyle Hare Stadium in the 3,000m steeplechase as she cruised to the win with a career-best time of 11:24.39, besting second place by 46.26 seconds. The time ranks tenth in program history and is currently 20^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List. Then this last week in California, she broke the school record in the 5,000m run as she posted a career-best time of 17:22.89 for third place in a field of 65 athletes as she bested 17 NCAA Division I runners. Her time in the 5,000m run currently ranks 24^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List.
Sylvia Brown now ranks within the top-3 in school history in a pair of events as she remains third in program history in the 5,000m run after clocking a time of 17:29.66 to win the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi a few weeks ago. With a converted time of 17:13.12 she now ranks 19^th on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List. She kicked-off the team's trip to California last week by shattering her own school record and previous career-best in the 10,000m run by 28.21 seconds as she posted an NCAA Provisional time of 35:03.93 for eighth place in a field of 55 athletes while besting 31 NCAA Division I runners. Her time in the 10,000m run currently ranks third on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List entering the conference championships and is 22^nd in NCAA Division II.
Alivia Weathers ranks within the top-10 of the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List in a pair of events, ranking sixth in the javelin throw with a career-best mark of 37.44m (122' 10"), and then she ranks eighth in the heptathlon after she totaled a career-best 3,928 points, both of which occurred at the 2024 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She made her season debut in the heptathlon at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi, winning the event with 3,906 points as she collected wins in the 100m hurdles (16.12), shot put (11.15m (36' 7"), and javelin throw (36.81m (120' 9")). She currently ranks ninth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List in the heptathlon and is eighth in the javelin throw. Her time in the 100m hurdles and distance in the shot put set new career-bests in each event at the home meet, while she also posted a career-best time of 13.76 in the 100m dash at the Bauer Open.
Erin Weibel continues to be one of the top pole vaulters in each meet week after week as she currently ranks seventh in the school's record books after posting a career-best outdoor mark of 3.50m (11' 5.75"), clearing the height to tie for the win at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi. She is currently tied for fifth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List. She has since added a pair of victories in the event as she cleared heights of 3.50m (11' 5.75") at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi and 3.40m (11' 1.75") at the Bauer Open.
Tying Weibel for the win in the pole vault in the home meet at Lyle Hare Stadium was Brekkan Lockhart, who added her name to the Yellow Jacket All-Time Performance List as she also cleared a career-best mark of 3.50m (11' 5.75"). She is currently tied for fifth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and is tied for seventh in the school record books. This past weekend she added a second place finish at the Bauer Open as she cleared 3.40m (11' 1.75") in the event.
The third pole vaulter to find a spot in the school's all-time top-10 this outdoor season was Gretchen Adamski, who made it a sweep of the top-3 for the Yellow Jackets at the Scott Walkinshaw Open & Multi as she cleared 3.35m (10' 11.75") for third place in the meet. The new career-best mark currently ranks ninth on the RMAC Outdoor Performance List and is tied for tenth in program history. She has since added another pair of third place finishes in the event as she cleared 3.30m (10' 10") at the Jim Duncan Invitational and 3.25m (10' 8") at the Bauer Open.
At the Jim Duncan Invitational earlier this month, the 4x400 relay team of Afrank, Gracie Wilts, Jillian Brennan, and Tietjen ran to a second place finish and the ninth-fastest time in program history as they clocked a time of 3:58.15.
Alex Kemp is in his first season as the head coach of the Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams.