SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's and women's track & field teams hosted the annual Dave Little Alumni Mile Open on Saturday, welcoming six opposing colleges/universities to the Donald E. Young Center Fieldhouse. The Yellow Jacket women secured the team title with 179.5 points, highlighted by five career-best marks and Cassidy Goddard cracking the top-10 in school history in the weight throw. The BHSU men finished second with 137.5 points and four career-best marks, including the highlight of the day as Drew Lehman broke the school record in the triple jump. A record that stood for 50 years since Mike Lehnus jumped 47' 4.00" in 1976, Lehman became the first Yellow Jacket to jump further than 48' as he now ranks third in the RMAC and 22^nd in NCAA Division II with an NCAA provisional mark secured.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Ryan Baker captured the win in the first event of the day, tossing a winning and career-best weight throw mark of 17.75m (58' 3.00"). Baker's throw moved him up to seventh all-time on the Yellow Jacket Performance List. Joining Baker inside the top-10 of the weight throw was Matthew LoFaso who was tenth with a throw of 13.50m (44' 3.50") in his season debut.
• Baker also added a new career-best in the shot put, throwing 13.02m (42' 8.75") for eighth place.
• The pair of Dawson Lindeen and Chase Maher tied for second place in the pole vault, clearing 4.45m (14' 7.25") on their first attempts to lead a quartet of Yellow Jackets in the event. Also notching a top-5 finish in the event was McKalester Johns, who also cleared 4.45m (14' 7.25") on his second attempt. Rounding out the BHSU athletes in the event was Jeremy Harms who was eighth with a mark of 4.00m (13' 1.5") in his Yellow Jacket debut.
• In the first event on the track of the day, the Yellow Jacket distance medley relay team of Evan Smith, Logan Boyd, Caden Strasser, and Jonah Rigg, captured the event win by running to a time of 10:29.35.
• The Black Hills State distance runners captured three of the top-4 placings and five of the top-7 placings in the mile. Leading the first trio was Gavin Kuhlenbeck in second with a time of 4:27.14 and following close behind him was Jaxon Straus who was third with a time of 4:28.05 and Thomas Oylear who was fourth with a time of 4:32.36. The second group of Yellow Jackets to cross the finish line in the event was freshmen Casey Nauta and Sean Shipp who were sixth and seventh respectively with times of 4:32.81 and 4:33.49. Others in the Green & Gold competing in the event were another pair of freshmen, Conor Phipps and Anthony Ackerman who finished 12^th and 16^th respectively, with times of 4:42.10 and 4:46.76.
• The sophomore trio of Bridger Anerson, Seth Wilson and Jayden Curtis led the way for Black Hills State in the long jump with top-5 finishes. Anderson won the event with a mark of 6.83m (22' 5"), while Wilson was third with a jump of 6.47m (21' 2.75") and Curtis was fourth with a jump of 6.38m (20' 11.25"). Just outside of the top-10 was Walker who was 11^th with a jump of 6.03m (19' 9.5") and Trennan Pearson who was 12^th with a mark of 6.00m (19' 8.25"). Rounding out the BHSU athletes in the event were Casen Wilson with a jump of 5.85m (19' 2.5") for 17^th place and Jude Guevara with a mark of 5.54m (18' 2.25") for 22^nd place.
• The highlight of the day for the Black Hills State track & field program came in the triple jump as Drew Lehman broke a 50 year old school record with a career-best jump of 14.69m (48' 2.5") for second place in the event. The NCAA provisional mark gives the sophomore the accolade of being the first Yellow Jacket to break 48' in the triple jump in school history, while also ranking him third in the RMAC and 22^nd in NCAA Division II this season. Joining him in the top-10 of the event was Walker who jumped 12.27m (40' 3.25") for seventh place, and Curtis who jumped 11.74m (38' 6.25") for ninth place.
• In the 60m hurdles, Curtis ran to a time of 8.88 in the prelims, the fifth-fastest time, before ultimately finishing sixth place overall with a time of 9.00 in the finals.
• The pair of Landon Scalise and Ashley Williams competed in the 60m dash for the Yellow Jackets, posting times of 7.22 and 7.32 respectively in the prelims for a ninth and 17^th place finish.
• Freshman Adam Stimes notched a top-5 finish in the high jump, posting a mark of 1.91m (6' 3.25") for fourth place. Pearson then also added a top-10 mark, clearing 1.85m (6' 0.75") for sixth place.
• A quartet of Yellow Jackets recorded top-10 finishes in the 800m run, led by a second place finish with a time of 2:00.06 for Rigg and a fourth place finish with a time of 2:00.62 for Strasser. Rounding out the top-10 finishers was Flynn Johnston who was seventh with a time of 2:01.82 and Nauta who was eighth with a time of 2:04.42. Just outside of the top-10 was a freshmen trio of Oylear who 11^th with a time of 2:06.12, Ackerman who was 12^th with a time of 2:06.35, and Phipps who was 14^th with a time of 2:08.50.
• Williams led the way for Black Hills State in the 200m dash, clocking a top-10 finish of ninth place with a time of 23.93. Jude Guevara also added a 12^th place finish with a time of 24.23, Isaac Job was 24^th with a time of 24.72, and Boyd was 33^rd with a time of 25.22.
• The distance trio of Turner Christians, Emmett Swartzentruber, and Alberto Spotted recorded top-10 finishes in the 5,000m run. Christians led the way with a second place finish and a career-best time of 15:16.78, Swartzentruber was sixth with a time of 15:55.66 and Spotted was ninth with a time of 16:11.29.
• The day came to a close on the track as Black Hills State posted a fifth place finish in the 4x400 as Smith, Rigg, Ackerman, and Dominic Eberle ran to a time of 3:31.75.

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points
1. South Dakota Mines	149.75
2. Black Hills State	137.5
3. Chadron State	101.25
4. Rocky Mountain	67.25
5. Montana State Billings	33.75
6. Dakota Wesleyan	12.5
T-7. Bad River Distance	5
T-7. Dawson Athletic Club	5
T-9. Dawson Community College	3
T-9. South Dakota Mines Alumni	3
11. Dawson Athletic Club	1

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• With a career-best throw of 16.36m (53' 8.25") to finish second, Cassidy Goddard cracked the top-10 in school history in the weight throw, now ranking tenth all-time on the Yellow Jacket performance list. Hannah Sullivan then made it two BHSU athletes in the top-3 of the event, finishing third with a toss of 15.04m (49' 4.25").
• Sullivan notched her second top-3 finish of the day with a third place finish in the shot put, recording a mark of 12.39m (40' 7.75"). Goddard then added a top-10 finish as she recorded a throw of 11.52m (37' 9.5").
• Five Yellow Jackets finished within the top-6 of the pole vault and were led by Gretchen Adamski who was second with a mark of 3.45m (11' 3.375"). The pair of Erin Weibel and Lauryn Bennett tied for third place as they each cleared 3.30m (10' 10") on their second attempts. Tying for sixth place was Hope Bryant and Brekkan Lockhart who each cleared 3.15m (10' 4"), as Bryant cleared the mark on her third attempt and Lockhart her first attempt. Just outside of the top-10 was Alexa Colman who was 11^th with a mark of 2.70m (8' 10.25").
• The duo of Hardersen and Baun led the Yellow Jackets in the mile, posting a pair of top-5 finishes as Hardersen was second in her BHSU with a time of 5:37.24 and Baun was fourth with a career-best time of 5:47.48. Rounding out the top-10 of the event was Jacey Wipf in ninth place in her Yellow Jacket debut with a time of 5:56.15 and Payton Sheehan in tenth place with a career-best time of 6:04.68. Also competing in the event was Morgan Sumption who was 13^th with a time of 6:16.49 in her first meet competing in the mile.
• Avery Marler, Saraya Afrank, and Adlyn Eng each posted top-5 finishes in the long jump, which saw Marler recording a second place finish with a jump of 5.26m (17' 3.25"), Afrank was fourth with a jump of 5.10m (16' 8.75"), and Eng was fifth with a jump of 4.91m (16' 1.5").
• The pair of Eng and Alivia Weathers recorded top-5 finishes in the triple jump, with Eng securing third place with a mark of 10.38m (34' 0.75") and Weathers finishing fourth with a mark of 10.21m (33' 6").
• In the 60m hurdles, Alessandra Broussard and Madyson Wolfe recorded top-5 finishes as Broussard was fourth in the prelims (9.78) and third in the finals (9.67) while Wolfe was third in the prelims (9.70) and fourth in the finals (9.70). Alivia Weathers also qualified for the finals of the event, running to a time of 10.59 for eighth in the prelims and moved up to sixth in the finals with a time of 10.23. Also competing for BHSU was Bennett who was 11^th in the prelims with a time of 10.98.
• Marler clocked the fastest time in the prelims of the 60m dash, running to a time of 7.86, however she ultimately would finish second in the finals with a time of 7.86 again. Afrank recorded a third place finish in both the prelims and finals, recording times of 8.15 and 8.11 respectively. Sophia Kennedy notched a 16^th place finish with a time of 8.69 in the prelims.
• The lone Yellow Jacket competing in the 400m dash was Jillian Brennan, who clocked a winning time of 1:04.24.
• Gracie Wilts was the lone Yellow Jacket competing in the high jump, clearing 1.55m (5' 1") on her first attempt for a third place finish.
• The trio of Hardersen, Baun, and Sheehan notched top-10 finishes in the 800m run as Hardersen recorded a third place finish and time of 2:30.64 in her BHSU debut, Baun recorded an eighth place finish and career-best time of 2:37.98, and Sheehan recorded a ninth place finish and career-best time of 2:39.64.
• After finishing second in the 60m dash earlier in the day, Marler came back and won the 200m dash with a time of 26.13, while Afrank was once again close behind with a second place finish and time of 26.94. Also competing in the event was Colman and Kennedy, who were 13^th and 16^th respectively with times of 29.58 and 30.38.
• A total of seven Yellow Jackets clocked top-10 finishes in the 5,000m run, led by Emma Hofmeister who was second with a time of 18:32.12. Also, in the top-5 was Ava Allen who was third with a time of 18:35.50, Sierra Hopp who was fourth with a time of 18:36.98, and Mason Berg who was fifth with a time of 18:47.47. Rounding out the top-10 for the Green & Gold was Gracie Craig who was seventh with a time of 19:08.56, Abigail Robberson who was eighth with a time of 19:17.63, and Zena Tapia who was tenth with a time of 19:46.64. Just outside of the top-10 and rounding out the Black Hills State athletes was Nicole Clark, who was 12^th with a time of 20:23.69.

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points
1. Black Hills State	179.5
2. Rocky Mountain	81
3. Chadron State	73.5
4. Montana State Billings	60.5
5. South Dakota Mines	40
6. Dakota Wesleyan	31
7. Spearfish	10
8. Black Hills State Alumni	5

 
UP NEXT
The Black Hills State men's and women's track & field teams remain in action this week as they travel to Wayne, Nebraska, for the WSC NCAA Showdown on Saturday, January 24. The action begins at 11 a.m. MT / 12 p.m. CT in the WSC Wildcat Complex.