Jacks Seeking National Qualifiers

Mike Krsnak and Jake Schneller will be racing this Saturday at Notre Dame seeking fast times in order to break school records and possibly qualify for the NCAA Track meet which is just a few weeks away.  Jake Schneller currently sits in the 101st spot in the NCAA Division 1 800.  His time of 1:51.14 is less than 4 seconds away from the automatic qualifier for NCAAs.  Only 4 athletes have qualified so far and I expect the line to be drawn at about 1:48.0.  Other than qualifying for NCAAs, Jake is looking to better his own school record set earlier in the year.  Coach Rod DeHaven's record had stood for 26 years but I don't expect Schneller's record to last long unless he sets the bar even higher.  The level of competition at SDSU has risen since entering the DI era.

Mike Krsnak sits in nearly the same spot as Schneller in the national rankings at 95th.  Krsnak is second all time and will also be seeking the school record held by Brad Lowery of 8:05.04.  The NCAA automatic qualifies is 7:52.30 and it will certainly take that time to get in as 15 men already have it.  Cam Levins of Southern Utah has qualified for the Mile, 3000 and 5000.

Jumpers Jared Vlastuin and Mary Wirth will also be traveling, this time to Arkansas.  They too seek the NCAA qualifying marks.

Jared is the school record holder in the Long Jump, High Jump, and is ranked 4th all time after last weekend's triple jump performance.  Vlastuin seeks qualifiers in the High Jump and Long Jump.  He is tied for 32nd in the national rankings in the High Jump with his 7'1" performance at conference.  The automatic qualifier is 7'4.25".  Vlastuin is ranked 34th in the Long Jump with his school record of 24'9".  The auto qualifier is 8.00m or about 26'3".  Jared would have to jump about 25'5" to make it to nationals.  The Arkansas runway is said to be among the fastest in the nation and many of the top jumps this year are from that facility including the #2 jump by Texan Marquis Goodwin.  Clive Chafausipo of Oral Roberts is ranked 7th nationally in this event.

Vlastuin Over 7'1" at Summit Leagues- Photo By: Rod Schneller

Mary Wirth is ranked 34th nationally in the High Jump with her school record performance of 5'9.75".  The Auto qualifier is over 6' and Mary would need to clear that height to secure a place at nationals.  Mary finished 13th at last spring's NCAA West Region when a top-12 placing was needed to secure a bid.

Best of luck to all Jackrabbits in their bids to set school records and possibly qualify for NCAA Nationals.

Summit League Day 2 Recap

Typing this from the bus!  Day 2 of the Summit League Indoor Track and Field Meet was full of surprises, both good and bad, for the Jackrabbits.  Here is a recap and some thoughts on the meet.

Jared Vlastuin continued his success from the previous day with wins in the High Jump and Triple Jump.  Yes, that is the triple jump and this is the first time this year that Jared has competed in that event.  I think he even surprised himself with his jump of 48 feet 2 and 3/4 inches.  The high jump was full of drama as Jamario Taylor of Western Illinois brushed the bar on his final attempt at 6-11 and it fell of as he was exiting the pit.  Jared made sure the win was legitimate while clearing 7 foot 1 inches, a new school and conference record!  These acheivements garnered him the Summit League Male Field Athlete of the Year.  Interview Here

Lora Shearer earned the same award on the women's side after her performances on the weekend.  After an exciting and tiring day winning the heptathlon, Lora came back the second day to place 4th in the 60m hurdles, 6th in the triple jump, and a tie for third in the high jump.  She had finished 2nd place in the hurdles before the race had to be redone because of a timing system failure.  Interview Here

The Men's Multi-Event athletes finished up action with the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m.  Freshman Bennett Mercil fell in the hurdles, effectively ending his multi-event.  Mike Bredeson made a strong push on day 2 and finished 7th overall.

The men's 60m hurdles saw heavy favorite Matt Tetzlaff of NDSU, a Pierre High School grad, fall and get disqualified.  Jacks Brandon Priebe and Matt Dunbar collected 4th and 6th places respectively.

Although no Jackrabbits were involved, I thought the women's 800 was of note.  It was a huge battle between Emma Ladwig of USD and Brittany Schandore of NDSU with the former coming out on top.  Both women were under the 14 year old conference record.

The Men's 800m saw the Jacks pick up 10 points with 4th, 6th, and 7th place finishes.  Lars Mattison again set a personal best by 1 second after setting one in the prelims by an even larger margin.  It looks like the Jacks may have found their 5th man for the Drake Relays 4x800.

Freshman Jessica McDonald placed 8th in the 400m to earn a point for the Jacks.  Jared Foote gained a 5th place finish in the same event, placing behind 4 Oral Roberts athletes.

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, Freshman McKenzie Johnson threw a personal best by over 3 feet to take second place in the shot put.  She had been seeded eighth coming into the event.

The women's high jump was the highlight of the day for the Jacks with Mary Wirth taking down her longtime rival, Toni Tollefson of NDSU, to win the event.  Lora Shearer and Kali Olson tied for third place to give the Jacks 20 points in the event.

Tera Potts had a similar race to the 3000m in the Mile on day 2.  She had a strong finishing kick to place 5th with a time just over 5 minutes.  In the Men's race, a tired Mike Krsnak kicked his way into 7th.  He competed in the 3000 and DMR the night before and had aspirations of placing in the 5000 later in the day.

The women's 4x4 relay ran well to capture the slow heat in a season best time of 3:56.49.  The men's 4x4 relay was eventful with heavy favorite Oral Roberts being tripped by the Bison.  NDSU would finish third but ended up being disqualified for the incident.  USD went on the win the event by one second over the Jackrabbits.  Jared Foote ran a strong anchor leg and cut the distance to the 'Yotes.

The team scores were a disappointment overall.  The women were hoping for third and were edged by Southern Utah by 4 points.  The men were hoping for second and finished 5th.  The men's team scores were a surprise with Southern Utah coming out on top.  The T-Birds were extremely strong in the distance races and their leader, Cam Levins, won all four of his races.  The favorites, NDSU, finished third.

Results Here

GoJacks Write Up

Brief Recap of Day 1 at Summit League

Hello All,

I have to get to bed so I can run well tomorrow so the Recap will be brief tonight... hopefully.

The day started off with a dramatic conclusion to the Pentathlon.  Lora Shearer PR'd in 4 of 5 events to win by 2 points over Carmilla Pirelli of Oral Roberts.  Lora took the overall lead after a nice Long Jump of 18-05. It then came down to the 800m and Lora finished within the required .6 seconds to retain the lead.  Lora's mark is also a school record!

Mike Bredeson and Bennett Mercil capped off a successful first day of the heptathlon with 5th and 10th place finishes.  They will complete the event with the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m run tomorrow.

Brooke Garner started the field events well with a throw of 61 feet 3.5 inches in the weight throw.  That throw was good enough for first place and a school record!  McKenzie Johnson and Amy Paulzine added points to the Jack total with 7th and 8th place finishes.  Jake Brinkmann placed 7th in the weight throw as well.

Ashley Odegaard continued the field event success with an 8th place finish.  Lora Shearer began to fatigue after the multi event.  Her multi jump would have placed her 5th in the open long jump.  The men's long jump was full of drama as Clive Chaufasipo of Oral Roberts defeated our Jared Vlastuin by 1 cm.  Vlastuin barely scratched his last three jumps as he attempted to beat Clive.

Calvin Cammack continued his successful season with a vault of 15-06.25 for 6th place.

Lora Shearer made the finals in the 60m hurdles and will be in the fast heat after a 4th place finish.  Brandon Priebe and Matt Dunbar qualified third and fourth for the men.

All three Jackrabbit men qualified for the 9 man final tomorrow.  Lars Mattison had a monster PR to capture the 9th spot.

Freshman Jessica McDonald qualified in the 400m with a clocking of 57.72.  With a conversion from the 200m flat track this is a PR.  Jared Foote qualified second in the 400 behind Jeffrey Gibson.  Oral Roberts snagged 6 of 8 finals spots.

Tera Potts had a strong kick in the 3000m to place 6th, passing two bison in the last stretch.  Mike Krsnak fought hard in the men's 3000 and earned an all-conference honorable mention with a third place finish.

The women's 200m runners ran well but failed to qualify for the finals.  Megan Bren, Ashley Odegaard, and Gina Fritz all finished between 25.78 and 25.82.  Chris Curry also missed qualifying, by only one hundreth of a second.

The women's distance medley ran within 7 seconds of the Summit League record and still finished 5th.  The team of Krista Creager, Jessica McDonald, Laura Lawton, and Danielle McCann ran very well.  The men ran even better and destroyed the field and the Summit League record of 10:03 set by Southern Utah in 2001.  Dom Thielen (3:01.8), Jared Foote (49.0), Jake Schneller (1:52.1), and Mike Krsnak (4:12.9) lapped most of the field and beat USD by 3 seconds.

The women are in second place after day 1 and the men are tied with Oral Roberts for 3rd place.  North Dakota State leads both.

Day 1 Results

Go Jacks with interviews

Women's Summit League Predictions Revisited

Heat Sheets!

Meet Schedule

Here I am going to look at the Summit League Women's competition now that the season has progressed.  Competition has already begun with the Multi-Events this morning.

1. NDSU- The Bison are an all around powerhouse.  They won't be beaten.
2. USD- The yotes are led by Emma Ladwig (Erickson), Alexa Duling, Analisa Huschle, Kenna Wolter, and Emily Grove who all should have a shot at winning at least one event.
3. SDSU- The Jacks will be in a hard fought battle for third with many of the teams below.  Luck and circumstance will play a factor in deciding places.  See below for the Jacks Keys to Success.
4. Southern Utah-  The distance events will be their strong point and will expect big points out of Kayla Kovar, a thrower.
5. UMKC- A well-rounded team on the rise, the 'Roos will be led by their triple jumpers and long sprinters.  Don't expect any event titles for them but many placings.
6. Oral Roberts- Sprinters Cornisha Wilkerson and TK Whitfield need to pick up big points for the Eagles to place well.  Look for multi eventer Camilla Pirelli to score as well.
7. Oakland- Lia Jones reportedly has a stress fracture and will not compete.  She was expected to be a contender in the distance races.  The Grizzlies will need to pick up points elsewhere.
8. Western Illinois- Dana LaRue looks to score big in both throws for the Leathernecks.  Chelsea Lynes also has the top time in the Mile run and is ranked 4th in the 800.
9. IPFW-  The hosts won't be scoring many points.  Sarah Hutchings in the distance and mid-distance races is their greatest hope.

Jacks Keys
1. Lora Shearer's endurance- Shearer will be competing in the Multi (5 events) as well as 4 individual events.  She will be a factor in all events if she can fight the fatigue.
2. Throws- Rapid City natives Brooke Garner and McKenzie Johnson lead the charge here.  Brooke looks to win a few titles.
3. Relays- The Jacks hope to pick up big points in the 4x4 and DMR.  This is the first time this year that the 4x4 is at its best- Odegaard, Bren, Fritz, and McDonald.
4. High Jump- Wirth and Shearer are 2-3 and don't forget about Kali Olson!
5. Distance- Tera Potts and Erin Hargens are ranked 6th in their respective events.
6. Getting to finals- there are a lot of women on the line of making finals and not making finals.  They need to perform today to score tomorrow.  Every point counts!

Men's Summit League Predictions Revisited

Heat Sheets!

When I last did Summit League Predictions they were based on last year's championships and the few meets that had happened.  I am not going to do a full prediction like last time but am just going to predict team places and some keys for the Jackrabbits.

1. NDSU- The Bison have proven to be strong in the Field Events and Multi Events like always and have a few big scorers on the track including Travis Fitzke and Donte Smart.
2. SDSU- The Jacks look to be peaking at the right time and have had good performances and workouts leading up to this meet.  See keys for the Jacks below.
3. Oral Roberts- The Golden Eagles were ranked higher in the preseason predictions but their depth has been a weakness this year.  They will be strong in the 200, 400 and 4x4 on the track and in the Long Jump and Vault in the field.  In previous years they had more strength in the field and the 60m.
4. Southern Utah- Southern Utah will score big points in the distance races and will pick up points here and there in the field.  Cam Levins will most likely win the Mile, 3000 and 5000 and be named Track MVP.
5. South Dakota- The Yotes are well rounded and will pick up points in most disciplines.  Their stars include distance runner Jeff Mettler, throwers Kyle McKelvey and Cody Snyder, sprinter Michael Burrus, and Vaulter Kyle Ballew.
6. UMKC- The 'Roos are quickly improving, look for them to be in the mix next year with the loss of ORU and SUU.  They are led by distance runner Cosmas Ayabei and jumper DC Okonta.
7. Western Illinois- The Leathernecks will score most of their points in the high jump and throws.
8. Oakland- The Grizzlies will be lucky to score any points that aren't from the DMR and 4x4.

*IUPUI will begin track competition in the Summit League this outdoor season.

**It will be a battle for spots 2-6 so don't be surprised if this gets switched around.

Keys for the Jackrabbits-
1. Jared Vlastuin- Vlastuin has the ability to win two events.  He is ranked 1st in the High Jump and 2nd in the Long Jump.  He has defeated Clive from Oral Roberts in head to head competitions in the past.
2. 400 and 4x4- Jared Foote and Brandon Priebe are ranked in the top 8 in the 400 and make up half of the 4x4 team that may challenge for the win.  ORU is the favorite but you never know what will happen in the last event of the meet.
3. 800- Jake Schneller looks to cap his indoor career with an 800 meter title.  He is seeded 3rd but has defeated Shade head to head and Cam Levins will be tired.  Dom Thielen has been improving rapidly this year and I wouldn't be surprised if there were 2 Jacks challenging for the win here.
4. 3000 and 5000- The whole conference is especially strong in these events.  The Jacks need Mike Krsnak, Greg Vollmer, and Trent Lusignan to score in both events.  I hope to do the same.
5. 60 Hurdles- Only 10 men are entered and the Jacks expect to have 2 in the top 8.  Watch out for an upset of Pierre alum Matt Tetzlaff by Brandon Priebe of SDSU.  Priebe has risen to the occasion in previous years.
6. Throws- The Jacks throwers haven't had the greatest season until last week but they are usually ready to go at conference.  Don't forget that Jake Brinkman is a conference champ in the weight throw.